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Red Queen #1-4
Red Queen 4-Book Collection: Books 1-4 – The #1 NYT Bestselling YA Fantasy of Power and Rebellion in a Blood-Divided Kingdom
This ebook collection includes all four books in Victoria Aveyard’s #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King’s Cage, and War Storm.
Power is a dangerous game.
Mare Barrow, a lowly Red in a world of red-blooded laborers and silver-blooded elites, thought she knew what her future held. But when she learns that her red blood has been disguising a secret ability, one usually reserved only for Silvers, her life is turned upside down.
How will the Silver ruling class keep her secret hidden from the increasingly restless Red population and their Scarlet Guard revolutionaries? And how will Mare use her sudden power to change the caste system, the kingdom, and the world—forever?
With every book in Victoria Aveyard’s blockbuster Red Queen quartet in one digital collection, you can follow this series from the spark that began everything all the way to the electrifying conclusion.
Power is a dangerous game.
Mare Barrow, a lowly Red in a world of red-blooded laborers and silver-blooded elites, thought she knew what her future held. But when she learns that her red blood has been disguising a secret ability, one usually reserved only for Silvers, her life is turned upside down.
How will the Silver ruling class keep her secret hidden from the increasingly restless Red population and their Scarlet Guard revolutionaries? And how will Mare use her sudden power to change the caste system, the kingdom, and the world—forever?
With every book in Victoria Aveyard’s blockbuster Red Queen quartet in one digital collection, you can follow this series from the spark that began everything all the way to the electrifying conclusion.
1726 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2018
About the author
Victoria Aveyard
28 books76.6k followersI'm an author/screenwriter who likes books and lists. This site is the nexus of my universe.
I wrote the #1 NYT bestselling series RED QUEEN the #1 NYT bestselling REALM BREAKER trilogy. Next up, my adult fantasy debut, TEMPEST, coming 2026.
I wrote the #1 NYT bestselling series RED QUEEN the #1 NYT bestselling REALM BREAKER trilogy. Next up, my adult fantasy debut, TEMPEST, coming 2026.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
August 14, 2020
3.5 is my true rating... Right passing the middle.
It's slow...
A lot of angry characters.
A lot of war.
Some love.
Some adventure.
But mostly coated with tragedy with an open happy ending.
Which is odd.
I also kept forgetting that these are teens... Because of all the political language and culture of war.
It changes perspective often.
Not smoothly either...
And there are chopping ’cut scenes’.
The transition in the timeline is confusing.
Some characters have great development.
But not the main character in my opinion.
I kept reading because I was curious about how the characters’ relationships develop... (Also there was a few mysterious predictions that caught my curiosity.)
Not so much because the storyline itself. I got bored during the war or when one of the characters would go on and on about their anger or betrayal.
I liked the supernatural abilities some characters have and the setting of the story. The writer paints their word in detail. The concept of fighting for cause vs accepting life as is-- nice overall message. Not everyone is going to agree; hint at the war.
But eh...
The storyline went in circles: main character cause trouble, she then is moody about it for three chapters, somehow becomes the anti-hero, only to cycle again with another troublesome events or tragedy... to then be the anti-hero of her story... Again.
The paragraphs are sometimes very cleverly written, but still a book for a patient reader. Slow.
Sorry if this sounds vague, I'm trying not to give too much spoilers.
Basically it has a historic-fictional vibe. There is clearly romance as well but the main character is to stubborn to accept it for three books worth! The fourth is when she wholeheartedly accepts it. Well. More like the mid of the third book but not openly. Her rivals are my favorite characters. Mostly because they developed to most interestingly.
It's slow...
A lot of angry characters.
A lot of war.
Some love.
Some adventure.
But mostly coated with tragedy with an open happy ending.
Which is odd.
I also kept forgetting that these are teens... Because of all the political language and culture of war.
It changes perspective often.
Not smoothly either...
