‘Anyone can betray anyone’ — A story of a girl learning about her powers, fighting to achieve equality for the Reds, only to fail when she comes short of understanding her own mantra.

Disclaimer! I’m not really one to make excellent book reviews. In fact, this is my first time. I will only share my opinions of the book, cleanly divided into 2 different sections:  WHAT I LIKE and WHAT I DISLIKE.

Let’s get to it. What about Red Queen? 

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.

WHAT I LIKE:

The fight for equality: I’m all for putting an end to the ruling of Silvers over numerous, powerless Reds, who have been stripped of freedom all their lives. It’s like the classic plot of Coup d’état (c/o Scarlet Guard) in order to “achieve” balance, equality, and peace in the land that’s known only years of war. The Reds are always being looked down upon, the cost of war only sacrificing their blood, and not of the noble ones. On the other hand, the Silvers enjoy a life of luxury, power, and strength, ignorant of the sufferings the Reds are being put through. (Quick note: The story is set in a world where caste is determined by the blood color. Obviously, the Silvers are above in the hierarchy, and the Reds under. The Silvers possess a unique “ability,” or superpower; and each house of the Silvers have different abilities.) This is like a cuter version of Game of Thrones, but instead of seven kingdoms battling it out just to sit on the Iron Throne, this hits closer to home.

Mare Barrow: As lame as her name sounds, I find her character pretty likable, to be honest. She’s an ordinary Red (a thief who became a servant) until she finds out about her very unique power that catapults her  to royalty. She’s not exactly smart, nor is she too dim witted. She’s the type to make quick, thoughtless decisions, and if you read the book, you’ll see how she will pay the price for that. You’ll see that she actually has no idea about what the best thing to do is. She joins a military Red uprising, she agrees with the plans she hadn’t actually thought about, she trusts anyone (despite being told that anyone can betray anyone), and she has no definite control of her powers (despite being different or stronger than both). I was actually looking forward to her being the Champion of both Silvers and Reds, wherein she could start something revolutionary, but unfortunately, nothing significant happened in the book.

Family drama: In the end, it all boils down to the shadow controlling the flame. Maven was too frustrated of being his brother Cal’s shadow. He was always 2nd best in everything, and he can’t seem to beat Cal in the eyes of his father, and of many. Maven’s betrayal shocked me, mostly because I was foolish and gullible like Mare lol. But really, I thought that Maven only mirrored Mare (who also experienced her sister being favored over her). Turns out, his desire for vengeance was too strong. And it’s a mix of his ambition to become a king (because Cal was the crown prince), inconspicuous hatred for his father, and his pride of whose better: him or Cal.

Love triangle: Most of the YA books right now jump straight to romance at the second chapter. But not this one. Red Queen only gives you some cute mushy scenes that are enough to make you remember that the two characters (Mare and Maven, or Mare and Cal) have a developing romantic relationship, but still not enough for readers to confirm that the feelings run deep. Just a quick FYI, Mare is betrothed to Maven, but she fights her feelings for Cal. Tbh, I was starting to root for Mare and Maven when they were planning movements for the Scarlet Guard, so it saddened me finding out Maven had to be an antagonist. Poor Cal.

 

WHAT I DISLIKE:

Backstory and Character Development: Not much of that in here. No history of how the Reds and Silvers came to be (at least an in-depth one), how the Houses were formed, the cause of the supernatural abilities of the Silvers (not just because of silver blood), and etc. Some of the characters are pretty shallow (ex. Evangeline, Tirana, Sara, Farley, Kilorn etc.), and you don’t see much of their development. You have the typical antagonist which is the second wife/ Queen, the once weak sibling turning the tide to seek vengeance, and a princess who sweeps the two princes off their feet .

Scarlet Guard: I like how there is an Uprising to overthrow the Silvers. But the Scarlet Guard seems disorganized, and their Intel is pretty weak. I also can’t seem to remember much about their “planned” attacks except for the major one during the ball. And sure, if a Silver joins your rebellion to overthrow the Silvers, would you really entertain it?? Maven only gave a few, dramatic (almost heartfelt) reasons as to why he wanted to become a part of the group, and they trusted him right away. Seriously? Shoutout to Farley! Scarlet Guard seems pretty blinded by their cause, to the point that they only care about succeeding, and not if their members are legit. Ever heard of the 48 Laws of Power? Law #12 states “Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim,” which means that even one sincere and honest move can cover your dishonest ones, and even your true intentions. That’s why they got played and disarmed by Maven. I’ll just remind you of the Trojan Horse.

Love story: I like and dislike the love story there simply because I’m a sucker for romantic scenes. I wanted more of Mare and Cal/ Mare and Maven. But the thing with Red Queen is that it only teases you for a short while, then it’ll move on to the next scene of the Silvers and the Scarlet Guard. Even the ending doesn’t give you the satisfaction of Mare and Cal being together. That’s sad.

Rating: 3/5 I like the book and I find it pretty nice. That’s it.

Here’s my book review for the next book in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword.

Plus my book review for King’s Cage!