As with Court of the Vampire Queen, I won’t be including anything for the last chapter or the epilogue because that’s yours to read and find out about! This block of Red Queen was so quick and filled with betrayal, it left my mind reeling.
If you want to read the book and fill in the gaps, you can get the book here.
In case you also want to read the previous chapters, they can all be found here.
Cal might be born to rule, but Maven was meant for it. And Maven is willing to change the world for us, for the Reds he was raised to spit on.
If anything happens to Maven, Victoria Aveyard and I are going to have beef.
“Our people at the war front say it isn’t much different up there either. The fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds are being put into their own legion. They won’t survive for long.”
Sending literal children into a war is a different kind of torture especially if they are being put into their own units. These kids won’t know how to fight, they will all die where they are sent
“You want me to pin my entire operation, the entire revolution, on some teenaged love story? I can’t believe this.”
Love can make people do crazy things and I speak from experience. 18 or 31, age is irrelevant.
If we win in the morning, the sun will set on a new world. The king will throw down his crown, passing his power to me, Maven and Farley. The shift will be bloodless, a peaceful transition from one government to the next.
Nothing is that simple, there has never been and there never will be a peaceful transition. In real life or fiction, no one likes to let go of power and no one’s motivations are clear from the jump. We’ll see how this foreshadowing plays out, shall we?
I don’t recognize Cal’s voice anymore. I’ve turned him into a monster. I forced his hand. I made him choose. I was eager, I was stupid. I let myself hope. I am a fool.
Farley was right to be concerned about the plan. There was no way to know whether the relationship between Cal and Mare actually was strong enough. There was hope and it was foolish.
“You told me to find a cause, Father. And I did. Are you proud of me?”
I can feel the way that this was just spat at his father out of spite or hatred. Even given his privileged life, he always felt left to the side, the spare to the heir.
The truth doesn’t matter. It only matters what the people believe.
Julian always with the wise words, coming in to shatter life as Mare knows it. However, in the wise words of Wash from Firefly: Ah, curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal!
He looks even paler than before, though the dark circles under his eyes are gone. Murder helps him sleep.
I absolutely did not see this coming from this character. Victoria Aveyard and I now have beef.
“… One day your lies will strange you, King Maven. My only regret is that I won’t be alive to see it.”
And the foreshadowing comes back! I have to say, I did not see this coming at all, it was all incredibly sudden and I was left reeling as I read it. I stopped reading at this point, put it down for the night and picked it up again this morning hoping that I read wrong!
“I choose no one.”
This line from Mare is so perfect for her! She’s standing up for herself and fighting for her people, she doesn’t need to protection of either of these boys. Least of all the boy king.
Many things led to this day, for all of us. A forgotten son, a vengeful mother, a brother with a long shadow, a strange mutation. Together, they’ve written a tragedy.
This was a perfect storm that was never going to end peacefully or without a great cost. The cost has not been paid in full yet.
Conclusion
And just like that, Red Queen is now done! There was a lot of massive changes here that all happened really fast, but also left on a massive cliff hanger. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in this series, but for now, I will now be writing the final comments right after this and getting started on my very first ARC!
For now, if you want to read the book and fill in the gaps, you can get the book here.
Apologies for this one being late! My personal life kinda blew up yesterday, so I’m trying to manage that while also trying to maintain this regular posting schedule. Regardless, here is the next block of chapters of Red Queen!
If you would like to read the previous chapter reactions you can find them here.
If you would like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
This is a woman who invaded my thought, who took me away from my life, who I hate, and still there’s something good. She loves her son. And for all her faults, Maven loves her.
One thing I think a lot of people lose sight of, is that there is a different side to everyone that others don’t or can’t see. Especially in the face of negative emotions. Every person on this planet had someone who loved them and they certainly had their reasons why.
Never have I done anything so difficult as looking into the eyes of a dead man walking.
This experience will get beaten. In this book or the following ones, Mare will face something even harder than that.
I try to speak, but I can only think about the father I’m about to steal from such young children. In the back of my mind, I remember Kilorn crying after his father died. He was young too.
Jesus Christ, Victoria, that was one of the most heart-breaking sentences I have ever read.
In my perfect world, Maven won’t have to hide his heart and I won’t have to hide who I truly am. Cal will have no crown to wear, no throne to protect. These people will have no more walls to hide behind.
There’s a reason why this is only an idealistic fantasy. If you remove the throne, what do you replace it? How do you settle the power vacuum that will result? Do you form a different kind of government? How do you stop that from being corrupt? Do you flip the script and put the Reds in power? How do you prevent the Silvers from being forced into abject conditions?
Lucas holsters his gun, his voice a growl. “Killers don’t have to make sense.”
Killers don’t have to make sense and they rarely ever do
“Was there anything else, dear?” Coming from Elara, the term of endearment feels like an electric shock. She looks paler than ever, her breath coming in shallow pants. She’s afraid. “Anything you remember?”
First of all, the fact that anything feels like an electric shock is amusing considering that Mare can create electricity and lightning. Also, people are more likely to use whatever power they can when they are scared, I don’t know why Elara doesn’t use her power to dig through Mare’s mind to find out what she saw.
