After Reading: RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard #amreading #audiobook

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal. (Goodreads)

I've heard such awesome things about this book and have looked forward to reading it for ages. That hadn't managed to happen until I realized I was going to be in the car for utterly ages driving to my family reunion, which was the perfect excuse to listen to this. I really enjoy audiobooks, though I don't listen to them nearly enough, so this was a really fun treat for me. The narrator, Amanda Dolan, did a superb job with the voices and inflection of the tale, wrapping me up in the story almost more effectively than if I had been reading it myself. And what a story it was! All kinds of twists and turns and generally a fascinating world to begin with. I flat out loved the dichotomy between the reds and silvers, and in particular the way they reflect the tension in our world today. There were a few things that seemed to echo the Hunger Games in places, but that didn't bother me. And yes, there's several love triangles and competition for Mare (weird side note: my nickname has been Mer for most of my life, so it was quite odd to hear the MC referred to with basically my name--kind of amused me :), but I liked the way it was handled, and Mare's ability to express her own feelings. Overall I loved this and can't wait for the next book!

Have you had a chance to read this novel?