Red Queen (Red Queen #1)

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Red Queen (Red Queen #1)

Victoria Aveyard

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. 

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(4.5 / 5) I read this book back in 2015 when it first came out. I wanted to get it on my blog for all to see. Sometimes rereading books makes the story not as exciting, but not this one! I loved being back in the world of Stilts with Reds and Silvers. 

Reds are the lower class of people who bleed red blood. They are hard-working and poverty-stricken. Silvers are the elite upper class with abilities such as bending metal to their will and controlling water. Mare is a Red who gets caught up with the Silvers and discovers a deadly ability of her own.

The characters are well written with kindness and duplicity around each corner. Mare starts weighing lives against freedom and her decisions rock the world she once knew. The people she cares about are put in danger and she’s to blame. The suspense and need for answers carried me throughout the story. It was easy to get lost again. I love each character for their flaws but also their attributes. I hate to say it but Maven is my fav! Not as a mate for Mare but as a completely interesting character. Since my memory sucks, I can’t wait to remember what happens in the next book!

Detailed Content Review

Language 

F***-

H***- 5

S***-

A**-

B****-

D***-

Bas****-

Religious Cursing

J****-

Chr***-

G**-

L***-

Derogatory terms etc-

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

A man drinks alcohol.

A young woman takes a poisonous pill to kill herself instead of being interrogated. She falls to the ground, dead. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

*No LGBTQ+ aspects included*

A man kisses a young woman. 

A young man kisses a young woman.

A young woman and young man kiss for “a minute or an hour.”

A young woman kisses a man.

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A young woman steals regularly in the market. 

Fights in an arena are common. Two men fight each other, one grabs the other’s leg and throws him, breaking his bones. Blood drips. Using abilities, a man gets into the other man’s head and makes him stab himself with his own sword. A “sickening squelch” is heard and blood gushes. 

There is a bombing in a city. 

A man holds a man by the throat. Another man uses abilities to move water over a man, effectively drowning him.  This man tries to drown a young woman also. She sees a man face down in the water.

As punishment for attempting to steal, a soldier crushes the bones in a young woman’s hand. 

A woman uses an ability to cause pain to a young woman. She gets nauseous and shrinks under the pain. The woman paralyzes her legs and causes immense pain. 

A man/soldier has been beheaded for trying to run from the war.

Training for their abilities, teens injure each other many times. They draw blood, break bones and more. Healers stand by and fix them up quickly with no lasting effects. 

There is an attack at a party. Many are shot and killed. A young woman falls in blood while tripping over a body. Explosions go off. 

Using abilities, a person freezes a woman blood as torture. Red shards of frozen blood stab through her skin. After, she is healed. 

A man uses his ability to send a metal pole through a man’s chest, killing him. A young woman sends lightning through him with her ability and he seizes up. 

As a punishment for words said, a woman has her tongue cut out. 

A young woman is shot in the stomach. She shoots lightning into the man’s brain as another tries to shoot her so she sends lightning into him too, both are unconscious. 

A bomb is set off, collapsing a bridge. 

A woman uses her ability to cause immense pain in a man’s head. He’s crying out to her and falling to the ground. 

A woman slaps a man, drawing blood. She uses her ability to force a man to move and cut off a man’s head. The head rolls as the body falls. Blood covers the ground. 

In an arena, a man’s body is dragged away leaving a trail of blood. 

A man fights many people, protecting himself and a young woman. A man stabs at him, abilities are used to heat up a man’s armor, swords and knives cut each other. A woman fights him too.  Large cement pieces are aimed at the young woman. A man squeezes her throat. She digs her fingers into his eyes. A pipe comes through the ground and stabs a man through his mouth. A pipe spears a man, killing him. A young woman sends lightning through a man, “boiling his blood and frying his nerves” then drops dead. Two young women fight with weapons and abilities. She shocks a man with lightning, he tries drowning her and holds her under water. She shocks him, killing him. 

A line of soldiers falls dead from bullet holes. 

Potentially Intense Themes

A brother has been killed for deserting the military. His family mourns. 

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.