Bookish Mumma

I am sitting back in my desk chair currently, at a loss of where to start. The ending of Red Queen was fast. I didn’t really have time to think and process what was happening as it was happening. Surely that is the sign of something great, but here is my final comments.

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The majority of the book involved weaving webs of political intrigue and power. It was done so well that I didn’t suspect the twist, which this was by design. I found myself following Mare and hoping that she would find her feet and lead her way to victory. I was frustrated when others in the story would trip her up. Even more so when they took her – and me – by surprise. I did find that there was some pacing issues, sometimes jumping weeks ahead of time; sometimes having a single day stretch across a couple chapters. It was necessary because not every day is eventful, but I found that it became hard to follow the timing of the book and when events were happening. This was particularly important with relationship development between Mare, Cal and Maven. Suddenly there was tension and I couldn’t understand where it came from.

I found that the characters were well created and multi-faceted. Especially within those who were first introduced to be negative. I think having Julian in the story to bring the different sides to these characters to the forefront. At first, the playfulness of the king and the glimpses of care from the queen, were so out of place and strange. But when I started thinking about it with the prompting of Julian, the more I remembered that not everyone is as evil and cruel as you may think them to be at first. They may even have moments where that side of them is overwhelming, but no one is only ever negative. There are people who love and protect them. There are parts to them that are worthy of love, even if you can’t see it.

Characters: 4/5

Mare was an interesting character. If sometimes frustrating in that she was born to a difficult life where she knew that she was going to end up in the military one way or another. She was pulled out of abject poverty and into a life of privilege and face smiles. Through all of it, she remained hopeful, though it was foolish and idealistic. She was hopeful when she shouldn’t have been and that was admirable. Her idealistic plans were what ultimately led her to be in the most danger and not just once. Granted, she is only 17 and still just a child herself, but I would have thought that her background and where she grew up would have dulled that to a degree and made her smarter.

Cal was a confusing character to me. At the outset, he was someone who wanted to get into the kingdom to understand who he would be ruling over. But he slowly became unwilling to make any kinds of changes in his leadership to bring the Reds to any semblance of equality. Then he was in love with Mare and then he was against her and only wanting to follow rules and tradition. There was little no no explanation as to why or how that change happened either. We also didn’t get to experience much with him. It is hard to examine him as a character because of that.

Maven was by far the most unexpected of all three. For a prince to a cruel queen and a steadfast king. He should have been cold and cruel from the start. But he was kind and the chemistry between him and Mare felt natural. I wanted them to take on the world and succeed in any and every goal that they had. The twist and betrayal came so out of left field. That is the power of a talented storyteller. It took me by surprise and I was wondering if I missed something. I am angry and sad for Mare when she found out just how much she had played into a plan that was set from her from the start and Maven’s part in all of it.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable book to read. I would absolutely encourage anyone to read it who love seeing the power of intrigue. Not just straight up fighting against anyone and everyone. It was full of twists and turns that reeled me in and broke my heart.

rating: 4/5

To read the book for yourself, you can get the book here.

To read the chapter by chapter reactions, you can find them here.