2015 Reading Challenge: A book with a color in the title – Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

                Colors are interesting things. They can create a mood, a meaning, and each color has the ability to symbolize something. Yellow is often viewed as being cheerful, happy, a “sunny” color if you will. Blue can be seen as peaceful, calming, or sometimes sadness. Green is often seen as growth, posterity, and health. Then, there is Red which is seen as passion, power, anger, and even rage. Whether it is colors of flowers, or a shirt or a room, every color stimulates a feeling and meaning.  So when I was at Pasadena loves YA, the book everyone was talking about was Red Queen. I had only heard a little about this book, so I decided to go over to the little book shop to see if they had it. Low and behold, I found it.  The cover of this book is eye-catching, I mean, come on. If you saw this in a book store you would automatically be drawn to it. Which I was, and with a title like Red Queen, I knew I needed it. I spent money that day, and proceeded to take my copy of Red Queen and merrily skip home.

In a world defined by the color of your blood, it is hard to make something of yourself. If you are Red, your life is one of servitude, hardship and military duty. If you are a Silver, you have a life of luxury, privilege, and unspeakable powers to control the things around you. Mare’s life is a good as any typical Red would be, but fate shines upon her. After receiving a job in the castle as a new servant, Mare soon discovers that she is less than ordinary. Mare, as well as every noble in the country, discovers that she has the ability to control lighting, and shows the capability to be equal or more powerful than any Silver; except the only problem is that she is a Red, and things like this do not happen to Reds. The king determined to hide who she really is, pawns her off as a lost Silver princess, planning to marry her off to one of his sons, and will live in the palace for the rest of her life. In a dangerous game of power, control, love, and lost identity, Mare must play in order to keep her heart safe, as well as her life. At the end of the say, when blood is shed, it won’t matter to those around her what color it is.  Red Queen is a book that asks the question: Does the color of your blood define who you are?

Is it just me or do I feel like everyone is on this fantasy, royal kick right now in the book world? Between books like The Selection Series, Thorn, Red Queen, The Queen of the Tearling, Court of Rose and Thorns(Haven’t read yet), it would seem that there is an increase of books dealing with royalty. Or maybe it just the books I have been drawn to or sent to review? I was a bit skeptical to pick up this book at first, but everyone and their mom is talking about it, which was creating quite the buzz. The last book I read that was “buzzing” was a terrible book, and I could barely make it to the 50 page marker, but this was not the case with Red Queen. The plot line in Red Queen is unlike any other book I have read, a world divided by blood. Victoria’s writing is simple, but detailed and intriguing. The pace of the novel is out of this world. It starts out a little slow, then get a little fast, then kind of slow then a full sprint with the craziest plot twist ever! I never saw it coming, which I loved! I love a good plot twist that is so far out of left field that it compels me to go back and re-read to book if I can pick up the clues earlier. Victoria got me good with her book! The characters, and plot concept is original and refreshing from all the other “royal” novels out there. All in all, this book is worth the hype and lives up to all the buzz it has been receiving.

On a side note, I also met Victoria at Pasadena loves YA and I can tell instantly that I liked her. Not only is she obsessed with social media (like yours truly), but I had major lipstick envy. As someone who loves red lipstick, she had on the most gorgeous lipstick on that day and I forgot to ask what she was wearing. She was so passionate, and polite to talk to everyone that came to see her. She was a delight to meet and I look forward to the second book to the Red Queen series. She gave a little clue on Twitter the other day and pretty much everyone freaked out. She is fun to follow and I would suggest you do if you love her books.

This book is a perfect read for anyone who loves YA, fantasy, or the royalty theme floating around the literary world right now. The Red Queen lives up the buzz surrounding it and it deserves to be read by those to who appreciate and love the genres it falls under.

What are you currently reading? Have you read Red Queen? What are your thoughts? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Buy it on Amazon: Red Queen

Happy Reading!