You are a lady. Act like it. Act for your life.
Finally it’s hitting her that if she doesn’t act like her life depends on it, she will lose it. Because her life DOES depend on it.
Walsh hugs me, taking me by surprise. “I don’t know how,” she mutters, “but I hope you become a queen one day. Imagine what you could do then? The Red queen.”
And here’s our first reference to the title of the book! I love that it was in a moment of tenderness too, rather than cruelty.
“What I need and what I want are two very different things.”
It’s difficult to think of a quote that is more accurate. I want so many things and I want a better life for me and my family, but what I need is to be able to put a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.
They’ve spent so long at the top, protected and isolated, that they’ve forgotten they can fall.
You know what they say about high horses, but I don’t know if that fits. More like, they made a mountain to rule from. Toss them off of it.
His kiss is not at all like his brother’s. Maven is more desperate, surprising himself as much as me. He knows I’m sinking fast, a stone dropping through the river. And he wants to drown with me.
THIS. This is what I need in a man. I don’t need someone to try and rescue me every time. I need someone who will see me, accept me and be with me, even if that means sinking with me
But I have to try. If only for Gray Town, for the ones who have never seen the sun.
Reading about Gray Town reminded me a LOT of the Stacks from Ready Player One, but I didn’t include it to keep the same kind of impact for someone who has never read it. It was hard to believe that there was people who had a life harder than Mare and Kilorn did, but there they were.
Not everyone is special. Lucas told me that once. I didn’t know he meant Silvers too.
Lucas doing nothing but spitting facts!
Strangely, Evangeline is not her usual cool self; I can see her hands shaking. She’s afraid. She wanted the spotlight, she wanted to be Cal’s bride, and yet she’s scared of it. How can that be?
Because up until now, you only saw Evangeline as a human weapon that was pointed right at you. She was groomed and pressured into this by her family not knowing what that meant. She has now had a very close call and knows that it is only going to get worse before it gets better. The only battle experience she likely knows is the training she has had all her life. Training is scripted and sparring is non-fatal.
For their lives, for their children’s lives, they will give up what little freedom they had left.
If you want to control a populace, you find a way to threaten the ones that they love and they will fall into line, no matter how much it hurts them.
Of course Julian would leave me another story, another collection of words to comfort me when he no longer can.
This is such a sweet, but impactful gesture when you read what is inside it. I’m sad that Julian has gone.
“You can stop this, Cal. You will be king, and you can stop this war, you can save thousands, millions, from generations of glorified slavery, if you say enough.”
It is far too easy to fall back onto tradition and what has been working when life gets uncertain or when life is threatened, even if it’s not the right thing to do. I am very much hoping that Cal changes his mind.
Conclusion
A LOT happened in these chapters! This was a good burst of action, panic and politics which is an excellent change from the subtle war of words. We only have one more block of chapters, final comments and then we are onto Shaedes of Power, but for now, we get to see the Red Queen rise into her power with any luck.
If you would like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
While I haven’t been doing this for long, I am excited to share that I have been chosen to review my first ARC! An ARC, or Advanced Reader Copy, is a copy of a book that is given to a select few to review before it is released to the wider public. So as you can imagine, it has me absolutely pumped to get started. I’m going to split the last 10 chapters of Red Queen into 2 more posts and then get cracking. Now, without further ado, let me introduce you to…
The beginning of a spicy, fae, enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy about one magic-wielding woman’s path to self-discovery in a series perfect for fans of LJ Andrews, Laura Thalassa, and Holly Black.
How many pieces of your soul can you give away… before you break
In a faerie hierarchy built upon one’s ability to produce specific, color-driven magic, Opal is an outcast, and on the cusp of giving up on her future at court.
While visiting the human realm, she witnesses a dark magic shadow beast attack a human—a beast which should have been forever imprisoned in the Shadowlands. Upon her return home to the faerie realm, she finds the Shaede Palace in chaos, the vampiric Dark Princes ready to start a war over old wounds and court prejudices, and a revolving door of impossible choices.
Join Opal on her path to self-discovery and a quest to save her realm, all while she navigates a passionate romance with the charming human she manages to save from the shadow beast, and the seductive Dark Prince who captures her and wants to show her a whole new world in the shadows.
It will take everything Opal has to find her way through the darkness, but with the help of her friends and the histories of her people, she might just discover spells that can change the world.
Shaedes of Power is the first in a new Romantasy series written for dark romance lovers who enjoy spice, complicated characters, epic world-building, and a unique magic system.
As soon as Laura Thalassa was mentioned, I was in! I’m really excited to read this and see what kind of a journey that Jenny Grimes takes us on. Now, I wouldn’t be able to do this without the help of The Nerd Fam who provided this ARC for me and I am very thankful that they’ve given me the chance to do something really special. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait long to get this book either because it’s being released in March 31st, so I’d better knuckle down and get started soon!
Finally we are starting to see a mix of intrigue and action which I’m glad to see. The politics in Red Queen is fascinating, but this is also in the face of revolution, something has to happen when we are interacted with the major players in the game. That being said, the politics has been well written in my opinion and building up the different layers and opinions has really set the scene for the world we’re immersing ourselves into.
