May 1, 2015

Book Review & Promo Post: Pasadena Loves YA featuring Victora Aveyard, author of Red Queen

at 5/01/2015 12:20:00 PM

Mare Barrow’s world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn’t know she had. Except … her blood is Red.
To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into 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 her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

My Review

I am totally in love with this book. I received an ARC at last year's Comic Con. Two major things that I like about this book:

1) The cover.
     Simply elegant with a touch of violence. The subtext "Power is a dangerous game" makes me think about Reign and all of the shenanigans of court life.

2) The plot.
    The first section of the book was spent on world building. Part dysopian society with a bourgeoisie-style of social class ranking, but it's more about the color of your blood. Those with Silver blood are the bourgeoisie (high classes rich people with special abilities). Everyone else (peasants/working class) have Red blood. Being part of the working class, Mare works hard to find ways to help support her family. Unfortunately, that doesn't go according to plan. While working at a banquet gala at the palace, an incident causes a sequence of events that reveal Mare with silver blood abilities. The only problem is that her blood is Red. The second part was focused on her experiences in court as well as the underlying subplot of espionage. The final part was my favorite. Plans backfire, consequences rain down on Mare, relationships are broken and a really surprising turn on events. The ending was a great set up for the sequel.

Final Grade (duh duh duhhh).....

~4.5 stars~


Buy Your Copy Here!


About Victoria Aveyard


I’m a writer repped by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. I split my time between my hometown East Longmeadow, Massachusetts and Los Angeles. After graduating with a BFA in Screenwriting from the University of Southern California, I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. My debut RED QUEEN came out of the terrifying, unemployed year after college.
Currently I’m revising the second book in the RED QUEEN series, along with pursuing other projects in literature and film. My proudest achievements are riding a horse in the mountains of Montana and navigating from London to Edinburgh without GPS.
You can find my BLOG at www.victoriaaveyard.blogspot.com if you’re interested in some longer ramblings.
Follow me on TWITTER @victoriaaveyard for 140 character ramblings.
And check me out on FACEBOOK for info, events, and other fun stuff!
Giveaway
*Fine print: 3 randomly chosen winners. Entires from USA only. Giveaway runs from April 30th to May 15th, PST. First prize is a hardback copy of Red Queen (with option to personalize), second prize is a signed poster, and the third prize is a signed chapter sampler. Winners have 5 days to claim their prize. 

Keep scrolling down for the second BONUS giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Event

DATE: May 23rd 2015      TIME: 12-4 PM

Meet 20 YA authors / Panels and Book Signings / Giveaways and Refreshments / Free tote bags for the first 150 guests!

FREE event at Pasadena Public Library, Central Branch, 285 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101


Keynote speaker Mary McCoy (author of Dead to Me) with Katie Alender, Victoria Aveyard, Alexis Bass, Julie Berry, Livia Blackburne, Virginia Boecker, Jessica Brody, Stephen Chbosky, Brandy Colbert, Ava Dellaira, Kody Keplinger, Liz Maccie, Morgan Matson, Lauren Miller, Alexandra Monir, Jennifer Niven, Romina Russell, Sarah Tomp and Kiersten White.


For more info, visit www.pasadenateenbookfestival.com


Book sales by Vroman's Bookstore will begin at 11am
Co-sponsored by Bridge to Books. No registration required, but we would appreciate it if you would post, share, tweet, and tell everyone you know about the upcoming event! Please use the hashtag #PLYA2015


2nd Giveaway

Any 3 books from the 2015 Pasadena Loves YA authors, US only, ends May 20th 2015.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

SO EXCITED TO READ IT. I have it on my kindle but I have yet to actually read. So many books so little time. And I wish I could attend but alas, I do not live close to Pasadena </3

Jen R. on May 6, 2015 at 12:44 AM said...

I'm really excited for Red Queen, heard so much great stuff about it! I sadly can't go, though I really wanna!

 

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