And there are chopping ’cut scenes’.
The transition in the timeline is confusing.
Some characters have great development.
But not the main character in my opinion.
I kept reading because I was curious about how the characters’ relationships develop... (Also there was a few mysterious predictions that caught my curiosity.)
Not so much because the storyline itself. I got bored during the war or when one of the characters would go on and on about their anger or betrayal.
I liked the supernatural abilities some characters have and the setting of the story. The writer paints their word in detail. The concept of fighting for cause vs accepting life as is-- nice overall message. Not everyone is going to agree; hint at the war.
But eh...
The storyline went in circles: main character cause trouble, she then is moody about it for three chapters, somehow becomes the anti-hero, only to cycle again with another troublesome events or tragedy... to then be the anti-hero of her story... Again.
The paragraphs are sometimes very cleverly written, but still a book for a patient reader. Slow.
Sorry if this sounds vague, I'm trying not to give too much spoilers.
Basically it has a historic-fictional vibe. There is clearly romance as well but the main character is to stubborn to accept it for three books worth! The fourth is when she wholeheartedly accepts it. Well. More like the mid of the third book but not openly. Her rivals are my favorite characters. Mostly because they developed to most interestingly.
December 12, 2019
Really good series. Very intricate and detailed. Lots of interesting characters and pack with action and great plots.
Read
December 31, 2018One of my favorite action fantasy stories!
March 4, 2021
I hated Red Queen books it was not my thing. The world didn't build very well, and it was to draw out. The characters were weak in development. There were too many pages on social politicians, that is just not what I am looking for in books. Others will enjoy it for that reason.
Did Not Finish
August 29, 2024I got seven chapters in: several conflicts/twists that were important to the main character (and probably the plot) happened but wow, I did not care at all. You can’t make me care that bad things were happening if there’s no set up to care for the characters.
February 2, 2022
Review of the first book:
"Ugh. Such a promising start in the first quarter of the book - it felt like it had the potential to marry elements of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. But it ended up more like a bastard child of The Selection mixed with the boring court parts of Throne of Glass and...I dunno, some generic YA book about a revolution. I can’t be arsed to think of one specifically right now.
One thing that sets this apart from any of those I named is that I absolutely despise the protagonist. She’s a fairly awful, angry, hypocritically judgmental, recklessly impetuous, self-centered (while reveling in her supposed goodness), stupid person. I would get pissed off with her at least every page or two, and this is the biggest reason I went with 1 star rather than 2. I started to realize my hate for her when I saw that I was rooting for the people painted as villains for being nasty to her.
I wonder if Victoria showed the first few chapters of this and got a deal from that, because the writing itself becomes downright awful at many points and it feels like the only notable lines for hundreds of pages are a who’s who of awful cliches coming from every which way - every character, the heroine’s personal thoughts, the heroine’s description of others...Basically the only character I end up liking is poor Gisa, who has had to deal with this horror as a sibling her entire life, and she mostly is only in the beginning before Victoria decides that it’s okay to badly slap together a bunch of recycled plotlines, character types, and phrases and call it a book worthy of publication.
You know, now that I’m going over the first quarter, it actually starts to dip a bit with chapter five. But the momentum from the first four is enough that I still felt engaged, and then chapter seven has a nice display of magic. But the magic’s novelty fades really quickly after that, especially as unlike Brandon Sanderson, Victoria doesn’t yet even try to explain any part of it. I assume she will do that in later books, especially given that the premise hinges around how Silvers are not as everyone believes the only ones with magic. But I doubt I’ll read it. Maybe if Gisa narrates."
Alas, the lead and the two kings remain hateful for the whole series.
Thankfully Evangeline does her best to make the narration occasionally tolerable when she takes over. She's pretty much the only character I like; kind of the Margaery Tyrell of the series.
The series could definitely be cut by one book given the amount of plotless pages (filled mostly with mediocre writing at best), and chapters spent developing characters who then disappear because the author forgets about them so said development also feels pointless.
