Red Queen

Book Title: Red Queen

Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #1

Date Started: April 1st 2015

Date Completed: April 5th 2015

Genres: Romance, Dystopian, Fantasy, Adventure
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

I'm confused by this book: the beginning was quite frankly a train wreck, but literally within a sentence it felt like there was a completely different writer, a different story and definitely a completely different protagonist - and I actually really enjoyed it from there. I don't understand why it was so different to me but there were so many little things on every page at the start that just annoyed me so much.

Aveyard's writing itself is nice: quick to read but also a little more detailed and different than typical YA fantasy/dystopian. I think part of the reason I didn't like the beginning was to do with the world building: to me it definitely seems like this book is sold as a fantasy and so - as a great lover of new imaginative fantasy - I got a bit lost when suddenly there was electricity and everything was described as very luxuriously and fantastical, but high-tech and in ruins at the same time. This isn't necessarily Aveyard's fault but a clearer build up of the world would've helped this for me.

I have to say the big thing about the start of this book was just all the little things: the threats and feelings didn't feel consistent; first person and italics used for the same purpose; some contemporary-like dialogue and actions that just felt silly in this world; and the description. You can tell there's so much imaginative stuff going on in the author's head but it came out as a confused jumble that I found really hard to picture. My immediate instinct is that the beginning of the book was just badly edited? Because after a certain point, these little things just disappeared and, though the story wasn't without its faults, it became really enjoyable.

The first thing with this story is that it is basically a hybrid of several well-known YA novels. I don't think that this was at all deliberately, but the storyline was from one book, the characters from another, and then the world from something else (I did actually directly link them to other books but I don't want to give away too many spoilers).

There were so many little things at the start that really annoyed me, but I'm just going to pretend that the first hundred pages didn't happen and move on from there.

The big twist was predictable because Aveyard tried so hard to make us think the opposite - and honestly it really annoyed me. It felt like one of those twists where the author is trying so hard to catch the reader off guard that the surprise comes out of nowhere and doesn't have much meanings as a twist anymore. However, the ending itself was really good in my opinion.

There were just a few strong characters that this book depended on, and there were a few holes in consistency, but ultimately they were enough to keep the book going. I did feel some of the lesser characters weren't judged fairly from what we'd witnessed (a lot of the 'villains' didn't actually act too badly, but they really are talked about as evil - it didn't quite add up).

I hated Mare at the start. She was a different twist on the typical YA heroine: she wasn't angry and reckless and stupid with a cause, she was just angry and stupid. But then she grew a backbone, and I'm still not completely sure about her. One second I was rolling my eyes and the next I was absolutely loving her, and then back to sighing at something she said.

I really really liked Maven. I think he was a really nice character and probably the one person who slowly developed throughout the whole story. It is ten the reason that I'm very very annoyed at his current position.

Cal was a good character, but he wasn't always consist. Having said that I did end up liking most of his various sides, but he felt morel like different people instead one person who was very conflicted.

Barring the beginning of this book, I think Red Queen was actually quite well paced. There was a good balance between action and dialogue, and events were well placed to allow the necessary development to reach the end (in most cases). Towards the end I was more and more inclined to keep going back to the book and by the end I had to just keep reading until it was over.

I don't know who I'd recommend this to. Ignoring my confusion about the earlier part of the book, I'd say the majority of YA readers: it's well-paced, exciting, and imaginative. It definitely treads well along the lines of familiarity in YA - decide yourself whether you think that's a good or bad thing. Some parts did annoy me, and I'm still irritated about the things I've pointed out in this review, but overall it was an enjoyable read and I think I probably will be carrying on with the series.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22369406-red-queen