Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Pages: 383
Format: Kindle Book/Own
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...
Review: I thought this was an incredibly interesting book. There definitely was a lot of betrayal like the description and other people have described. The whole red/silver divide. I wish we were told more about what caused it. Hopefully in some of the other books right? So lets start with the silvers. I thought the variety of powers they had was interesting. Magnetrons, nymphs, singers. Just to name a few. It was interesting how some powers were thought of as more stronger than others, though they all seemed pretty strong to me. The silvers also had a lot of traditions. Such as queenstrial, choosing the person who will be the next queen based on their powers. And First Fridays, the arena events held that Reds were forced to watch to know that the silvers were in control and what they could be capable of.
The Reds. From what we see of the Reds in a number of different cities and hear about those fighting the war, its not good. They don't really have a good quality of life no matter how much the silvers try to lie and say they have it great. Forced to fight a war you don't want a part in because the Silvers are to high and mighty to really fight their own battles. Knowing they think very little of your life and think you pretty much disposable. Or having to work jobs so dirty, you've never seen the sky, and don't even think about finding ways to better your life. Because you've been raised so long to think you have nothing and nowhere to go to. It's awful. Incredibly awful.
Mare. You know, I really started off liking her. She started as a strong leading lady. But by the end, she didn't seem nearly as strong as she was. Did she have her cool power which made her strong? Yes. Did her emotional/mental side follow along with her strength with her power? No. She seemed to get increasingly more gullible and weak the longer she spent with Maven. She was so eager to believe she had someone on her side, and close to her, that she didn't really think about whether he could have been playing her. She was even warned that Maven was just like his mother, but did not heed that warning. Honestly, I didn't feel super sorry for Mare at the end of the book. I feel like she transformed from an incredibly strong character who would have constantly been thinking twice about things, so someone weak who just wanted to hope anyone was willing to help her and put her trust in that.
I'm still torn on how to feel about Cal. He cares about Mare. I can see that. But he's also stuck. I'd like to feel like Cal is not as bad as Maven, even with the betrayal he threw at Mare. It was no where near as bad as Maven's. I don't think Cal is a bad person per say, I just think he's incredibly set in his ways because of how he grew up and doesn't know how to be better or different than those before him. I really hope he get to see him grow and prove he's not bad, but that will remain to be seen in the next books.
I can 100% say I hate Elara. She is extremely cold hearted. Her getting to be queen was definitely part of some sinister plan. It's implied she had getting the throne in her plans all along. What she did with Maven at the end of this book is definitely a scheme she built up and enacted over many many years. I despised Elara so much, and her power and how she used and abused it just made me despise her more. What's worse, is if you read the novella Queen Song, you realize she's been using and abusing it on certain people since she was a teen. She is just 100% an awful person.
I'm curious whether more people in Mare's family have powers besides the ones mentioned in this book. I'm also pretty curious as to what the Scarlet Guard is going to be doing in the next book. We got a glimpse into some of their agents and the way they do some things, but after all the events at the end of this book, I feel like some things will have to change or be dealt with.
Despite this starting out as a 5 star read for me, developments and character changes knocked it down to a 4.
The Reds. From what we see of the Reds in a number of different cities and hear about those fighting the war, its not good. They don't really have a good quality of life no matter how much the silvers try to lie and say they have it great. Forced to fight a war you don't want a part in because the Silvers are to high and mighty to really fight their own battles. Knowing they think very little of your life and think you pretty much disposable. Or having to work jobs so dirty, you've never seen the sky, and don't even think about finding ways to better your life. Because you've been raised so long to think you have nothing and nowhere to go to. It's awful. Incredibly awful.
Mare. You know, I really started off liking her. She started as a strong leading lady. But by the end, she didn't seem nearly as strong as she was. Did she have her cool power which made her strong? Yes. Did her emotional/mental side follow along with her strength with her power? No. She seemed to get increasingly more gullible and weak the longer she spent with Maven. She was so eager to believe she had someone on her side, and close to her, that she didn't really think about whether he could have been playing her. She was even warned that Maven was just like his mother, but did not heed that warning. Honestly, I didn't feel super sorry for Mare at the end of the book. I feel like she transformed from an incredibly strong character who would have constantly been thinking twice about things, so someone weak who just wanted to hope anyone was willing to help her and put her trust in that.
I'm still torn on how to feel about Cal. He cares about Mare. I can see that. But he's also stuck. I'd like to feel like Cal is not as bad as Maven, even with the betrayal he threw at Mare. It was no where near as bad as Maven's. I don't think Cal is a bad person per say, I just think he's incredibly set in his ways because of how he grew up and doesn't know how to be better or different than those before him. I really hope he get to see him grow and prove he's not bad, but that will remain to be seen in the next books.
I can 100% say I hate Elara. She is extremely cold hearted. Her getting to be queen was definitely part of some sinister plan. It's implied she had getting the throne in her plans all along. What she did with Maven at the end of this book is definitely a scheme she built up and enacted over many many years. I despised Elara so much, and her power and how she used and abused it just made me despise her more. What's worse, is if you read the novella Queen Song, you realize she's been using and abusing it on certain people since she was a teen. She is just 100% an awful person.
I'm curious whether more people in Mare's family have powers besides the ones mentioned in this book. I'm also pretty curious as to what the Scarlet Guard is going to be doing in the next book. We got a glimpse into some of their agents and the way they do some things, but after all the events at the end of this book, I feel like some things will have to change or be dealt with.
Despite this starting out as a 5 star read for me, developments and character changes knocked it down to a 4.
Would like to join...can you pls link me and what's the next book?
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