"Ugh. Such a promising start in the first quarter of the book - it felt like it had the potential to marry elements of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy and Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. But it ended up more like a bastard child of The Selection mixed with the boring court parts of Throne of Glass and...I dunno, some generic YA book about a revolution. I can’t be arsed to think of one specifically right now.
One thing that sets this apart from any of those I named is that I absolutely despise the protagonist. She’s a fairly awful, angry, hypocritically judgmental, recklessly impetuous, self-centered (while reveling in her supposed goodness), stupid person. I would get pissed off with her at least every page or two, and this is the biggest reason I went with 1 star rather than 2. I started to realize my hate for her when I saw that I was rooting for the people painted as villains for being nasty to her.
I wonder if Victoria showed the first few chapters of this and got a deal from that, because the writing itself becomes downright awful at many points and it feels like the only notable lines for hundreds of pages are a who’s who of awful cliches coming from every which way - every character, the heroine’s personal thoughts, the heroine’s description of others...Basically the only character I end up liking is poor Gisa, who has had to deal with this horror as a sibling her entire life, and she mostly is only in the beginning before Victoria decides that it’s okay to badly slap together a bunch of recycled plotlines, character types, and phrases and call it a book worthy of publication.
You know, now that I’m going over the first quarter, it actually starts to dip a bit with chapter five. But the momentum from the first four is enough that I still felt engaged, and then chapter seven has a nice display of magic. But the magic’s novelty fades really quickly after that, especially as unlike Brandon Sanderson, Victoria doesn’t yet even try to explain any part of it. I assume she will do that in later books, especially given that the premise hinges around how Silvers are not as everyone believes the only ones with magic. But I doubt I’ll read it. Maybe if Gisa narrates."
Alas, the lead and the two kings remain hateful for the whole series.
Thankfully Evangeline does her best to make the narration occasionally tolerable when she takes over. She's pretty much the only character I like; kind of the Margaery Tyrell of the series.
The series could definitely be cut by one book given the amount of plotless pages (filled mostly with mediocre writing at best), and chapters spent developing characters who then disappear because the author forgets about them so said development also feels pointless.
June 4, 2018
(4+4+5+3)/4=4 star averaged.
September 6, 2020
This series was amazing! It was the series that made me more fond of books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2022
I am in love with CAL.
March 20, 2023
Alles in allem wars ganz gut, war stellenweise Spannung nur zieht es sich teilweise bissi, ist schon bisschen her, dass ich die alle gelesen habe aber den 1. Zeil lese ich gerade wieder.
Was mich stört, war die Lovestory, die war sehr, sagen weir, vorhersehbar und die Charaktere hatten zwar alle Charakter development, aber die Lovestory war ein bisschen stumpf...
Was mich stört, war die Lovestory, die war sehr, sagen weir, vorhersehbar und die Charaktere hatten zwar alle Charakter development, aber die Lovestory war ein bisschen stumpf...
February 11, 2020
While I was on vacation, I had a lot of free time, so I decided to grab the “Red Queen Collection” again and give it a new chance. Originally I dropped the history on the second book, because I found it was a little bit predictable and boring and I used to jump pages until I quit. But, when I started the books al over again I tried to enjoy every little detail that Victoria offered us, and little by little you find yourself immersed in the plot and hungry for reading without stopping. 15 days later I finished the whole series.