If you’d like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
Cal’s mother. “No one seems to say anything about her. Not to me, anyways.” “People don’t like to talk about dead queens,” he snaps, turning away from me in a smooth motion. “But they talked when she was alive. Coriane Jacos, the Singer Queen.”
There isn’t much mention of Queen Coriane, both from the characters, which is unsurprising given this interaction, but also as a narrative standpoint. Not even as rumours throughout the Reds, so delving inter her history could be interesting
“I thought you wanted to change things, Julian.” “I do indeed. But these things take time, planning, and too much luck to count on.” He stares me up and down, like somehow he knows I’ve already taken the first step down a dark path. “I don’t want you getting in over your head.” Too late.
We’ve seen two different people talking about change now, both Cal and Julian and they both seem to think that change is too much effort. Or, if not too much effort, well out of their hands. I’d be excited to see if anyone else has a different opinion. Is this a little bit of foreshadowing? Maybe.
“His name was Thomas, and I watched him die. I could’ve saved him, but my guards held me back. His life wasn’t worth mine, they said.” Then the tears are gone, replaced by clenched fists and an iron will. “Cal calls this the balance, Silver over Red. He’s a good person, and he’ll be a just ruler, but he doesn’t think change is worth the cost,” he says. “I’m trying to tell you that I’m not the same as the rest of them. I think my life is worth yours, and I’ll give it gladly, if it means change.”
Would you look at that, I definitely didn’t foreshadow this, at all! I love the difference between the two princes, it’s been well illustrated. The crown prince, Cal, who doesn’t believe that change is worth the cost, but is willing to invent and make other changes to hopefully turn the tide in the war. Then there is the spare prince, Maven, who despite his privileged upbringing and terrifying mother, wants to pay the price that change will cost because he has seen what happens when he doesn’t. At this point, I’m favouring Maven. He may even be the Silver King to our Red Queen!
“Revolution needs a spark,” I murmur, repeating what Julian would say in our lessons. “And even sparks burn.”
This has the same feel to it that The Hunger Games had with it’s multiple quotes about revolution and rebellion. This is a good one!
Cal takes Maven’s place at my side, his movements quick and silent. “They won’t hurt each other,” he explains. “Arven stops us before anyone can do real damage, and there are healers on hand.” “Comforting,” I choke out
To think that the Silvers have such extraordinary powers and to not expect them to fight, or at least spar, with one another, is ignorant. They’re prideful and egotistical for the most part, of course they are going to want to fight each other.
She looks like a living statue, made of solid rock rather than flesh, but Cal’s stronger. His blows splinter her rocky skin, sending spider cracks through her body with every punch.
She’s stone! By this description, she looks like a living statue, not a bunch of rocks like Thing from the Fantastic Four. There is no punch that a burner should be able to land that would defeat solid stone and I find this to be kind of ridiculous. I get that Cal has been thoroughly trained, but he’s not a strongarm. He should not be able to do this.
“I challenge Mareena Titanos.” And with any luck, Mareena Titanos may be able to elbow you in the face like she wanted to earlier in the book!
Oliver answers for Cal, smiling much too wide for a boy going off to war. “Going?” he says. “Cal’s leading us! His own legion, all the way to the front.”
For all Cal’s bluster about not being willing to pay the cost of change, he’s already doing more than he had indicated that he would.
This world is Silver, but it is also gray. There is no black and white.
Nothing is ever black and white, not in fantasy and not in reality. Perspective plays a really big part in how you see someone and their allegiances
It’s our nature, Julian would say. We destroy. It’s the constant of our kind. No matter the color of blood, man will always fall.
Julian is wise. Pessimistic, but wise and he tells no lies here. Human kind will always be made to destroy itself in the pursuit of power.
Anyone can betray anyone.
Which includes you, not excludes, Mare. Maven could turn on you, Cal could turn on you… Even Kilorn could turn on you. But you can also turn on them.
Conclusion
Chapters 17 and 18 were thin of quotes because a lot happened that was spoilery and I didn’t want to ruin it for you! This block of chapters was highly quoteable though, especially in regards to revolution and rebellion. Only10 more chapters left and then Red Queen is done and I have exciting news about what is next… I’ll be reading my first ARC! For the uninitiated, an ARC is an Advanced Reader Copy which is a copy of the book before it is released to the public. I was lucky enough to get a hold of THREE of them. I’ll be reading Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes. So get excited for the next couple of days because I sure am!
If you’d like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
And if you’d like to read the previous reviews, you can find them here!
I’m now about halfway through Red Queen! Through this block of chapters, it seems that Mare is realising just how dangerous politics and intrigue can be. Even if it’s not directly with physical harm… yet. Her position in the court and with the nobility is precarious and she needs to find a way to navigate it. To save herself, her family and the rest of the Reds.
If you’d like to catch up on previous chapters, you can find them here!
Maven tightens his fingers in mine, willing me onward. “It’s almost over,” he whispers as we near the far end of the hall. “Almost there.”
I’m glad that, even in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, with people who very well may kill her if slighted, the princes seem to treat her kindly. Even though Maven was just as forced into this as she was, he is being kind.
The king shrugs. “Let them, Elara. The girls need a good night of sleep, and Sentinels would give any lady bad dreams.” He chuckles, tossing a playful nod at the guards.
