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sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
I can see why people are saying this book reminds them of The Hunger Games, because I could see it too.
The main character Mare reminds me a lot of Katniss. She's very willing to sacrifice herself for others, doesn't think she's very strong (but she is), and she can kick butt. I liked her immediately. I also really liked Cal, and never really liked Maven because I could sense something was off about him.
Another similarity I noticed was the oppression of the reds from the silvers. The silvers were like the people of the capitol in The Hunger Games and the reds were like the people living out in the districts. The reds are forced to go to war, and eat & live poorly while the silvers live a life of luxury and decadence.
I found this very easy to read and it flowed well, my only criticism would be that I found certain things predicable.
**SPOILER** I knew that Maven wasn't who he pretended to be and his mother knew everything. I also had a feeling that Mare's brother Shade wasn't really dead. I guess I've been reading enough of these books to know what's going to happen. **SPOILER**
Overall I really liked it and applaude the author on their first book, we'll done! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
The main character Mare reminds me a lot of Katniss. She's very willing to sacrifice herself for others, doesn't think she's very strong (but she is), and she can kick butt. I liked her immediately. I also really liked Cal, and never really liked Maven because I could sense something was off about him.
Another similarity I noticed was the oppression of the reds from the silvers. The silvers were like the people of the capitol in The Hunger Games and the reds were like the people living out in the districts. The reds are forced to go to war, and eat & live poorly while the silvers live a life of luxury and decadence.
I found this very easy to read and it flowed well, my only criticism would be that I found certain things predicable.
**SPOILER** I knew that Maven wasn't who he pretended to be and his mother knew everything. I also had a feeling that Mare's brother Shade wasn't really dead. I guess I've been reading enough of these books to know what's going to happen. **SPOILER**
Overall I really liked it and applaude the author on their first book, we'll done! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
itsnotzuzu's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A great and interesting book. I love the world building and the plot so far
mialicia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Off to a bit of a shaky start, with the usual romance tropes that come with YA reads. Some repetitive writing, especially when it comes to Mare's introspection. But the concept is unique and interesting, and I'm eager to delve back into this world. I only vaguely remember what happens next and how it all ends, and I'm curious if I'll like it as much as I did before.
zlitalien's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
amoore126's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tiggy1991's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
maddie_orart's review against another edition
3.0
Review also posted on Of Reading and Random Things
I finally read Red Queen!!!! Yay! Another book to be removed from the never-ending TBR list.
Red Queen tells the story of Mare Barrow, a young girl who lives in a society divided by the color of their blood. Reds, like Mare, are the lower class people, struggling to make ends meet, and those who aren’t able to find jobs are conscripted into the army when they turn eighteen. So basically, their lives suck. Then we have the Silvers, the nobility who spends way too much money and lives in beautiful houses with Red servants to order around. They are the royalty, nobles and all the important members of society. Oh, did I forget to mention their superpowers? Yes, they have superpowers. Superstrength, superspeed, control over water, fire, people’s minds and pretty much all the superpowers you can think of. The Silvers also hates the Reds. They consider the Reds as the dirt beneath their expensive, high-class shoes, and should be treated as such. All her life, Mare thought she was just like any other Red, normal, powerless, and doomed to live a miserable life. But her life changed when she discovered that despite her red blood, she has power.
I enjoyed reading Red Queen. I think that the story is interesting and entertaining even though I don’t think it’s the most original dystopian ever. I really like the whole Silver and Red blood thing and I want to know more about how that happened. I think it was a mutation or something? But I’m not really sure about the details. I also want to know more about the war that teenagers are forced to fight in and why it’s been going on for a hundred years. I wish there’s a map of the country Mare lives in so I can see where everything is, and also because I get confused whenever other places are mentioned, but it doesn’t bother me too much. There are also a lot of interesting scenes throughout the story that I liked a lot.
As much as I liked reading Red Queen, however, I have to say that nothing in the entire story surprised me. It’s just that I’ve seen all these things before, and the way Red Queen is done doesn’t really make it any more special than the others in my opinion. I don’t mind reading clichés. In fact, a lot of clichés are actually more enjoyable than the original one. But sadly, I don’t think this book is one of them. The whole “anyone can betray anyone” thing is repeated so many times and when the actual betrayal happened, I wasn’t surprised at all. Call me pessimistic, but whenever I read about a royal family or any important families, I always think that the stepmothers, younger brothers, half-siblings, uncles, cousins, and anyone who is not directly in line for the throne/title are guilty until proven innocent.