The story it’s placed in a futuristic world product of the nuclear destruction of the society as we know it. Due to radiation, some humans mutated and acquired different abilities that gave them powers and turned their blood silver. This mutants or simply “Silvers” took the power and started to create a society where they became the ruling class, and the “Reds” or normal humans where oppressed and forced to live in misery, slavery or sent to war. The story start in a country named Norta, ruled by Tiberias the Sixth, with a young red girl named Mare Barrow, whose only skill was pickpocketing. Eventually, Mare is forced to work in the Royal Palace during the commemoration of “Queen’s trials”, a competition where the daughters of noble silver houses demonstrate their abilities and fight between them to be the winner and then, be betrothed to prince Tiberias de Seventh. This way, the royals family makes sure to always have the strongest heirs. While Mare was serving some Lords and Lady’s, she is exposed a life threatening situation that woke up her ability to control electricity (Unknown at the moment) . From this predictable plot, Victoria takes us forward the growing of a teenager into and adult woman, that plant the seeds for the biggest social revolution of their lifetime and take the power from the royal family. With each book you can see how Victoria improved her writing skills, not only by making descriptions smooth as silk. She also created a group of complex characters, rich in physical, mental and sexual diversity. I must say that every book gets darker and that I love the fact that topics as feminism, sexual diversity and female empowerment are essentials for the books. Her characters are imperfect as human can be, but they also can grow and change from the emir mistakes. Almost 95% of the chapters are from a female POV . I would be really happy to read them again.
The story it’s placed in a futuristic world product of the nuclear destruction of the society as we know it. Due to radiation, some humans mutated and acquired different abilities that gave them powers and turned their blood silver. This mutants or simply “Silvers” took the power and started to create a society where they became the ruling class, and the “Reds” or normal humans where oppressed and forced to live in misery, slavery or sent to war. The story start in a country named Norta, ruled by Tiberias the Sixth, with a young red girl named Mare Barrow, whose only skill was pickpocketing. Eventually, Mare is forced to work in the Royal Palace during the commemoration of “Queen’s trials”, a competition where the daughters of noble silver houses demonstrate their abilities and fight between them to be the winner and then, be betrothed to prince Tiberias de Seventh. This way, the royals family makes sure to always have the strongest heirs. While Mare was serving some Lords and Lady’s, she is exposed a life threatening situation that woke up her ability to control electricity (Unknown at the moment) . From this predictable plot, Victoria takes us forward the growing of a teenager into and adult woman, that plant the seeds for the biggest social revolution of their lifetime and take the power from the royal family. With each book you can see how Victoria improved her writing skills, not only by making descriptions smooth as silk. She also created a group of complex characters, rich in physical, mental and sexual diversity. I must say that every book gets darker and that I love the fact that topics as feminism, sexual diversity and female empowerment are essentials for the books. Her characters are imperfect as human can be, but they also can grow and change from the emir mistakes. Almost 95% of the chapters are from a female POV . I would be really happy to read them again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2019
Great series. TERRIBLE ending. The ending felt like It should have been the middle of the book.
August 27, 2025
good series, kept me up a few nights reading.
May 24, 2026
3.5 ⭐️.
Over, I really enjoyed the concept and the complexity of the plot and characters- and their development. However, I think at times, it moved a bit slow, and often times it felt like unnecessary details were added. For example, I felt like I spent a lot of time reading about the clothes the characters were wearing or the furniture in rooms we were in. While this can be a fun addition, it didn’t necessarily drive the plot along. Overall, it was worth the read, and I plan on reading Broken Thorne, but perhaps the authors writing style is not for me.
Over, I really enjoyed the concept and the complexity of the plot and characters- and their development. However, I think at times, it moved a bit slow, and often times it felt like unnecessary details were added. For example, I felt like I spent a lot of time reading about the clothes the characters were wearing or the furniture in rooms we were in. While this can be a fun addition, it didn’t necessarily drive the plot along. Overall, it was worth the read, and I plan on reading Broken Thorne, but perhaps the authors writing style is not for me.
Did Not Finish
May 13, 2026Too many books and too little time to continue with something I don’t feel pulled to after 300 pages…
April 23, 2026
this series is amazing!!
It took me on a roller coaster of emotions 😭 I was prolonging ending it because I just didn’t want it to end but it was beautifully written.
It had
Action
Yearning
Slow burn romance
Love triangle for a bit
Social division
Special abilities
Military like action
Royal social structures
And so forth.
