Review: RED QUEEN

RED QUEEN
by Victoria Aveyard

Pages: 383
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: February 10th 2015  
ISBN: 9781409151173
Received From:  Orion


Summary 

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of

those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

Review

"From now until the end of your days, you must lie. Your life depends on it, little lightening girl." 

There is a reason everyone has been going crazy for this book! It’s a beautifully written, gripping hold of your attention from the first chapter and not let it go until you’re picking your jaw up off the floor as you turn the last page. It’s the perfect read for lovers of Divergent and The Hunger Games and it’s jam packed with plot twists that will make your head spin.

The overall concept of this book was fascinating to me. In a way it’s got a strong connect to the power struggle white and black people have had through history but with this it’s the insides that are different.  The half of the population with red blood are seen as less because of this and the Silver’s as the superior race because their silver blood gives them superhuman abilities. The whole book shows the struggle for equality in a way only a YA novel could. But is this world too far gone for change? Can the characters put their own desires to one side to help give Red’s a better way of life? Well you’re just going to have to read to find out aren’t you?

As well as the concept the characters in this book are so well crafted it’s hard not to fall in love with it. Mare, our strong female protagonist, is feisty and fuelled by her need for justice. In a situation where she should have no control Mare uses her new position as the future princess to try and save her family and friends from poverty. But in a world completely alien to her she needs to rely on people she doesn’t wholly trust. Silver people.

Then there are the boys. Okay this might be the only place this book falters. Do NOT get me wrong, it’s still epic but you all know how I feel about the YA love triangle. Although, this ones more of a YA Square!! All three boys are well written and Cal is hot as hell however, having three guys completely smitten with one character? A little over board in my opinion. But that’s just preference. Doesn’t take anything away from the book at all and it does actually add in some interesting plot changes.


Overall this book is exciting, heart breaking and has no problem shocking you into submission. It’s one of my favourite books of 2015 and I’m super excited to see what comes next. If you loved Divergent, The Hunger Games or Branded then go get this one already. You won’t regret it.

"The dawn is coming for you all" 

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GIVEAWAY

The lovely Lucy at Orion who sent me this book to review also gave me the chance to run a pretty damn epic giveaway for you lovely lot. I have a copy of the stunning RED QUEEN and a limited edition necklace to giveaway. 
UK & Ireland only 




a Rafflecopter giveaway

SBPT: Quality Fangirls



So people of the blogosphere I've been looking forward to this post for a little while because I'm a total disney freak and the girls at Quality Fangirls are going the Cinderella Book Tag for there guest post today. Nicole and Sophia are both taking part so enjoy the post and if you decide to take part in the tag leave a link in the comments bellow. 


Quality Fangirls is the collective craziness of two best friends; Sophia & Nicole. In their 10 years (and counting) of friendship it only recently arrised that they were both completely book / fandom obsessed. The only next logical step was to create a blog and share their crazy with the world. Nicole is the artsy management of the duo; smart, punctual, hard working, photoshop genius, she's the reason the blog runs as beautiful as it does ( though she's completely and utterly crazy, all the smart ones are). Sophia is the creative procrastionator that every duo has, between writing posts last minute and going through weird reading binges and then flat lines for months it's honestly a marvel that Nicole has yet to murder her. Here at QF there is one goal; to create the best colaboration of books and fandom mash up as possible and to share it with the people who get our feels. Check out their blog at qualityfangirls.blogspot.com or their twitter @qualityfangirls!



Evil Stepsisters
 a book with characters you just hate

N Rites of Passage by Joy N Hensley
Wow Sam Mckenna had to deal with a bunch of sexist bullies, and let me tell you, I have never been so mad reading a book. At some points I ragged with anger. It was so terribly realistic and just reminds me how sexist some people can actually be. The fact that Sam dealt with these guys and was still left standing is what makes me love her so much. But yeah, those guys, totally hate them.

S Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
It kills me to have to read about the two kings off being sick horrible people. Between The king is Assassins and The King of Ardalan it just makes me blood boil. Not just for the things they do to Celeana but to the world. 