Mare is an interesting character. She’s very sassy and sarcastic, and that makes her a lot like me J. I admire her love for her family and friends, which I think makes her loyal. She maintains a brave façade even though she’s lost and afraid. But despite all these good traits, I couldn’t relate to her. Some of her decisions or actions annoyed me a lot, and I don’t think she’s as badass as she wants me to believe. I don’t really like her love interests either, both of them. I think that Cal is just a perfect, boring soldier, and I don’t think Maven suits Mare at all. But there’s always room for improvement. Since Red Queen is a series, I’m sure there will be character development in the next books. I like Kilorn and Lucas, though. I wouldn’t mind if they were Mare’s love interests instead of Cal and Maven. :D
So to sum up, I like Red Queen. I think that it’s an interesting start to a series that I know can be so much better. I’m giving this book 3.5 stars (I finally understand the need for half stars in the Goodreads rating system), because even though I enjoyed reading it, it’s not as amazing as I hoped it would be. I blame all the hype. Even though this book uses a lot of tropes ( :( ), and I guessed all the plot twists before it ever happened, I like it enough that I will definitely read the sequel. I’m curious to find out what will happen next. I’ve been seeing so many pictures of Glass Sword on Instagram and so many people are excited about it, so I really hope it will be as great as people say it is.
I finally read Red Queen!!!! Yay! Another book to be removed from the never-ending TBR list.
Red Queen tells the story of Mare Barrow, a young girl who lives in a society divided by the color of their blood. Reds, like Mare, are the lower class people, struggling to make ends meet, and those who aren’t able to find jobs are conscripted into the army when they turn eighteen. So basically, their lives suck. Then we have the Silvers, the nobility who spends way too much money and lives in beautiful houses with Red servants to order around. They are the royalty, nobles and all the important members of society. Oh, did I forget to mention their superpowers? Yes, they have superpowers. Superstrength, superspeed, control over water, fire, people’s minds and pretty much all the superpowers you can think of. The Silvers also hates the Reds. They consider the Reds as the dirt beneath their expensive, high-class shoes, and should be treated as such. All her life, Mare thought she was just like any other Red, normal, powerless, and doomed to live a miserable life. But her life changed when she discovered that despite her red blood, she has power.
I enjoyed reading Red Queen. I think that the story is interesting and entertaining even though I don’t think it’s the most original dystopian ever. I really like the whole Silver and Red blood thing and I want to know more about how that happened. I think it was a mutation or something? But I’m not really sure about the details. I also want to know more about the war that teenagers are forced to fight in and why it’s been going on for a hundred years. I wish there’s a map of the country Mare lives in so I can see where everything is, and also because I get confused whenever other places are mentioned, but it doesn’t bother me too much. There are also a lot of interesting scenes throughout the story that I liked a lot.
As much as I liked reading Red Queen, however, I have to say that nothing in the entire story surprised me. It’s just that I’ve seen all these things before, and the way Red Queen is done doesn’t really make it any more special than the others in my opinion. I don’t mind reading clichés. In fact, a lot of clichés are actually more enjoyable than the original one. But sadly, I don’t think this book is one of them. The whole “anyone can betray anyone” thing is repeated so many times and when the actual betrayal happened, I wasn’t surprised at all. Call me pessimistic, but whenever I read about a royal family or any important families, I always think that the stepmothers, younger brothers, half-siblings, uncles, cousins, and anyone who is not directly in line for the throne/title are guilty until proven innocent.
Mare is an interesting character. She’s very sassy and sarcastic, and that makes her a lot like me J. I admire her love for her family and friends, which I think makes her loyal. She maintains a brave façade even though she’s lost and afraid. But despite all these good traits, I couldn’t relate to her. Some of her decisions or actions annoyed me a lot, and I don’t think she’s as badass as she wants me to believe. I don’t really like her love interests either, both of them. I think that Cal is just a perfect, boring soldier, and I don’t think Maven suits Mare at all. But there’s always room for improvement. Since Red Queen is a series, I’m sure there will be character development in the next books. I like Kilorn and Lucas, though. I wouldn’t mind if they were Mare’s love interests instead of Cal and Maven. :D
So to sum up, I like Red Queen. I think that it’s an interesting start to a series that I know can be so much better. I’m giving this book 3.5 stars (I finally understand the need for half stars in the Goodreads rating system), because even though I enjoyed reading it, it’s not as amazing as I hoped it would be. I blame all the hype. Even though this book uses a lot of tropes ( :( ), and I guessed all the plot twists before it ever happened, I like it enough that I will definitely read the sequel. I’m curious to find out what will happen next. I’ve been seeing so many pictures of Glass Sword on Instagram and so many people are excited about it, so I really hope it will be as great as people say it is.
“Words can lie. See beyond them.”
― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen
adelle_bookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Každý může zradit.
Celá se třesu a vůbec nevím, jestli ze zimy, nebo z té knihy.
Sváří se ve mně protichůdné pocity a nejvíc asi obdiv, obdiv Victorii Aveyard, že tohle stvořila. Že stvořila svět plný intrik. A že nám ukázala, že od toho vlastně nejsme až tak daleko.
Povstaneme. Rudí jako úsvit.
A čekání na druhý díl mě jistojistě zabije.
Celá se třesu a vůbec nevím, jestli ze zimy, nebo z té knihy.
Sváří se ve mně protichůdné pocity a nejvíc asi obdiv, obdiv Victorii Aveyard, že tohle stvořila. Že stvořila svět plný intrik. A že nám ukázala, že od toho vlastně nejsme až tak daleko.
Povstaneme. Rudí jako úsvit.
A čekání na druhý díl mě jistojistě zabije.