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A review by troystory
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
2.0
Wow, I have... So many issues with this book. Spoilers ahead.
It is just an endless cycle of tired tropes. None of the characters felt fleshed out to me; they were more like two-dimensional, flat cutouts of pre-existing stock characters you'd find in, like, any YA fantasy book. Mare herself... Ridiculously annoying. More than that, I felt like the entire world had nothing original in it. Okay, so people are repressed and the nobles have powers, but why should I care? I felt like we were just thrust into this cliché narrative, but there was no build up, and nothing felt earned. Also, it was so predictable, I wasn't really surprised by anything.
The only good thing I can say about it is that I liked the reveal that Mare isn't the only Red with powers. However, I did feel like it was undermined by the fact that every other Red like her got executed, but she got to marry the prince? How does that work?
My biggest problems with this book:
- Evangeline as a whole. She was so... Stereotypical for literally no reason. And her feud with Marr felt shallow, because I couldn't see why she'd hate Mare so much.
- The massive plot holes with Mare becoming a princess. Firstly, it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't just kill her. A Red with powers beyond your abilities would surely threaten the existing social structure. If I were the king, I would've killed her on the spot. It feels silly to let this random Red who could easily overthrow you marry your son. Like, why?
- The fact that it'd be so, so easy to reveal Kate isn't actually a Silver. Just give her a paper cut. Why didn't Evangeline think of that?
- The love triangle with Maven and Cal. I really hate when a character is caught between siblings. Like, please. No.
- The entire premise, like how Mare's story really started. Her three brothers all go to war and she does absolutely nothing about it - doesn't even try to do anything - but then her best friend gets conscripted and suddenly she's like, oh, gotta get you out of this. Let's just get involved with an actual rebellion leader and owe her a ton of money. Uhh... Strange priorities, but okay.
- The way Maven was going to execute Mare and Cal. It seems really dumb to give them a fighting chance? Like, of you actually want them dead, maybe just... Decapitated them, or something?
Overall, this book just really isn't my taste.
It is just an endless cycle of tired tropes. None of the characters felt fleshed out to me; they were more like two-dimensional, flat cutouts of pre-existing stock characters you'd find in, like, any YA fantasy book. Mare herself... Ridiculously annoying. More than that, I felt like the entire world had nothing original in it. Okay, so people are repressed and the nobles have powers, but why should I care? I felt like we were just thrust into this cliché narrative, but there was no build up, and nothing felt earned. Also, it was so predictable, I wasn't really surprised by anything.
The only good thing I can say about it is that I liked the reveal that Mare isn't the only Red with powers. However, I did feel like it was undermined by the fact that every other Red like her got executed, but she got to marry the prince? How does that work?
My biggest problems with this book:
- Evangeline as a whole. She was so... Stereotypical for literally no reason. And her feud with Marr felt shallow, because I couldn't see why she'd hate Mare so much.
- The massive plot holes with Mare becoming a princess. Firstly, it doesn't make sense that they wouldn't just kill her. A Red with powers beyond your abilities would surely threaten the existing social structure. If I were the king, I would've killed her on the spot. It feels silly to let this random Red who could easily overthrow you marry your son. Like, why?
- The fact that it'd be so, so easy to reveal Kate isn't actually a Silver. Just give her a paper cut. Why didn't Evangeline think of that?
- The love triangle with Maven and Cal. I really hate when a character is caught between siblings. Like, please. No.
- The entire premise, like how Mare's story really started. Her three brothers all go to war and she does absolutely nothing about it - doesn't even try to do anything - but then her best friend gets conscripted and suddenly she's like, oh, gotta get you out of this. Let's just get involved with an actual rebellion leader and owe her a ton of money. Uhh... Strange priorities, but okay.
- The way Maven was going to execute Mare and Cal. It seems really dumb to give them a fighting chance? Like, of you actually want them dead, maybe just... Decapitated them, or something?
Overall, this book just really isn't my taste.