I can honestly say I never knew what was going to happen. Each book ended on a cliff hanger and that made me go into the next book right away. Mare is a bad ass mfc. And cal I adore!
It took me on a roller coaster of emotions 😭 I was prolonging ending it because I just didn’t want it to end but it was beautifully written.
It had
Action
Yearning
Slow burn romance
Love triangle for a bit
Social division
Special abilities
Military like action
Royal social structures
And so forth.
I can honestly say I never knew what was going to happen. Each book ended on a cliff hanger and that made me go into the next book right away. Mare is a bad ass mfc. And cal I adore!
December 26, 2025
5⭐️ Series, 1⭐️ Epilogue
This series is amazing. This is arguably one of the best multi-POVs I’ve ever read. The author does such a good job switching the POV - we’re given insight into the current characters thoughts but more importantly their perception of the events going on around them. We watch the characters interpret others actions based on their own experiences and see communication breakdowns impact those relationships. This almost reads as a lesson on walking a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand why they do the things they do.
She dives into right and wrong while actively showing the MCs make what most would likely feel are not great decisions but we see them grow throughout the series. Understanding exactly why they make these decisions is a level of detail we don’t get in most dual POVs (yay inner monologue).
*Spoilers*
On top of the complexity of her characters the plot is a unique and intricate take on the same lessons humans have faced time and time again. Destroy, rebuild, repeat.
Despite my love for 99% of this series, I have never been more upset with an ending to a series. I spent a long time debating whether the ending ruined the story enough for me to no longer feel it was a 5⭐️ read but for all the reasons I loved the complexities of the decisions the characters made throughout the series I have to accept the direction the author took for the ending.
With that being said I’m just going to pretend the Epilogue doesn’t exist.
This series is amazing. This is arguably one of the best multi-POVs I’ve ever read. The author does such a good job switching the POV - we’re given insight into the current characters thoughts but more importantly their perception of the events going on around them. We watch the characters interpret others actions based on their own experiences and see communication breakdowns impact those relationships. This almost reads as a lesson on walking a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand why they do the things they do.
She dives into right and wrong while actively showing the MCs make what most would likely feel are not great decisions but we see them grow throughout the series. Understanding exactly why they make these decisions is a level of detail we don’t get in most dual POVs (yay inner monologue).
*Spoilers*
On top of the complexity of her characters the plot is a unique and intricate take on the same lessons humans have faced time and time again. Destroy, rebuild, repeat.
Despite my love for 99% of this series, I have never been more upset with an ending to a series. I spent a long time debating whether the ending ruined the story enough for me to no longer feel it was a 5⭐️ read but for all the reasons I loved the complexities of the decisions the characters made throughout the series I have to accept the direction the author took for the ending.
With that being said I’m just going to pretend the Epilogue doesn’t exist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2024
I would like to say that I have not read this series all the way through, I just picked these books back up after starting them in middle school 8 years ago. I have read the first 2 books and I’m reading the 3rd now.
I love this series. If I’m being totally honest this is one of the books that really got me into reading (well reading books that weren’t on Wattpad). I fell in love with Mares entire personality from the first page. I feel like this book is why I loved the ACOTAR series because Mare reminds me a lot of Faeyra (I definitely spelled that wrong). I loved how strong of a character she is even if she is slightly insecure like everyone else. I definitely adopted some of the fight from her personality into mine when I first read this book. The plot was amazing and the world building was better than 99% of YA fiction books.
However reading this again at an older age, the characters, especially the men, in this series were a bit toxic in ways that I didn’t understand at 11 years old. I also (and I know it’s so wrong and I haven’t finished the series so my opinion could change) wish she would have ended up with Maven. I know he’s evil but my mind can’t get with loving the “slightly annoyingly perfect hero”, and I know he’s not perfect but it just goes against every fiber in my being after reading books where the villain gets the girl all these years.
