Title: Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

Publisher: Harper Teen

Published: February 10, 2015

Read as: US hardcover, owned

Average Goodreads rating: 4.07

My rating: 4

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)

I told you to hide your heart once. You should have listened.

~*~I am going to tell you all right now that I am not going to withhold spoilers in this review. It is also garbage so run while you can. You have been warned.~*~

I have fallen in love with this utter piece of magnificent trash fire. It is everything I theoretically say I hate in a book but I just loved it. I can’t help it. I just followed my heart. And, let me tell you, my heart was just as wandering as Mare’s.

SPEAKING OF MARE. Oh, my precious flower, I both adore you and want to beat you to a bloody pulp. How DARE you have such a wandering a fickle heart when we both know that Cal is the shit? You knew better! Maven had ALL OF THE BAD VIBES. All of them. And you just walked into that when it was obvious he was using you? I know, I know. She is supposed to be a teenaged girl. Mistakes are made, but DAMN!

Oh, yeah, there was a plot outside of that wacky love triangle/rhombus mojo that was going on. And, you know, it was one I could get on board with. Overthrow the monarchy, stop the war, save the world. Yup, lets do that. Oh, and most of the major players have really awesome magical powers? Sold! Our dear, sweet, simple little Mare could control lightening. You know, if I could control lightening I would not have been nearly as restrained as she was. I would have been lighting up everything. Someone irritate me? Lightening to the bum. Someone take the last slice of cheesecake? Lightening to the skull. Someone give me that no good side eye? Yup, you guessed it. Light. Them. Up.

Probably a good thing I can’t control lightening.

Lets face it, the middle of this book was a little tough to get through, as much as I loved this ridiculous romantic rhombus. It crept along at a snails pace when all I was waiting for was for Mare to come to her senses and start using her cracklecracklepow powers for good. Instead, we suffered through chapter after chapter of some girl on girl hate and the essential, if predictable, wizened old mentor.

Now, I’m all in for murder stabby stabs in books. In fact, I love it. But don’t hurt kids. Come on. It is not that hard. Kids and animals are off limits. Yeah, yeah, the deaths served a purpose in plot progression but man did they upset me. I was not there for that. Actually closed the book and walked away for a while.

All in all, I loved this book even if the middle did get a little draggy. I’m rooting for Cal as I open Glass Sword and hope that Mare grows as a character and learns from her past mistakes.

In the meantime, I leave you with this trashfire review as I am already reaching for the next book so that I can once more get devoured by all of this utter nonsense. The thing is, I can acknowledge it is nonsense and still love it. I’m good with that. Cliches are cliches because they work and they sure dug their nails into me good and proper with this book.

What is a book that you know logically is utter garbage but you love it anyway?