Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard
Publication date: February 10th 2015
Publisher: Orion
Format: Audiobook and Kindle
Buy it here: Amazon, The Book Depository

Goodreads Description

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...

I loved this book. I also kind of hated this book. I feel so torn about the world, the characters and the storyline. Not because this book wasn't good, because it really was. There was a healthy dose of suspense, world building, complex characters and romance in every chapter. But as I read this book, I constantly felt déjà vu. Usually, I avoid looking too much into reviews on Goodreads because I prefer to experience books for myself and avoid any potential spoilers. But this time, I had a little browse through the reviews and found out I wasn't the only one feeling like the author had taken a little too much inspiration from elsewhere.

“It's our nature. We destroy. It's the constant of our kind. No matter the color of blood, man will always fall.” 

Mare Barrow (I'm sorry, but this name constantly made me think of a horse and I couldn't help but read it as Bone Marrow) has red blood in a world divided in two. The Reds are the builders, servants, seamstresses and soldiers in this society. They have no special abilities which makes them powerless, unlike the Silvers who each have their own special power (think mind reading, fire and water manipulating, telekinesis etc) and they make up the middle and the upper class. 

Mare's best friend loses his job as an apprentice, which had previously kept him from being sent to fight the war. Mare (who was also due to go to war) makes it her mission to set out and find a way to smuggle her and her friend out to somewhere safer where they cannot be found (notice any similarities here?). While on her mission she comes across a shady Silver guy who shows her great kindness and this is where the story begins.

We find out the shady Silver dude is a prince and he unintentionally drags Mare into a situation which changes her life and makes her discover things about herself that she and others never would have thought was possible. She's a Red with a Silver trait. She possesses a power - the ability to control electricity and lightning.

There's plenty of romance, action and betrayal in this book. The ending didn't shock me too much, as I thought you-know-who was a bit of an odd character anyway and I got quite bad vibes off him from the start. As I said, great book! However, the similarities between Red Queen and The Hunger Games and The Selection are a bit too obvious and this ruined the book slightly for me. I will be reading the next in the series to see if Aveyard has taken any of the comments from the readership on board though!