Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

     Last month I went to Barnes & Noble & bought some books, amongst them was Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I had heard a lot of great reviews for the book, about how great it was, but I never really heard much about what the plot was or really of the author's skills. So I didn't entirely know what to expect when I started this book. Let me give you a summary really quick.
     Mare Barrow is a Red slave. There is nothing extraordinary about her, besides being a fairly good pick=pocket. However a chance meeting with a supposed palace servant named Cal, a theft gone wrong, lands Mare a job working in the palace serving the Silver lords. During a display of super-human abilities, which all Silvers possess thanks to their silver blood, to win the heart of the Princes (Cal & Maven), Mare falls to her doom. But a fall that should have been lethal to an ordinary Red, doesn't even leave a scratch. In a panic trying to get away, Mare ends up creating electrical lightning, something NO Red should have the ability to do. Of course she is caught & brought before the King & Queen who tell her that if she wishes to remain alive after her "display" she will go along with the lie they have made up to explain the anomaly that is her. From this day forward she is to be Mareena Titanos, the daughter of a great lord & lady, who were killed years ago in the war. She was taken as a baby & raised to be a Red. She believed herself to be a Red until that very day when she found her powers. To keep herself & her family safe, Mare agrees to go along with this lie. But that isn't all. She is now given to the second Prince, Maven, to be his bride. Fighting to keep her family safe, harness her new found powers, & live among those that have walked all over her & her kind like they were nothing more than animals are the new struggles Mare must face. But what if she could change the master/servant quo? One girl alone might not be able to but a new force is rising in the kingdom, the Scarlet Guard. A rebellion that wishes to make Silvers & Reds equal. But at what cost? Mare must fight now, more than ever, to take care of those she loves & to stay alive in a beautiful game of cat & mouse. Along the way she finds that not all Silvers share the common belief that Reds are beneath them. She finds a Prince born to lead, but who isn't sure yet to want ends he wishes to lead his country. She finds a Prince in the shadows, who has a heart for the people but not the power to make a change. She finds friends & enemies around every corner. But who to trust? As the quotes go, "Words can lie." & "Anyone can betray anyone."
     I don't want to go into too much detail about this book because part of the magic of this book is wondering who is to be trusted & who isn't. It kept me on the edge of my seat. While I've heard a lot of people say that it isn't original, that they've heard this story before, it is the not knowing who is good & who is bad that made me love this book. It was almost like a who done it kind of read. The characters were great. You had characters that were great, but had faults that made them more realistic. I didn't even make it to the end before I went & ordered the sequel Glass Sword, which is coming out February 9th! Thank God I won't have a long wait! I would recommend this to any of my friends.

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