Review ~ "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard

Title: "Red Queen"
Series: Red Queen, #1
Author: Victoria Aveyard
 
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Published: February 10, 2015
Publisher: Orion
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia
Pages: 383
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
 
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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 was originally going to give this book 3 stars, but the last quarter of the book had a HUGE plot twist that I did not expect, so that surprise bumped it up! The book was feeling a bit dry up to that point, so I was so happy that something completely unexpected happen. 
 
Coming from poverty, Mare does pretty much anything she can to get her family money. But when she tries to pickpocket someone, the last thing she expected was to get a job working in the palace. However, that's not the most unexpected thing that happens to her. While working in the palace, Mare finds out that she has a power inside her. A power that only Silvers possess, and she's just a lowly Red. So the moment the king and queen find out, they have her play the role of a long-lost Silver princess and be forced to join the people she hates the most. 

I found the book to be really interesting, but pretty slow. It just seemed a little dry. Yeah, it was super interesting how Mare was being hidden in plain sight and that it was strange that she had powers only Silvers had, but it didn't really keep me at the edge of my seat desperately wanting more. It was great, but I just couldn't get into it for some reason. But everything changed at the end! Things got really intense really quick! On a scale of 1 to 10 of being interested, I went from a 3 to a 10! As long as it stays at a 10 I think I'll be good!

I thought that Mare was OK. She annoyed me quite often, but I liked how she wasn't completely submissive. She fought with the Silvers around her, which I sometimes liked and didn't like. I think I liked the other main characters more than her. I really liked Maven, the prince she was engaged to. He just seemed more likable person to me, even if he didn't always act likable. Maybe it was because he was the younger of the two princes, so he got less attention? I'm not sure how I felt about Cal. Yeah, he's nice, but he was a bit too... perfect I suppose.
 
However, based off of the ending, some of my feelings for these characters have changed. I don't want to give anything away, but some of the things one of this character did hurt me. I can't believe I, and everyone else it sounds like, trusted that character. I KNOW that we will be seeing said character and that they will play a huge role in the sequel.
 
Mare
I was OK with her. She didn't really stand out in a good or bad way. But I have a feeling that things will change in the next book. I think that the next book could really make or break my opinion of her, since I don't really have much of one now.
 
Maven
I really liked him! Maybe it was because he was the second son, so no one payed much attention to him, other than his mother, who is vicious! I guess I'm just a sucker for sad, lonely boys.
 
Cal
A bit too perfect, but we'll definitely be seeing more of him in the sequel based on how things ended.
 
Overall, this book started off meh, but turned into pretty great! I didn't love it by any means, but I'm still at that point where I want to know what happens next. I'm hoping for some great character development in the next book, especially with Mare and Cal, as neither stood out to me a whole lot.