Read All About It: Red Queen

If you like magic, treachery, and strong female leads, you're gonna love this one. At first, I thought this was your typical fantasy novel, with your common girl-turned-princess, but it is so much more than that. Victoria Aveyard turns the trope on its head, layering blood politics, noble families, and quiet treachery to create a shocking turn of a narrative.

I heartily enjoyed this novel--mostly because the first three-fourths of it was vaguely predictable, and then I was shocked by the last quarter. This is a treacherous ride for our protagonists, and there is no safe place to rest where they are not watched. The story line is fast-paced, easy to read, and hard to put down.

Mare Barrow is a lowly Red, marked separate by the color of her blood. The Silver bloods rule all with their inherent magical abilities, while the Reds work their lives away day by day, serving on the front lines of an unending war, using rationed electricity, barely scraping by. Mare lives as a thief, supporting her family with what she can pickpocket. A chance encounter changes her life when she pickpockets someone who is not what they seem--and the next day, she is prodded into a life at the palace.

But there, Mare discovers that some things are worse than being a Red. Because she's not a normal Red--she has an ability normally reserved for those of Silver blood. This sets her on a dangerous course, trapped in a venomous court, betrothed to one of the king's sons, and fighting for her life with every breath.

This book, guys. At first, I wasn't all that invested in the characters or the story. But as I got deeper and deeper into the book, I got more and more enthralled, drawn into the narrative and its characters by Aveyard's words. While, yes, it is a tad predictable, Aveyard turns that on its head to create a dangerously good narrative of a dangerous, revolutionary battle. There is never a dull moment, and I've rarely ever wanted a prince to die in a book as much as I have while reading this.

Every single character has their own motivations, complex and often twisted by their blood and duties. Mare needs her family to be safe. The princes vie for Mare's affection. The Reds fight for the right to control their own lives. The Silvers want to maintain power, and damn the consequences. With each of these motivations, Aveyard maintains the thread of her narrative. Some achieve their goals. Others do not. There are consequences for all.

I am not normally ensnared by plot twists, but I will admit that Aveyard got the better of me, and I will be re-reading this one, to try and discover what I missed. Watch out, readers. This one is a wily beast, and it's all the greater for it.

Red Queen is the first novel in a series, and besides this one, I only own the prequel so far. But rest assured, the other books will shortly make their way into my to-be-read pile! So, keep your eye out for the red queen until then, and watch out for treacherous nobles who have only their own goals in mind.