The Red Queen

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

(Format used for this read: Audiobook)

Yall got one Grown Up book outta me the other day…so yall know another YA book ain’t far behind!

Listen…I just looooove this genre, especially when I am in a not so calm and peaceful state of mind.

Reading YA is one of my favorite kind of stress escapes….ESPECIALLY when it is THIS kind of YA.

There are times when YA just fills a need for me that Grown Up books can’t….and I am in one of those times as of late LOL

Before I get going on my thoughts, let me give you the official summary so you can start to see what I mean:

“Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction.

One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Red Queen is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series.”

I know yall are not surprised IN THE LEAST BIT that I was all over this book.

Magic. Royalty. Classism. Dystopian rebellion. AND romance.

All things that combine to make a highly enjoyable YA read for me!

I don’t think this book has anything new and fresh about it….YA books, especially series, kinda remind me of the menu at Taco Bell.

Basically, the same five baseline ingredients are used in every single item…BUT one teensy little appearance change or extra is tossed in every now and then and BOOM….brand new menu item.

AND IT IS GLORIOUS.

For example: start off with a regular crunchy taco. Classic stand by favorite. People love it. Meat, cheese, lettuce and a shell. That’s it.

But you take that crunchy taco, wrap it up in a soft taco tortilla, add a little sauce and BOOM…..

Double Decker taco. New menu item. Again….meat, cheese, lettuce and TWO TYPES OF SHELL. No new and exciting ingredients, just different presentation.

AND AGAIN IT IS GLORIOUS.

This exact thing happens with many YA books.

Same ingredients…things like magic, royal unrest, societal injustice, teen romance….just different presentation. Different characters, different settings…but basically same baseline ingredients.

And I mean…let’s be real here…YA books aren’t usually top notch literary masterpieces…just like Taco Bell isn’t some five star restaurant.

But they are both STILL DANG DELICIOUS.

The majority of the time I love me some real, raw, deep thinking books written for legit adults over the age of 18—just like the majority of the time I prefer healthy, whole ingredient meals prepared in a fresh, delicious manner…

But sometimes I don’t want all that.

Sometimes I just want predictable, easy, mindless and empty calorie fun….in my brain and my belly 🤣

No big deep thoughts on this book today…it was enjoyable and entertaining just as I expected. Most of it was pretty predictable but did not annoy me….of course the biggest plot twists and revelations are saved until the very end of the book….the author has to have you anticipating the next book and she does that quite well.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series (there are 4 books total) just to see what happens…though I can predict the direction things will go….but I’m cool with that.

If you are into YA book series, than I think this is one you will for sure want to read….it has all the things we know and love and expect from them.

If YA ain’t your thing at all, I definitely think you should stay away from this one. …this won’t be the series to change your mind on the genre. LOL