Overall this will probably forever be one of my favorite YA book series of all time.
I love this series. If I’m being totally honest this is one of the books that really got me into reading (well reading books that weren’t on Wattpad). I fell in love with Mares entire personality from the first page. I feel like this book is why I loved the ACOTAR series because Mare reminds me a lot of Faeyra (I definitely spelled that wrong). I loved how strong of a character she is even if she is slightly insecure like everyone else. I definitely adopted some of the fight from her personality into mine when I first read this book. The plot was amazing and the world building was better than 99% of YA fiction books.
However reading this again at an older age, the characters, especially the men, in this series were a bit toxic in ways that I didn’t understand at 11 years old. I also (and I know it’s so wrong and I haven’t finished the series so my opinion could change) wish she would have ended up with Maven. I know he’s evil but my mind can’t get with loving the “slightly annoyingly perfect hero”, and I know he’s not perfect but it just goes against every fiber in my being after reading books where the villain gets the girl all these years.
Overall this will probably forever be one of my favorite YA book series of all time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2019
*may be some spoilers* THE RED QUEEN BOOK SERIES BY VICTORIA AVEYARD
Definitley the best book series I've ever read. Personally, I didn't like any books involving fantasy elements previous to this series. Victoria Aveyard is brilliant in the development of the characters, especially Maven. Maven is a villian in this series, but it is extremely intresting when you get the psychology behind this villian, well what's going on his head. Mare is your typical underdog, but there is so much more to her character and what she goes through. And the conflict of Cal, choosing between love or the crown, is one of the best conflicts of the series. It's an edge of your seat series without any boring parts and you won't want to go out and socialize or leave your sofa when reading this. Beware of the cliffhangers, trust me when I say they are dangerously painful. Also beware, you might get quite emotionally attatched to the characters.
Definitley the best book series I've ever read. Personally, I didn't like any books involving fantasy elements previous to this series. Victoria Aveyard is brilliant in the development of the characters, especially Maven. Maven is a villian in this series, but it is extremely intresting when you get the psychology behind this villian, well what's going on his head. Mare is your typical underdog, but there is so much more to her character and what she goes through. And the conflict of Cal, choosing between love or the crown, is one of the best conflicts of the series. It's an edge of your seat series without any boring parts and you won't want to go out and socialize or leave your sofa when reading this. Beware of the cliffhangers, trust me when I say they are dangerously painful. Also beware, you might get quite emotionally attatched to the characters.
December 20, 2021
I loved the first 2 but the last 2 did not wrap up the way I thought it might, just became super repetitive and I felt there was a lack of character development.
November 24, 2025
If the series had been cut down to three books, it could have been so much better.
I get why this series captured me when I was 16. Back then, book 4 wasn’t even out yet, so I never finished it. Now, rereading it, I’m like—girl, Mare, you’re 17. What do you actually know about the world?! And why on earth is every adult politician dragging her into these critical decisions? Honestly, I might just be too old for the YA genre now if I’m thinking things like this.
The biggest issue with this book series is the lack of character development in Mare. Everyone else—Farley, Evangeline, even Cal—actually manages to grow. But Mare? Even her brother’s death just turns into more rage issues.
At the start, the limited POV shifts worked well. I get that as the story expanded, more perspectives were needed to show all the wars, intrigues, and plotlines. But by the last book? It was completely out of control. The constant switching wasn’t smooth or cohesive at all.
I get why this series captured me when I was 16. Back then, book 4 wasn’t even out yet, so I never finished it. Now, rereading it, I’m like—girl, Mare, you’re 17. What do you actually know about the world?! And why on earth is every adult politician dragging her into these critical decisions? Honestly, I might just be too old for the YA genre now if I’m thinking things like this.
The biggest issue with this book series is the lack of character development in Mare. Everyone else—Farley, Evangeline, even Cal—actually manages to grow. But Mare? Even her brother’s death just turns into more rage issues.
