Series Review: Red Queen Series
Reviews by: Jessie
Book 1 
Book 2 
Book 3 
Book 4
Red Queen (#1) by: Victoria Aveyard
A country divided. On one side are the Reds, common everyday people. On the other side are the Silvers, people with superhero-like powers. Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from a poverty-stricken area, discovers that although she is Red she can control electricity. To disguise her from the populace, the Silver royals hide her as a Silver princess and betroth her to a prince. From inside the palace, she helps a Red militia to overthrow an unjust government, but anyone can betray anyone.
One part 1984, one part Hunger Games, one part X-Men, One part Game of Thrones, and one part Divergent. I didn’t dislike this book; I rather enjoyed it. I just found it predictable and very similar to many other books in the same genre. It could have been more immersive and had more in-depth detail into the future world the characters live in. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
Read the ebook on Overdrive or listen to the audiobook on Hoopla.
Glass Sword (#2)
Mare Barrow is back in the second book of the Red Queen series. Now on the run from the vindictive king Maven, she is on the hunt for other Reds with powers like hers. While recruiting, Mare struggles with not becoming the thing she is fighting against.
Again, I DID enjoy this book, but it’s like so many other books in the Young Adult genre these days. I didn’t find it as predictable as the first one, and the ending was a big twist. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 and look forward to reading the next two in the series.
Read the ebook on Overdrive or listen to the audiobook on Hoopla.
King’s Cage (#3)
In the third book of the Red Queen Series, we not only get Mare’s point-of-view but also Cameron and Evangeline. Mare is a prisoner in the boy king’s palace, ever under the influence of silent stone. While Mare is paraded in front of royals for their amusement, her new blood friends continue training and organizing in preparation for war. Cal, ever in love with her, will stop at nothing to see her safe return. Will Mare and the Kingdom of Norta survive this epic battle?
This is my least favorite book of the series so far. It was very wordy, and there was a lot more politics involved. I feel like Mare spends most of the series whining about how hard she has it being imprisoned in a lavish castle setting. I’m not sure the increased points-of-view lend anything to the story. Cameron was a minor character and is promoted to a full POV? I’m hoping the final book is much better, but I’m not holding my breath.
Read the ebook on Overdrive or listen to the audiobook on Hoopla.
War Storm (#4)
In the final installment of the Red Queen series, victory comes at a price. But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Will Norta be overthrown? Will the Reds restore power?
I’m not sure War Storm was the best name for this book. It was a little more Spring Shower to me. The whole series has been overly long and wordy. I said it was forgettable after the first book, and I still feel that way after the last one. Now that I have finished the whole series, my only thought is that I am now free to read something else. I gave it 2.5 stars.
Read the ebook on Overdrive or listen to the audiobook on Hoopla.