This is unsettling to me. All we’ve seen of King Tiberias so far is a very cold and calculated mask, cruelty and sweet words when a crowd is near. Seeing him as being playful just doesn’t sit right.
“You know people, you understand them, you see through them.” “I did a great job of that last night. I definitely knew you were the crown prince the whole time.” I still can’t believe it was only last night. What a difference a day makes. “You knew I didn’t belong.”
I’d think it would be hard not to tell that he didn’t belong, to be honest. Cal has grown up in the palace. Regardless of whether or not he has been out of it, multiple times, he wasn’t born outside of it. You can acclimatize to an environment, but that would take months to years. We don’t know how long he has been doing this.
How can I explain this to him, if he doesn’t already know? How can I tell him I feel energy in the air like a pulse, like another part of me? Like another sense? Would he even understand?
These people are born with magic. It’s unlikely that there is much that they either wouldn’t understand or wouldn’t be willing to believe.
“Here’s to a long and happy friendship, Officer Samos.” “Likewise, my lady.” “Don’t call me that.” “Whatever you say, my lady.”
I like Lucas, he’s very professional, but cheeky within his job’s bounds. I hope he sticks with Mare, this could be a really good dynamic for the both of them.
Evangeline scoffs at me, brushing off the insult. “Only children take Protocol.” To my surprise, the queen takes my side. “Lady Mareena has grown up in terrible circumstances. She knows nothing of our ways, of the expectations she must fulfil now. Surely you understand her needs, Evangeline?”
Much like the king’s playfulness, this is unsettling. These royals are supposed to hate her and her people. But they are playful and they are willing to defend her? I can understand the political implications if they don’t in a crowd, but it’s just the three of them in this scene, why would it matter?
He takes my hand gently. The gold I felt on his skin before is gone, replaced with a delightful heat. Before I get a chance to pull away, he leaves me standing alone. Lucas gives me a moment to collect myself before noting, “You know, we’d get there much faster if you actually moved.” “Shut up Lucas.”
Lucas and I would be friends.
“Mare, when a Silver says ‘power’, they mean might, strength. ‘Ability,’ on the other hand, refers to all the silly little things we can do.”
If the distinction was worth noting, I think it’s worth highlighting here. I want to see how much this difference is mentioned because I doubt it will matter.
“Thinking all Silvers are evil is just as wrong as thinking all Reds are inferior.”
This is true for most demographics, I would think. But wise words regardless of the fantasy setting or the real world.
A few other ladies wear uniforms as well, but hers shines with the most medals and ribbons. The ugly scar down her freckled face says she might actually have earned them.
So, contrary to what Mare and the other Reds have thought, the Silvers do fight. I don’t imagine it’s many of them and I wonder where in the war they fight. I don’t think it’s the frontlines.
In a fair fight, Macanthos could probably tear Elara apart with her bare hands. But instead, Elara tore the colonel apart with nothing but words. And she’s not even finished. Julian’s words echo in my head – words can lie.
Macanthos may be a colonel, but Elara is a queen and while the queen has not seen physical battle, the court is her battlefield. And Macanthos just got struck with a bomb.
“Let me go.” The command is weak, almost a whisper. I gulp down air like I’m drowning. “Just give me a few minutes, please-“
At this point, it has been a few weeks and Mare is now starting to panic and freak out. The adrenaline would have worn off the same day she became a princess. Shock probably wouldn’t have and her survival instincts wouldn’t have either. It’s understandable as to why she is feeling this way now.
“You better hide that heart of yours, Lady Titanos. It won’t lead you anywhere you want to go.”
Harsh, but not necessarily untrue. Though I think it is more about outweighing the impulsiveness of the heart with the calculatedness of the head. The heart is implusive and the head makes you think before you do, a vital skill in this world.
“We’ve taken everything from her, brother,” Maven murmurs, drawing close. “Surely we can give her this?”
I really like it when I see the princes showing her kindness, not because it’s, well, kind, but because it’s so different to what she was expecting and different to what she has seen in people like the nymph and Queen Elara.
“A king should know his people. That’s why I sneak out,” he murmurs. “I do it in the capital too, and at the war front. I like to see how things really are in the kingdom, instead of being told by advisors and diplomats. That’s what a good king would do.”
That is what a good king would do, but not every king or leader is good and not every king or leader can see beyond their court or their power.
“Changing the world has costs, Mare”
For a girl that said she knew that everything comes at a cost earlier in the book, she has lost a little of that, I think. She’s lost a little of her history in the time she has been in the palace.
“Heard you caved and got a job,” Tramy teases, poking me in the ribs. Bree chuckles, ruffling my hair. “The army wouldn’t want her anyway, she’d rob her legion blind.” I shove him with a smile. “Seems the army doesn’t want you either. Discharged, eh?”
I’m glad that we get to see an exchange between Mare and 2 of her 3 brothers before she leaves for the capital. It makes her feel more human and multi-dimensional because, at the moment, she is wrapped in a whirlwind of intrigue. It’s hard to see anything other than her panic and transformation at the moment, let alone who she is at her core.
