ARC Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen (Red Queen #1)
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publication: February 10th 2015 by Orion
Genre: YA Dystopia, Fantasy
Source: Provided by the kind publisher...
Goodreads

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

5/5 Oscars: LOVED it

     Mare is one of the Reds, she's used to the less-than-poor life she leads and she is ready to go along the same path as her brothers did before her. But that is before she receives some unexpected job and finds things about herself she never thought were possible. And with two guys and her conflicted feelings, Mare is getting much more than she bargained for.
     The world-building hooked me right from the start, with the author's vivid imagery and her heart-wrenching portrials, it's not a surprise that I fell in love with everything I read. I thought this would be some typical dystopia with an okay but not-quite-advanced background for the characters and the history. But this is not the case, Aveyard manages to mix dystopia and fantasy in a perfect blend of originality and familiarity.
     The plot never allowed for one dull moment, I had to stop everything I was doing in order to finish this in no more than 2 settings in ONE day. It was that exciting! The characters also account for my love for this book. Mare is one completely fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters with hopes and dreams just like the rest of us; furthermore, she just felt right for her age, which is something that many YA authors overlook, making their characters behave in a much older fashion that they are supposed to. Cal and Maven were quite interesting, with believable background stories; enough spunk and personality to hook me and make me like them.
     The romance played a secondary but crucial part of the plot. I loved that the author did not overdo the romance, she kept it to a minimum, but when it was there, it was quite intense and beautiful. By far, my favorite parts of this book were the ending chapters, they were a huge BANG and surprised the hell out of me. I am quite excited to read the second book in the series now! This is the sort of gem that just pops up out of nowhere, and if you are a fan of dystopia and suspense, this is the RIGHT book for you!