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A review by charliauthor
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book is super YA in the best and worst ways.
I had previously red Realm Breaker by VA and while I didn't love it, finding it difficult to get through/connect to the characters, I had this series on my shelf so I thought i'd give it a try with no other thoughts going in.
What works well is the pacing and ease of read. Nothing is difficult to understand, the world is fairly fleshed out and the characters tropey enough to hold your interest to turn the page. Its not reinventing the wheel and I can respect that. As long as I'm not bored to tears, we can make this thing work.
This is the standard fare of a poor girl of the lowly Reds, realising that she has abilities like the cruel overlord Silvers. There are princes in disguise and evil kings and queens and rebellious uprising and a little cheeky low chilly romance. Its all very safe and neat which for me is the concern.
I did not dislike this enough to condemn but it didn't do anything special enough to praise it. Its just kind of there. I do respect that sometimes this is needed. Not everything has to be this intricately woven plot of dark betrayals and sinister characters. Although, the villain by the end was really going for the crown of most hateful person in YA. Some of Maven's lines were honestly so great A line I liked was: He laughs long and hard. When are you going to realise that every word out of my mouth has been a lie?
Like seriously, girl. When are you going to catch on!? haha While most of this was really predictable i was in a fun way rather than a boring way as it was super tropey. Although the FMC Mare was a little naïve and slow on the uptake, she knew she was naive and slow on the uptake rather than the 'i think i know everything even though im nowhere near qualified' type FMCs that we have been given recently.
I'll continue on as I would like to know how she navigates this new world but if you like true YA with romance and no spice (so far at least) then defo try this out.
I had previously red Realm Breaker by VA and while I didn't love it, finding it difficult to get through/connect to the characters, I had this series on my shelf so I thought i'd give it a try with no other thoughts going in.
What works well is the pacing and ease of read. Nothing is difficult to understand, the world is fairly fleshed out and the characters tropey enough to hold your interest to turn the page. Its not reinventing the wheel and I can respect that. As long as I'm not bored to tears, we can make this thing work.
This is the standard fare of a poor girl of the lowly Reds, realising that she has abilities like the cruel overlord Silvers. There are princes in disguise and evil kings and queens and rebellious uprising and a little cheeky low chilly romance. Its all very safe and neat which for me is the concern.
I did not dislike this enough to condemn but it didn't do anything special enough to praise it. Its just kind of there. I do respect that sometimes this is needed. Not everything has to be this intricately woven plot of dark betrayals and sinister characters. Although, the villain by the end was really going for the crown of most hateful person in YA.
Like seriously, girl. When are you going to catch on!? haha While most of this was really predictable i was in a fun way rather than a boring way as it was super tropey. Although the FMC Mare was a little naïve and slow on the uptake, she knew she was naive and slow on the uptake rather than the 'i think i know everything even though im nowhere near qualified' type FMCs that we have been given recently.
I'll continue on as I would like to know how she navigates this new world but if you like true YA with romance and no spice (so far at least) then defo try this out.