Kilorn’s frown deepens. “Are you one of them?” I’ve never heard so much anger, so much disgust, forced into a single sentence. It makes me feel like dying. “Are you?”
To Kilorn, the Silvers are other. He enjoys them during the staged fights, but really doesn’t seem to have much of an understanding or exposure to who or what they are at a personal level. It’s easy to hate something with such vitriol when all you know is that they keep you segregated. It can be hard to see that there are other sides to it all. He also has no idea that she is absolutely a Red, but has no way to reconcile that a Red can have power, just as the royal Silvers found it hard too.
Conclusion
It was good to see that Mare was able to get out of the palace with Cal’s help and to see her family because she has been away from them for a few weeks at this point and she knows she will be leaving for the capital soon too. Another good thing to see for the world and character formation was how intense the politics can be and how much it can actually affect the lives of those around Mare, not just her own. I’m looking forward to her becoming the Red Queen that the title promises
If you’d like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
Quite honestly, considering how jovial Victoria Aveyard is on social media, I was not expecting this level of intrigue and deception and to KNOW the weight of it with her words. There wasn’t much physical action in this block of chapters, there was a lot of politics, so there was a lot of foreshadowing and thinking ahead on my part. Personally, I like there to be a balance of action and intrigue and at the moment it’s heavily on the intrigue side which makes sense when you are setting up a story and a world. So here is more of my Red Queen chapter review
If you’d like to follow along or to fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
Chapter 7
Gone are the drab clothes he wore last night, used to blend in with the peasants like me. Now he looks every inch a future king, Silver to the bone. To think I trusted him.
In the world of Silvers vs Reds, at least he tried. I’m not saying that it’s the best way, but he got out amongst the peasantry and I like to think it’s because he knew that there was more that he wasn’t being told.
Suddenly, the platform lurches, moving sideways. I can’t help but jump, almost knocking into the servant next to me, as we slide along an unseen track. My heart rises in my throat as I watch the rest of the Spiral Garden spin. Lord Provos is a telky, moving the structure along prebuilt tracks with nothing but the power of his mind.
Even with tracks for these platforms to slide on, the Spiral Garden is a huge arena and this brings questions to me about the limits of the powers that Silvers have. Given that there hasn’t been much mention of or even exposure to limits and weaknesses this early in the story, it makes the ones who do show power, somewhat other in the sense that they don’t seem to be stoppable.
I want to marvel in awe as a creature-controlling animos calls down a thousand doves from the sky. When birds dive headfirst into the lightning shield, bursting in clouds of blood, feathers, and deadly electricity, my awe turns to disgust.
Another display of how deadly the Silvers are, similar to the nymph. This time, it is for sport and entertainment, vying for the role of future Queen. I’d be disgusted too.
Something moves beneath my skin, but it’s not the sparks. I look at my hands, my arms, marvelling at the lightning as it glides over me.
Well that was a shocking turn of events
Chapter 8
“I’d bow, but I might fall over,” I say to Queen Elara, and immediately I wish I could call back the words.
Well, that’s relatable! The amount of times I have said something without thinking because it was funny and immediately regretted it… If I had a dollar for every time, I’d be richer than Bezos!
“And in case you were wondering, the girl you nearly fried is a cousin.” I almost choke on the air in my lungs, not knowing how to respond. “I’m sorry.” It sounds like a question. “Be sorry you missed her,” he replies without a hint of jest. “Evangeline is a bitch.”
While Mare is choking on the air in her lungs, I’m over here choking on my coffee! I like this guy, Lucas!
“… All together you are poor rude, immoral, unintelligent, impoverished, bitter, stubborn, and a blight upon your village and my kingdom.”
I wonder if the king has a thesaurus tucked away somewhere because that was impressive!
“You don’t want to make me a lady, much less a princess.” Tiberias’s face cracks into a grim smile. Like the queen, his teeth are blindingly white. “Oh, but I do, my dear. For the first time in your rudimentary little life, you have a purpose.”
This was interesting because Mare did have a purpose before. She was going to be conscripted to fight his war and then she was a servant. She has always had a purpose. He is so far apart from the intricacies of his kingdom, he doesn’t see her as a person until now. Until she can better serve him, closer to the crown.
“I want my brothers brought home from the war.” For once, I feel like I’ve said something right. “And for my friend, Kilorn Warren. Don’t let the legions take him either.” Tiberias responds in half a heartbeat. A few Red soldiers mean nothing to him. “Done.” It sounds less like a pardon and more like a death sentence.
I’m glad that she had the mind to ask for something in return. It is all to easy to be swallowed up in hopelessness.
Chapter 9
Lady Mareena Titanos, born to Lady Nora Nolle Titanos and Lord Ethan Titanos, general of the Iron Legion. Heiress to House Titanos. Mareena Titanos. Titanos. My new name echoes in my head as the Red maids prepare me for the coming onslaught.
Imagine saying all of that 5 times fast! While it was both forced on her an necessary, it would be so strange to just be given a new name like that and expected to adopt a whole new persona at the drop of a hat.
“Don’t call me that.” The nickname stings more than the fake name I’m still getting used to. Little lightning girl. “That’s what your mother calls me.” He laughs bitterly. “She’s not my mother. She’s Maven’s, not mine.” Just by the set of his jaw, I know not to press the issue.
