Hello rad readers!
We have begun a new series here and I am officially in it for the long haul! Boy oh boy do I have a lot to say about this. It is action packed, exciting, deep, and intenseee! All fan favorite qualities here in the Rad Reader Universe (The RRU). This amounted a whopping 5/5 whole stars on Goodreads from me and it deserved it. In reality I would have given it around 4.4 stars but Goodreads doesn't have that option and I felt it was far better than just a regular 4 star book so I really just had to round it up... Anywayssss let us begin.
In this world, people are divided by their blood type. By blood type, I mean red blood and silver blood. Silvers have powers, gifts. There are strongarms, people that have super strength (real creative name...). There are whisperers, (people who can manipulate people's thoughts... more creative), and just about everything and anything in between. Reds on the other hand are powerless and oppressed becuase of that. They are the commoners where the Silvers are the royalty, the Silvers call the shots, and there is no question about that. Mare Barrow, our main character is a Red and a thief. In a world where most Reds are impoverished and hungry, Mare and her family fall in line with the rest, Mare developing a skill in pick pocketing to provide. It seems like this will always be the case until one day on her trip into town, she accidentally ends up with a job in the Silver Palace. This is no blessing. Here, surrounded by the people she hates most, Mare discovers that despite the color of her blood she too has these god like powers. If this gets out it will obviously be world shattering, threatening to throw off the balance of power, the familiar. To keep her her gift a secret, the Silvers hide her in plain sight, claiming that she is a long lost Silver princess. An idea that Mare can barely stomach. Knowing full well it could cost her a head, she begins to work with the Scarlet Guard, a secret rebel group that has been waiting for a moment like this to bring down the blood divide and start a revolution.
...And that doesn't even cover the half of it... not remotely.
I know a lot of people said that this is not the most original idea, but I disagree. A simple analysis may make you think that, the idea of royals with powers and commoners that don't have powers has --admittedly-- been done before, but certainly not to the same degree that Red Queen has. I think the world is perfectly unique and well thought out. I felt like I could picture it the entire time and that Victoria Aveyard clearly had a strong vision while she was writing it. I think that comes across very strongly throughout the story and I really loved that. The way the book is written is immersive and fast paced. It is certainly not the type of book you can easily put down. In the first couple chapters it was a bit slow, but when things started picking up (which did not take long) they never let down.
The characters are complex and here at Rad Reads we appreciate that beyond belief. There is nothing more boring than a character that exists solely for the convenience of the plot. So, let's talk characters. Mare, our main character, is unpredictable and volatile and acts in a totally realistic way. The way you or I would act if you just became a princess when you wanted nothing less than that, and if you were surrounded by people that have oppressed you and you have loathed for all your life. She is resistant, quick, and smart. (I am certainly the Oxford comma enthusiast in this post so far). I appreciate this because in many books the main character just falls in line until one chapter everything that we thought we knew about shifts and suddenly she becomes this headstrong leader. No, Mare is headstrong from the get-go. She makes the tough decisions, knowing and helping The Guard kill the Silvers in power. "He's a father." This is what Mare realizes soon after she puts a hit on his head, letting The Guard know how and when to take him out. Hell ya he is, and guess how long Mare ponders on that. About an hour. She is swiftly over it once she remembers that the Silvers are the reasons her brother is dead and her father is missing a leg.
I read books like these with this in mind, and largely the degree at which I like it depends on the degree at which the characters follow this rule: If you are going to be an assassin you have to own it.
Mare certainly owns it, and that is what makes it an exciting read. No long lasting complaining about the people risking their lives or the goddddd awfullll "They died for me," ughhhhh that dreaded sentence that pops up in just about every exciting book ever, turning the hype from a 10 to a negative 12... If you are leading a revolution... let me amend that, IF YOU ARE THE FACE OF A REVOLUTION, BE DECISIVE ABOUT IT. Mare is ruthless when it comes to the efforts of personal revenge and that right there is an extreme win for the plot and for the Raddest of Readers. I have heard people criticize the fact that Mare doesn't necessarily follow the main character vibe, that being that when she makes a mistake she never takes a deep look at herself to learn from it, she keeps going and going and going. I don't understand how this is a bad thing? I think this makes her unique and threateningly exciting. She is unpredictable! Do you want to read pages and pages of re-thinking over one decision? Because I sure don't and I also know that you don't really want that either because if Victoria Aveyard did write Mare like this people would complain about how she is too sensitive or compassionate. I like the unique numbness and mystery that surround Mare. As for the supporting characters, Cal I find not to be as exciting as Mare thinks he is. Maven on the other hand I knew he'd be an interesting dude and I was right. Unpopular opinion, but isn't that what you are here for? The king and the queen? I loathe them just like Mare. Queen Elara would not pass the vibe check. She could never.
In terms of the betrayal in the end... oh yes, there is one of those, did I forget to mention that? This book really does have everything... JAW DROPPING! I reread it many MANY times to make sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me. Rad Readers, you are going to love it.
Okay homies, that is all I can say without blowing your mind with the crazy twists and 180-- no, 360 degree flips of this book that will throw you off with every turn of the page. This book is so exciting and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!!
As the Scarlet Guard would say... Rise, red as dawn! (lol book jokes)
- C8 ;)
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