Review: Red Queen

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Orion
Published: February 10th, 2015
Series: Red Queen Trilogy
How I Served It:Kindle
How I Got It:Live-brary

 Summary:
 "The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?" - Goodreads

Review:
This book was so, so good.  I mean, it wasn't perfect, but I had exceedingly high expectations (it was definitely the most hyped up debut this winter), and it didn't fall short.  I'm going to try to do the five and three style review again, since I liked it so much with Clockwork Prince.  Overall though, I like what Aveyard is setting up here. I think it has promise.
Top 5 Things About the Book:

 1. The World Building - The world Aveyard has created clearly has a deep history.  It's implied that the Silvers were once angels who fell, and that the world that Mare lives in is just a far distance future.  Unlike some, I like how Aveyard doesn't weigh us down with the particulars of how this future came about.  There's just enough implication that I can fill in the gaps with my own assumptions, and in truth the specifics of this world's history don't matter nearly as much as the present, and Aveyard has the present covered.  There's a clear power dynamic here and I think the idea of distinguishing by blood color (while a little reminiscent of Harry Potter) is unique.  

2. The Trick Love Triangle, or Rather, the Fact That Love/Lust Isn't the Focus - Spoilers!  I like how Aveyard does not fall into the stupid love triangle trap that is the basis of basically every other trilogy in the genre right now.  Yes, I know I am ignoring what is obviously set to come in the sequel.  Let me have the moment!  I like how Mare, while she has feelings for both her childhood best friend and Cal, the heir, doesn't spend the whole book crying about that. She has real feelings too for her betrothed, but even that isn't the center of the novel..  It reminds me vaguely of what Collins did in the Hunger Games, in that there is a romantic issue happening, but the girl has other issues to deal with and prioritizes them like a person.  There might be a love-quadrangle going on in the background, but it's written in such a way that you're never confused as to whether or not this book is a romance novel in disguise. I am desperately hopeful that Aveyard maintains this approach throughout the series.

3.  The Powers - I saw on Goodreads one reviewer compared the powers in this book to those in X-Men.  I like it.  I like how the Silvers have these supernatural powers that the Reds do not because it makes it clear why the Silvers are still in power and how they got there.  It also at least kind of explains the difference in blood colors and stuff; Silvers and Reds are probably different species (back to the fallen angels theory!).  I think it's neat how different Silver Families are associated with different types of abilities and how there are names for the different types of ability-users. I am a little worried about how Mare has a 'mutation' that makes her special and able to toss around lightning but I suspect that that's just PTSD from Allegiant.  I also wonder how they'll explain away the rise of this mutation.

4. Mare - She will also probably be on the list of things I didn't like, but I like it when a heroine is real.  Mare felt real to me.  She made stupid decisions because she acted like a teenaged girl.  If I was still sixteen I would probably like her even more.  At 20-something, some of her choices made me want to slap her, but that's hindsight for you.  I like how she was aware of what she needed to do to survive and didn't lose herself in the pretty palace life being offered.  I know the Queen was crazy and the threats to Mare's safety were always present, but even so she definitely could have abandoned herself to what the royals wanted.  I liked that she kept who she was.  I also liked  that she started out with no special talent or skill set aside from being a thief. Maybe I've seen Captain America too many times, but I really think that there's something to the idea that those who have nothing appreciate it more when they get something.

5.  Cal - Now, I'm not saying that out of all of Mare's options this is the guy I like best.  To be honest, I'm not really sold on any of them (though I did love Maven up until the reveal), but I like how realistic Cal is.  A prince whose father never treated him cruelly isn't exactly likely to grow up questioning the world around him.  It made sense for Maven to be interested in revolution because he was always in the background, but I like how Cal is both a good guy and someone with a twisted perception.  He was raised to believe a certain way and I like that Aveyard didn't undermine all of his good loyal, kingly qualities.  That said, I also like how it's clear that he can grow to understand the problems in society and become an actually decent human instead of just a decent prince.  


3 Things I Didn't Love:

1. The Super Big Plot Twist - Major Spoiler.  Okay, I'm still not sure how much I buy the plot twist. I am, of course, referring to Maven's huge betrayal at the end.  I liked how Mare repeated the like "anyone can betray anyone" over and over, very cryptic, but I didn't really see this coming.  Or well, that's kind of a lie. I expected someone to turn on someone else.  I sort of thought Maven was going to turn on Mare, but I didn't think it would have been premeditated.  Don't get me wrong, I love a plot twist.  I liked the fact that it surprised me, but I'm not sure that if I re-read the book knowing what I know now that I would be able to pick up signs of what was coming. 

2. Kilorn - I feel like Kilorn is the Gale of this series.  He's the obvious choice for pre-events Mare, but after all that Mare is going to go through she's going to change too much to be able to be with him.  Plus, while I know his intentions are good, he sort of comes off as a jerk.  Not that she has a single love interest who doesn't act like a butt-head at least once in this book, but  Kilorn strikes me as especially... weak?  I'm assuming his character will be further developed in the books to come, but right now he sort of strikes me as a flat representation of a blind revolutionist who doesn't fully understand what's going on.  Not that Mare does understand, just that I think Kilorn's character hasn't been developed enough to make me care what he's doing.  To be honest I fully expected Aveyard to kill him off as sort of an incentive for Mare to join the rebels.

3.  Stupid Decisions - Now I know I said earlier that I liked how Mare acted like a real sixteen year old girl and I do.  That said, I also wanted to shake her at times. She wasn't more naive than would be humanly possible or anything, it's just that she seemed way to easy to trust the two princes even after openly acknowledging that she had suspcions about Maven.  Also she just jumped in to the rebel movement after like, barely any time at all in the palace.  I know she needed to jump in and that it would be a boring book if she didn't do it early but... I feel like I would have waited a few months until the queen thought I was trustworthy. She just seemed a little too free with trust, though I suspect that this might have been the lesson intended for this book.  Either way, I know I'm nitpicking.

The Final Noodle: 
I really, really liked this book.  It's surely not perfect but it's a great start for a series and I think it lives up to its hype.  The true test for the series will probably be the next book since it seems like the days of dresses and princes are over for the heroine at the end of the novel, but I definitely think that it's worth reading.