Would you look at that, there are cracks in the crown!
Chapter 10
I used to think there was only the divide, Silver and Red, rich and poor, kings and slaves. But there’s much more in between, things I don’t understand, and I’m right there in the middle of it.
Welcome to the wonderful world of political intrigue! Where you won’t get killed straight out, they will try to kill you with their nice words and a knife at your back.
To look powerful is to be powerful.
That is so painfully accurate. People stay in power because they’re either smart or they are intimidating. God help you if they’re both.
“Mareena was a diamond in the rough, working on my own palace, the daughter of my late friend under my nose. But no more. To atone for my ignorance, and to repay her father and her house for their great contributions to the kingdom, I would like to take this moment to announce the joining of House Calore and the resurrected House Titanos.”
Like I said, nice words with a knife at your back! Let’s just ignore the fact that he was threatening her just a couple minutes ago, his words are pretty.
If there was ever a person begging for an elbow to the face, it is Evangeline Samos.
When that happens, I just hope I have popcorn nearby! I’m sure Lucas would be having a ball with that too
They’ve pulled me inside out, swapping Mare for Mareena, a thief for a crown, rags for silk, Red for Silver. This morning I was a servant, tonight I’m a princess. How much more will change? What else will I lose?
Very likely everything unless you can find your way through the intrigue and play it better.
Conclusion
I did say that this one was full of intrigue! I’m loving the webs that Victoria is weaving, though I do have some pacing issues here. While I like that it’s a whirlwind for her, I’m not sure how Mare is expected to adopt a whole new persona so fast to be convincing enough for an entire court of people who have been doing this their entire lives. She’s in a lion’s den with no weapon to defend herself and expected to win. I love an underdog as much as the next person, but even that feels like a lot. Regardless, I hope you have enjoyed another of my Red Queen chapter reviews!
If you’d like to follow along or to fill in the gaps, you can get the book here!
I really liked the start of the book and I’m hoping that it carries more of the imagery in it because that is well done and highly descriptive. These chapters have little snippets of humour which I loved too, though they were unintentional in context. So far, I’m thoroughly enjoying this and I can’t wait to read more!
“No. We’ll find a way.” Even now, he finds the strength to smirk at me. “We?” The heat in my cheeks surges faster than any flame. “I’m doomed for conscription, same as you, but they’re not going to get me either, so we run.”
Hope in the face of desperation is either brave or foolish and I guess we’re going to find out which one it is!
Farley blinks at me, her expression unchanging. “Safety has a price, girl.” “Everything has a price, girl,” I fire back, matching her tone. “No one knows that more than me.”
Okay so maybe the hope is a little more realistic. She knows that there is a price that must be paid for what she wants and she knows damn well that it’ll be steep.
All over the square, every type of Silver goes about their extraordinary lives. There are so many, each one grand and wonderful and powerful and so far removed from the world I know. “This is how the other half lives,” Gisa murmurs, sensing my awe. “It’s enough to make you sick.”
This is the first look we get at the other side of the segregation between the Silvers and the Red and even though Mare know that there would be a big difference between it, she’s still struck and I think anyone in the same situation would be. Gisa is here frequently, so she’s disillusioned and cynical, but in all fairness, she has so much weight on her shoulder for a 14 year old, I think anyone in her position would be too.
Chapter 4
A Silver next to me clenches his fist and pounds on the bar, sending spider cracks through the solid rock top. A strongarm. “It’s the Lakelanders! They’re losing up north, so they’re coming down south to scare us!” A few jeer with him, cursing the Lakelands.
I found this to be interesting because he wouldn’t have had such a strong reaction if he wasn’t scared and keeping in mind that fear does often show up as anger and aggression, this makes sense. It’s also interesting because the Silvers aren’t even expected to fight, they’re completely separate from it and yet they are still scared.
The nymph raises a hand and the water rises up, splashing him again. Silvers surround the scene, jeering with glee, cheering him on. The Red sputters and gasps, trying to catch his breath. He proclaims his innocence with every spare second, but the water keeps coming. The nymph, wide-eyed with hate, shows no signs of stopping. He pulls water from the fountains, from every glass, raining it down again and again. The nymph is drowning him.
This is the first time that a Silver has seemed to dangerous. The fight at the start was deadly, but it’s easy to become detached from an event like that when it only happens every now and then and it’s controlled. This was primal hate and fear and it reminds the reader that the Silvers aren’t just the elite and some ethereal beings, but they are not to be crossed.
I can only watch as the officer lays my sister next to me. Her eyes are on mine as he brings the butt of his gun down, shattering the bones in her sewing hand.
Keeping in mind that this is also saying goodbye to the potential that Gisa had for herself and for her family to live a better life. This is devastating.
Chapter 5
“Thief,” he says, a strange surprise in his voice. I blink at him, fighting the urge to laugh. I don’t even have the strength to protest. “Obviously.”
I laughed at this
What I’ve done to my family. What I’ve been doing, disappointing my mother, embarrassing my father, stealing from the people I call my community. Here on the road with nothing but darkness around me, I tell a stranger how terrible I am. He doesn’t ask questions, even when I don’t make sense. He just listens.
