The cover is gorgeous, congratulations to the designer for making me want to pick up this book.
Mare is a normal red blooded girl, which means she's a slave to the powerful, super power wielding Silvers. Without an apprenticeship and only good at pick-pocketing, Mare is heading for the front lines as a conscript in a long running war. Pretty much resigned to her fate, Mare is galvanised to action when her apprentice friend loses his boss and is about to be sent to war. After some pretty stupid decisions, she runs into some kind stranger and get's sent to the palace as a servant. From there, the real book begins.
Okay, I was gripped by this book and I could not put it down. The world did need a good deal more explanation, I would love to know why there are Silvers but this isn't something the book spends any time on. With a plot that has been seen in a variety of different ways in the last four years, Red Queen is not unique, but I did still enjoy it.
The main character is occasionally TSTL and far too trusting of people that she shouldn't actually trust. Some of her decisions are incomprehensible, but the author did a good job in actually letting the main character wrestle with moral dilemmas.
Secondary characters are a mixed bag of standard YA tropes with mean girls and boys who seem strangely devoted to our main character. One side of the obligatory love square comes with a strangely incomprehensible twist and another is so clearly the 'chosen boyfriend' that I rolled my eyes, but I didn't hate them.
I did enjoy the Red Queen, there were a couple of things that made me wince but I really liked it and will certainly be buying book 2.
****
Mare is a normal red blooded girl, which means she's a slave to the powerful, super power wielding Silvers. Without an apprenticeship and only good at pick-pocketing, Mare is heading for the front lines as a conscript in a long running war. Pretty much resigned to her fate, Mare is galvanised to action when her apprentice friend loses his boss and is about to be sent to war. After some pretty stupid decisions, she runs into some kind stranger and get's sent to the palace as a servant. From there, the real book begins.
Okay, I was gripped by this book and I could not put it down. The world did need a good deal more explanation, I would love to know why there are Silvers but this isn't something the book spends any time on. With a plot that has been seen in a variety of different ways in the last four years, Red Queen is not unique, but I did still enjoy it.
The main character is occasionally TSTL and far too trusting of people that she shouldn't actually trust. Some of her decisions are incomprehensible, but the author did a good job in actually letting the main character wrestle with moral dilemmas.
Secondary characters are a mixed bag of standard YA tropes with mean girls and boys who seem strangely devoted to our main character. One side of the obligatory love square comes with a strangely incomprehensible twist and another is so clearly the 'chosen boyfriend' that I rolled my eyes, but I didn't hate them.
I did enjoy the Red Queen, there were a couple of things that made me wince but I really liked it and will certainly be buying book 2.
****