This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart…
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Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: interesting twists and embellishments to the ideas of “supernatural” powers; sometimes awkward, cliched plot twists; a few weird world-building blips; a story I cared about…with characters that I just couldn’t
So. The covers for this series? Absolutely freaking gorgeous. It’s the first thing that drew me to Red Queen in the beginning, honestly. The upside-down glass crown, the running crimson blood drops…it all meshed so perfectly into an eye-catching, heart-stopping cover. I knew I had to pick it up.
Of course, that’s when the mishmash of reviews began rolling in on my book feeds…and I became a bit wary. I think this book sat on my floor waiting for me to read it for…close to a year, probably. It sat there for a very very long time while I became distracted, let myself love other books, ignored it. I have to admit, I went into this read with very low expectations.
In the fairy tales, the poor girl smiles when she becomes a princess. Right now, I don’t know if I’ll ever smile again.
I can’t fault the prose, or the writing—the descriptions are poetic and gorgeous, just the sort I always fall in love with. They made me see this world, made me feel as if I were a part of it (albeit a very distant, outside part). The plot is fast-paced and full of political intrigue; the world is balanced, a precarious tight-rope walker caught in a windstorm between two of the highest reaching buildings. Everything about this book SEEMED like the sort of thing I’d become obsessed with—except one thing.
The characters, despite the action-packed story, fell very flat for me. Halfway through this read, I realized I didn’t feel anything for them aside from cursory curiousity; they didn’t sing at me, they didn’t leap from the page to take my face in hand and make me care. They were just… There. While the action pulsed around them, while the intrigue became outright revolt and everything fell apart, they were like paper dolls—speaking the right lines without emotion, puppets on a string being pulled to places they didn’t care. If you’ve ever listened to someone make what’s supposed to be a passionate speech with hardly a drop of emotion, you’ll sort of understand what I’m saying here: I didn’t get the sense, from any of these characters, that they were more than flat representations of the people they were MEANT to be.
His lips are on mine, hard and warm and pressing. The touch is electrifying, but not like I’m used to. This isn’t a spark of destruction, but a spark of life. As much as I want to pull away, I just can’t do it. Cal is a cliff and I throw myself over the edge, not bothering to think of what it could do to us both. One day he’ll realize I’m his enemy, and all this will be a far-gone memory. But not yet.
And while the plot itself holds some twists and turns and unexpected diversions… I also found myself catching on to the biggest reveals long before I was meant to. The cliched twists sort of took the enjoyment out of reading this book for me, because I already knew where things were headed, I already knew what was bound to happen next. There was one instant—just one—the author took me by surprise…and that moment was so slight, so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, that I don’t count it here.
Many things led to this day, for all of us. A forgotten son, a vengeful mother, a brother with a long shadow, a strange mutation. Together, they’ve written a tragedy.
Overall… I enjoyed this read, but I won’t be calling it a favorite. The plot was fun, some of the changes to well-known ideas were entertaining to read, but the characters felt more like soulless dolls than actual people. I’d still recommend readers try this book, especially those who enjoy dystopian worlds, paranormal/supernatural powers, and political intrigue—perhaps you’ll find something I didn’t. I will probably still pick up book two—I’m invested in the story, after all, and need to know what happens next.
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