Prince Charming
 a book with a gentleman

N Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
Oh Jem. I rarely talk about Jem, but I absolutely adore him. He is the perfect picture gentleman, how can you think otherwise? He is adorable, polite, kind, generous, patient. I mean you need all those things to be able to put up with Will Herondale's ridiculousness. I love Jem!

S Wesley Ayers from The Archive by Victoria Schwab
Wesley Ayers, maybe he's not the picture perfect gentleman and that's what makes him even more so. He's charming and caring and funny. He's there when you need him. That's what's the most important in being a gentleman. 


Cinderella
a character that is graceful, kind, and defiant

N Lissa from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Lissa is the exact definition of this. Graceful, kind, and defiant. Everything about Lissa just seems so graceful and elegant. Her healing abilities show how extremely kind she is to those who are hurt. And of course she's defiant, just read the series till the end and you will definitely know what I mean!

S Celeana Sardothian from Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
Not to double dip but Celena Sardothian is exactly that. Graceful, kind, and defiant. One second, she can be dancing in a ball, taking everyone's breaths away, then she can be helping slaves while defying an unjust system. 


Fairy Godmother
a character that always has someone looking out for them

N Gansey from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Gansey, the leader of the pack, seems to have all his friends looking out for him. Blue, Ronan, Adam, and even Noah. They all care about his well being even if he seems to forget himself. Especially with the inevitable end, everyone is going to want to keep him safe.

S Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games Suzanne Collins
Although she went through so much crap and did get used she always had people in her corner. Always had people making sure she was alive and well. While others died without aid, Katniss was lucky enough to have people fighting for her on the outside and inside. 


Helpful Creatures
something that makes you happy when you’re sad

N Not sure what makes me happy when I'm sad. A really light hearted funny book definitely does the trick. Or talking to the bf helps too. I haven't really gotten down a sure way that will cheer me up, which is something I need to work on!

S Watching funny movies or TV shows. Sometimes I just need to bask in it for a little while and let the humor soak into me and then I feel better. 


Ashes
a book you didn’t care for

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
I was pretty excited to start this series since I loved To All The Boys and I heard pretty good things about these books. Unfortunately, it was just not for me. I wasn't too crazy on the writing, the characters, or anything that was happening. Not really sure if I'll continue on with the rest of the books…

S Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I love Divergent, don't get me wrong, but I barely made it through Insurgent. It was a struggled just to get to barely half way through it. 


Pumpkin 
a character with a transformation

Sydney Sage from Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
How can I not mention Sydney? From book one to book six she has grown so, so much, its incredible. Seriously, the most character development, that wasn't forced or anything, that I've seen thus far. I think its why I love this series so much, because of the amazing character development that not just Sydney has, but even the other characters too. Just totally proud of them :')

S Allyson Healey from Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Allyson Healey, man talk about transformation. She went on this year old journey of self discovery and came out the other side a brand new person. It was endearing. We all strive to transform the way she did. 


Impossible
a book with an ending you didn’t see coming

N Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Yep I didn't see this coming at all. Not sure if I should have or not, obviously I should have been suspicious, because I usually am. For those who have already read Red Queen, Im not talking about the very, very end, just kinda before that. You definitely know what I mean ;)

S Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Maybe not the entire ending but definitely things towards the end of the book that really took me by surprise. Things that I did not AT ALL see coming. You all know what I mean. 


Just Breathe 
something that inspires you to be courageous

N This is going to sound super cheesy but my boyfriend inspires me to be courageous. I know what you're thinking, how lame of me, it sounds lame to me too. But, no really, a lot of things happened that made me have to face my fears and somehow get the courage to do them. And it was because of that courage that we're together today, and ever since then I face my fears in either doing something or saying something, even if I'm too scared to and would rather hide.

S A lot of things actually inspire me to be courageous but the number one would probably be seeing other people be courageous when they're scared out of their minds. People who stand up to injustice they see or people who break free of their own injustice. People who push on even if they feel like they're going to fail. Those types of things keep me on my toes. 


