Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 10, 2015

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Red Queen follows main protagonist Mare Barrow, Red thief, as her world is suddenly turned upside down.  Suddenly aware of a dormant power over electricity - a power she should not possess - she is thrust into the world of the Silvers with a forced betrothal to a Silver prince.

Let's talk about the characters:

I love complex characters, and this book is full of them.  Cal, a prince who isn't sure about everything that is right, about his feelings for Mare.  Mare, who suddenly inherited supernatural powers.  Maven, possibly the most complex character in the book.  He has so many sides to him.  It is almost difficult to get a clear view of the real Maven.  I can't say too much more without some serious spoilers.  But these characters all had so many layers.  Their relationships with each other are very intense.

Oh the dreaded love triangle...thing

I hate love triangles.  This book had what seemed even more like a love tetrahedron.  Yes, there were at points three men vying for Mare's heart.  This about killed my soul.  Plus, I wasn't a fan of Kilorn as a character.

The setting is interesting to me.  I love fantasy and I love dystopian novels.  This book combines the two.  There is magic, but there is also a corrupt government.  There are oppressed people.  And mostly, there is a rebellion happening.

So what did I think overall?
I enjoyed this book.  There were some points where the story was rather slow.  But it was still a pretty good read.  The biggest issue that I have with Red Queen is the thing with the love interests.  Nothing really happened with any of them, and yet they were all seeming to fall for Mare.  Maybe things will pick up with someone in the second book.  And I have to read the second book with the way things were ended.  Evil authors and their evil cliff-hangers.

Overall, this book was pretty good.  I didn't love it.  But I would definitely recommend it to YA fantasy lovers.