Sometimes talking to and offloading to a stranger who you may not meet ever again, is easier than confiding in those you know and who know the players in your life.
Chapter 6
“C’mon Gee,” I mutter, helping her out of her cot and down the ladder. She moves precariously, leaning on her good arm, and Mom waits for us on the floor. Her arms close around Gisa, but her eyes are on me. To my surprise, she doesn’t look angry or even disappointed with me. Instead, her gaze is soft.
I’ll be honest, even as a mother myself, I think showing this kind of a reaction that had such awful consequences would be difficult so soon after it had happened. I don’t think that that is a failing, but it would be difficult to immediately let go of the pain that that would cause.
Walsh. The name sounds familiar. Paired with her faded hair and tanned skin, it can mean only one thing. “You’re from…?” “The Stilts, same as you. I knew your brother Tramy, and I wish I didn’t know Bree. A real heartbreaker, that one.”
Hearing someone else’s opinions of your family is always a weird experience
Walsh stays by me, whispering advice. “Say nothing. Hear nothing. Speak to no one, for they will not speak to you.”
Even in a palace, may especially because they are in a palace, the segregation is extremely clear.
Instead of stealing from these people, I mean to serve them. The Mare Barrow of last week wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this version of herself. ‘But she was a foolish girl, and now, I pay the price.’
As she said earlier, everything has a price regardless of whether you know what that is before it comes due or not and this was the price she paid for her desperate hope.
Once, our kings used to burn dissenters with nothing more than a flaming touch. This king might not burn Reds anymore, but he still kills them with war and ruin.
If you’re going to keep an entire population under control and still serve your own power and ambition, like it or not, this is the best way to do it.
Conclusion
A LOT happened in this block of chapters and it’s starting a change from brazen and somewhat care-free living, even though it was stressful, to intrigue and imminent danger. There is a lot that is happening in very quick succession and I’m curious to know if that will be for the benefit or the story or to it’s detriment.
If you’d like to follow along or fill in the gaps, you can get the book here.
Now that I am done with Court of the Vampire Queen, it’s time to start a new adventure and I’m finding it in Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I’ve been seeing her all over my TikTok feed and when I spotted the book in my local bookshop, I figured, why not use that as my next one. So without further ado, here is the first 2 chapters of Red Queen and it’s only two because there was so much I loved about these and the imagery Victoria paints.
The market deflates, with everyone closing up their stalls for the day. The merchants are distracted, careless, and it’s easy for me to take whatever I want from their wares. By the time I’m done, my pockets bulge with trinkets and I’ve got an apple for the road. Not bad for a few minutes’ work.
Starting out strong with an Aladdin like character, which I love. The way it’s written is highly engaging to me.
Kilorn Warren. A fisherman’s apprentice, a war orphan, and probably my only real friend. We used to beat each other up as children, but now that we’re older – and he’s a foot taller than me – I try to avoid scuffles. He has his uses, I suppose. Reaching high shelves, for example.
Am I sensing a friends to lovers sub-plot here?
“Tsk tsk, Mare,” he teases, shaking a finger at me. “This is supposed to be fun.” “It’s supposed to be a warning, you dumb fool.”
A quick, but subtle reminder that, despite the ensuing ‘entertainment’, Mare knows that their place in the world is a treacherous one, but I am glad that Kilorn brings a sense of joy even in a bad circumstance.
The only thing that serves to distinguish us, outwardly at least, is that Silvers stand tall. Our backs are bent by work and unanswered hope and the inevitable disappointment with our lot in life
A very clear divide between the classes and between the powered and the powerless before powers are even mentioned. Honestly, it’s not that different out in the real world where no one has powers, but you can tell the people who haven’t had to work hard.
Many Reds gamble their earnings on the fights, hoping to win a little something to help them get through another week. But not me, not even with Kilorn. It’s easier to cut the bookie’s purse than try to win money from it.
I think most people, myself included, can resonate with this. It might not always be the wisest move, but sometimes a frivolous chance at something big is worth it even it just for morale. She is right though, it’s easier to steal money than it is to try and win it.
Next to me, Kilorn cheers and the other villagers roar with him. A Security officer throws a loaf of bread at the louder ones for their trouble. To my left, another hands a screaming child a bright yellow piece of paper. ‘Lec papers – extra electricity rations. All of it to make us cheer, to make us scream, to force us to watch, even if we don’t want to.
No one should be forced to do something that they don’t want to, but this is hardly even harmful. They are given the directive to be loud and excited for the sake of the Silvers and sometimes it will provide a benefit. It is kind of like gambling because there is no guarantee that you will get the load of bread or the extra rations, but there is also nothing lost by trying.
This is the true division between Silvers and Reds: the color of our blood. This simple difference somehow makes them stronger, smarter, better than us.
I think I’m almost surprised it’s not the other way around. The only reason it wouldn’t be is because the Silvers have powers. If they didn’t, the Reds would likely be the ones in power and would find a use for the Silver blood. It’s not fun to imagine, but it is always one or the other in worlds and hierarchies like this. Equality would be nice, but at this point in the story, it is utterly unrealistic.
In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in the sky, ruling the earth with kind and loving hands. Some say those are just stories, but I don’t believe that. The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.