Happily Ever After
a book with a perfect ending

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead
Okay maybe not a perfect ending, but a really wonderful one nonetheless. Without giving the whole entire ending of the series away, it wasn't an over the top crazy ending, but it did wrap up the entire VA world together. It was cute, adorable, and just what I needed after all that crazy stuff happened in the past six books.

S Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Is it cheating to use a book that says happily ever after in the title? Cause I mean it is kinda implied before you even read it, but regardless it's the kinda happy that you're not even ready for. It's everything you could ever want in a perfect ending.

Summer Blogger Promo Tour - YA INdulgences


So it's Sunday which means it's time for another epic blogger feature. Today I've got Amber from YA Indulgences and we're going to find out a little more about this great girl and her reading habits (we all have them).

Enjoy


The Reading Habits Book TagWith Amber



I'm Amber! My blog is called YA Indulgences and focuses on Contemporary. I love reading, listening to music, binging on Netflix, raving about musicals and of course, blogging. Coffee is my drink of choice, Contemporary is my genre and Veronica Mars is my favorite show. I can be a bit of a sarcastic person, but I promise it just means I care! Generally. <3 If you want to know more, you can follow me on Twitter with @YAIndulgences


1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
I generally read in bed. :)

2. Bookmark or a random piece of paper?
In theory, I would love to use bookmarks, but I'm more likely to use whatever, random piece of paper, bobby pin, random cord, a pen...

3. Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop at a certain page, chapter, part, ect.?
If I'm super sucked in, there's not stopping me. If I'm not really into a book, I can stop anytime.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
Only if I'm lucky. ;)

5. Can you read while listening to music/watching TV?
Sometimes! It really depends, I know when I've tried in the past it didn't always go too well.

6. One book at a time, or several at once?
I would love to stick to only one book at a time, but different books keep calling me, so I'm reading quite a few right now.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?
EVERYWHERE. ON THE BUS, AT CLASSES, IN STRIP CLUBS, WALKING THROUGH WALGREENS, IN THE CAR, WALKING DOWN THE STREET, AT HOME, EVERYWHERE!

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?
Silently! I hate reading out loud. :(

9. Do you read ahead or skip pages?
I try not to read ahead but my eyes sometimes wonder down the page if it looks interesting.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new?
Keeping it new! I'm even careful with paperbacks when reading so that when I close them, the cover doesn't stick up.

11. Do you write in books?
NEVER. I WOULD NOT EVER WRITE IN A BOOK.

Wait, does the Bible count? I totally write in the Bible.



If you want to take on this fun little tag then feel free and let us know what your book habits are. 



SBPT: Between The Pages




The Summer Blogger Promo Tour kicked off last week and today is the first of my posts. Today I am featuring the lovely April from Between the Pages.  April started her blog around a year ago to give her a space to chat about her love of books, like so many of us bloggers. She's an avid reader of YA and Dystopian (because she has rather epic taste) and I'd suggest checking out her review of Anna and the French Kiss it's pretty cool. 

I'll let April take over now, enjoy. 


I'LL MEET YOU THERE
by Heather Demetrios

Pages: 388 (hardcover)
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publishing Date: February 3rd 2015

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.
Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper. 


So I LOVE the book I’ll Meet You There, it is my NUMBER 1 top read of 2015. This was a book I related to having grown up around the Military and currently living close to Four Military bases in Virginia. I thought it would be fun to share with everyone my dream cast for when this novel is made into a movie. (Notice I said when not if, that is how much I love this book)



So we’ll start off with Josh Mitchell, I chose Scott Eastwood, because he’s hot and I would watch him, especially since Josh takes his shirt off and Scott looks good without a shirt. J


And for Skylar Evans, I chose Alexis Bledel, there is just something about Sky that reminds me a bit of Rory from Gilmore Girls, so to me this is a perfect fit.



For the Character of Chris, Sky’s awesome friend, I see a little Kurt from Glee in him, so I’m going with Chris Colfer.



As for Dylan, Sky’s best female friend I am going to go with Vanessa Lengies. I have no real reason to pick her other than I think she would be good as Dylan, a single mother who still likes to party a little.

So there you have it. My dream cast for I’ll Meet you There!