Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Review

Publisher: Orion (2 July 2015)

Format:  Paperback: 400 pages

Source: Brought

Synopsis:

This world is based on Reds (who have read blood) and Silvers (who have silver blood). Mare (our protagonist) is a red blood and red bloods are the lowest of the low, they are peasants compared to the silvers, who have everything. Silvers have power and this is the reason why they outlaw the reds, but when Mare finds out she has a power could it be the end for this injustice system?

Review:

Due to all the hype based on this one novel, I really wanted to read this book and live up to the hype like other readers. What I found was a big downfall of this book was the characters, they didn`t seem to click with each other and I wasn`t persuaded enough to believe in them. Another thing is I couldn`t relate to any other the characters, nevertheless Mare, who I found to be quite annoying and making silly mistakes. I also found she wasn`t acting her age, she acted like a six year old girl who was just doing what she wanted without thinking of the consequences.

In addition I found the plot was quite a cliché. I could predict what would happen and I wasn’t left wanting to read more. As I got further into the book I found this book was like any other dystopian book I`ve read, there was a girl who has found something new about herself and she going trying to break out of society and ruin everything. In my opinion I have had enough of these so called dystopian novels, there is nothing different about each of them, and Red Queen as I thought wasn`t any different. On the other hand I didn`t predict the plot twist so this was something worth reading, and yes like many others I was surprised. I thought it was quite clever that there were clues throughout the book saying:

“Anyone can betray anyone.”

“He`s his mother`s son.”

The book was very easy to read and I didn`t have any trouble, however I think the writing was quite simple and this didn`t suit the book. If the writing was a little more complex and descriptive I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.

In conclusion I didn`t enjoy the book as I would have liked, I also think that the hype might have been a factor of this. I don`t recommend this book based on the fact that it was predictable. Alternatively I quite like the concept of the world the book is set it- red and silver bloods. I have never seen anything like this.

I rate this book ★★