Oh I love this. It highlights what they are taught and likely believed in childish innocence and then that last line being the last line of the chapter, it’s highly impactful.
Chapter 2
Our house is small, even by Stilts standards, but at least we have a view. Before his injury, during one of his army leaves, Dad built the house high so we could see across the river. Even through the haze of summer you can see the cleared pockets of land that were once forest, now logged into oblivion. They look like disease, but to the north and west, the untouched hills are a calm reminder. There is so much more out there. Beyond us, beyond the Silvers, beyond everything I know.
Something tells me that this kind of comparison imagery is going to be very common in this book and I’m glad, it’s done well.
Gisa is going to save us one day, with nothing more than needle and thread.
I like that Mare is able to appreciate the effort and value of her little sister and her talents rather than placing all the value on her three brothers who are all fighting in the war. Neither is better or worse than the other, but Gisa won’t have to leave to provide and work.
“I don’t want cake,” he grumbles. I don’t miss his glance toward his growing belly. “Well, tell me what you do want, Dad. I new watch or-“ “Mare, I do not consider something you stole off someone’s wrist to be new.”
While he does have a point in that it wouldn’t be new, the least he could do was appreciate that she was trying to make an effort for his birthday.
He’s been crying. Kilorn does not cry. His knuckles are bleeding too, and I bet there’s a wall hurting just as hard somewhere nearby. In spite of myself, in spite of the late hour, I can’t help but feel concerned, even scared for him.
First of all, I like that a male character is showing weakness, distress and fear. Not because I want men to feel that way, but because it’s rare to be shown. It’s also a really stark change from the happy-go-lucky man we met in the first chapter.
Conclusion
While I’ve read the first 4 chapters, there was just so much jammed into the first two that I had to cut this post short for risk of writing my own novel! This book has been captivating from the jump and I am very excited to see where it goes next.
Let me start by saying that I LOVE Katee Roberts’ books. I’m a big fan of the Neon Gods series and follow her on her social platform that I’m on. That being said, I struggled with Court of the Vampire Queen greatly. The introduction of Wolf and Rylan made the story a little more complex. However, without substantial character growth, there just wasn’t much to it. I was also irritated by Mina’s lack of a backbone. This is a woman who had come from a compound run by her father and filled with other vampires and dhampirs. She should have had more bite to her. Instead, she was resigned and let everyone else fight for her and that just didn’t sit particularly well with me.
The twist of finding out whatever else Mina was mixed with was interesting, but no unexpected honestly. The abilities had promise, but without actual exploration, it fell a bit flat. I think that she could have and should have explored her power a lot more. Instead she fell into a victim mentality for a lot of this book, especially in Act 3. On the mention of Act 3, it really pulled me out of the story. This made it really hard for me to finish the book. It felt like it wasn’t supposed to be a part of the book, but rather the start of a second book. The pace, the adding of asterism, the honest lack of anything happening for a good chunk of it and Mina feeling sorry for herself… I just couldn’t do it.
Lore/background history: 3/5
If you like vampire romance and you want to focus more on the interpersonal relationships than the overarching story, this could be a good fit. If you love smut more than story, this is an even better fit. I found that Malachi was trying to be the overprotective, but loving partner, but he ended up being overly controlling of everyone. This was not just Mina and you see many moments where that is very much the case. Wolf was bordering on a background character and wasn’t nearly as chaotic as he was supposed to be from what I was getting from the story anyway.
Rylan 10/5
Rylan, I found, was the partner that Malachi was trying to be and did a much better job at it. There were moments when he would calmly reassure Mina rather than tell her that what she wanted to do was out of the question, therefore shutting it down. It probably helped that he looked impeccable and who doesn’t love a man that wants to cook for them? Which, also on that note, Rylan only showed an interest in cooking BECAUSE of Mina, because she needed to eat. He hadn’t seen much value in it before because it hadn’t mattered, but someone that he loved, did. It also irritated me that the men often seemed to make choices for her. Even when she wasn’t in the conversation.
Let me start by saying that I LOVE Katee Roberts’ books. I’m a big fan of the Neon Gods series and follow her on her social platform that I’m on. That being said, this book is one I struggled with. The introduction of Wolf and Rylan made the story a little more complex, but without substantial character growth, there just wasn’t much to it. I was also irritated by Mina’s lack of a backbone. I thought that a woman who had come from – and by all accounts, fought against it every step of the way – a compound run by her father and filled with other vampires and dhampirs, she would have had more bite to her. Instead, she was resigned and let everyone else fight for her and that just didn’t sit particularly well with me.
The twist of finding out whatever else Mina was mixed with was interesting, but no unexpected honestly. The abilities had promise, but without actual exploration, it fell a bit flat. I think that she could have and should have explored her power a lot more and instead fell into a victim mentality for a lot of this book, especially in Act 3. On the mention of Act 3, it really pulled me out of the story, making it really hard for me to finish the book. It felt like it wasn’t supposed to be a part of the book, but rather the start of a second book. The pace, the adding of asterism, the honest lack of anything happening for a good chunk of it and Mina feeling sorry for herself… I just couldn’t do it.
Bookish Mumma 