Literally Lenny: red queen

What's it about?

"Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul." - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts:

Now overall, I wouldn't say that this book was a dissapointment as a stand alone, but as the sequel to the series, It did not live up to the first book that I adored so much. It wasn't as gripping and heartbreaking as the first one was. I think the best way to describe it (in hopes that the next will be better) it was just a bridge between Red Queen and Kings Cage. I don't feel like any major developments occured, and if anything Mare became weaker and more selfish. I do have high hopes for Kings Cage though. Because I believe that this can be redeemed quite easily.

I still love the world they are in and the plot that is unfolded, but the characters in this book just did not evolve as I would have liked them to. And in a lot of novels, the characters make the story.

But, despite all of this being said, I will not hold this against the Red Queen series. I know that the first book was phenomenal, and the second book was in no way bad...it just did not live up to my expectations.

And if anything, it just made me crave Kings Cage more and more.

Overall, I give Glass Sword 3 stars.

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What's it about?

"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. " - Goodreads Synopsis

My Thoughts:

I've been meaning to read this book for over a year now, and i'm slightly punching myself for not having started this sooner. I think I was afraid of it being awful, despite the amazing reviews. I read that it's literally a cross between The Selection and The Hunger Games...which...although I loved both of those, I wasn't too crazy about them being molded together. So I steered clear for a while.

But let me tell you. While Red Queen is exactly that, it's also nothing like it. Yes, there's the fact that she is poor and 100% supports her family (Hunger Games). And then theres the fact that they're separated into different 'districts' and are being oppressed by the government (Hunger Games). And THEN she suddenly becomes a princess (The Selection) who falls in love with the prince who is "no good for her" (The Selection). And then has to fight against the government by herself pretty much and save the whole freaking world. Basically. (Hunger Games AND The Selection).

So. There's that. But. Just hear me out. While there are all these similarities, there's so much that just holds it completely separate from the others. It's fantastic because it takes everything that we love about the YA genre, and turned it into one single book. It brought princesses together with badass butt-kicking oppressed teenagers.

It was hard to follow at some points, i'm not going to lie. There was too much going on in the end for me to really get who exactly was the bad person. But hey, who doesn't like a good plot twist?

I think the one thing that really bothered me though, is that something dramatic happens in the beginning, and I could literally predict the outcome of that event from 300 pages away. It was too predictable and kinda annoyed me that the author thought we would even buy into that. And that the main character just took it as it was without wanting proof. But. It is what it is. Small minor problem.

But. Just to prove to you how much I enjoyed this book, as soon as I finished it I started the second book Glass Sword. And when I read series, I can never marathon them because I need something different. But with Red Queen...I couldn't just stop. I wanted so much more.

Overall, I gave the book 4 very red stars.

8:55 PM No comments