At the start, the limited POV shifts worked well. I get that as the story expanded, more perspectives were needed to show all the wars, intrigues, and plotlines. But by the last book? It was completely out of control. The constant switching wasn’t smooth or cohesive at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2025
gave the Red Queen series my best shot, but it just didn’t work for me. I made it halfway through Book 3 before finally putting it down — and this was the first time I’ve ever quit a series.
The story became bogged down in too much war and politics, and the main characters, especially Mare and Cal, had little to no chemistry. Their kiss and implied intimacy felt lackluster, more like checking off a box than something with real emotion behind it. Shade’s death was another breaking point for me — he was one of the few characters I truly enjoyed, and while there was a newblood introduced with the ability to revive the recently dead(or so I thought), Aveyard never followed through with that possibility. It just left me frustrated. ( or not that I finished)
In the end, instead of feeling invested, I felt drained. I wanted to care, but the pacing, politics, and lack of genuine connections between the characters made it impossible to finish.
The story became bogged down in too much war and politics, and the main characters, especially Mare and Cal, had little to no chemistry. Their kiss and implied intimacy felt lackluster, more like checking off a box than something with real emotion behind it. Shade’s death was another breaking point for me — he was one of the few characters I truly enjoyed, and while there was a newblood introduced with the ability to revive the recently dead(or so I thought), Aveyard never followed through with that possibility. It just left me frustrated. ( or not that I finished)
In the end, instead of feeling invested, I felt drained. I wanted to care, but the pacing, politics, and lack of genuine connections between the characters made it impossible to finish.
November 28, 2024
*WARNING HAS SOME SPOILERS*
This was a great quick read when I was in a book slump, it was so good that I recommend it to my friend who is not much of a reader; she finished Red Queen in a month and is now halfway through the second book Glass Sword. You should know-that it normally takes more then a year for her to finish a book, so naturally this was a big accomplishment. Over all this was a good series (the plot did slow down in the 3rd book but picked back up in the 4th.)
If I was Victoria Aveyard I would have created a better closure to the series *the ending was pretty pathetic.* Victoria did not rap it all up as I would have hoped. It just got me when she left it to our imagination for wondering if Cal and Mare truly got back together or not. It would have been better if she wrote a Novella dedicated to the repair of Cal and Mare's relationship.
This was a great quick read when I was in a book slump, it was so good that I recommend it to my friend who is not much of a reader; she finished Red Queen in a month and is now halfway through the second book Glass Sword. You should know-that it normally takes more then a year for her to finish a book, so naturally this was a big accomplishment. Over all this was a good series (the plot did slow down in the 3rd book but picked back up in the 4th.)
If I was Victoria Aveyard I would have created a better closure to the series *the ending was pretty pathetic.* Victoria did not rap it all up as I would have hoped. It just got me when she left it to our imagination for wondering if Cal and Mare truly got back together or not. It would have been better if she wrote a Novella dedicated to the repair of Cal and Mare's relationship.
September 19, 2025
This was my reread of the series.
You have to remember that book came FIRST. So many think that Red Queen ripped off a bunch of current romantasy, but no! Victoria Aaveyard was ahead of the times!!
I might lower my review to a 3.5 now, but since we have no half stars . . . Basically I loved Red Queen, I love her writing about trauma and how real it is and how it can come up in so many ways, but blah romance blah Maven, and I swear I thought but apparently I entirely made that up!
Still, putting into the context of the times, it was pretty genre bending. Though if anything, I think it borrows from The Selection more than anything - but then that borrowed from The Hunger Games which pretty much stole the entirety of Battle Royale, so . . . Ya know.
You have to remember that book came FIRST. So many think that Red Queen ripped off a bunch of current romantasy, but no! Victoria Aaveyard was ahead of the times!!
I might lower my review to a 3.5 now, but since we have no half stars . . . Basically I loved Red Queen, I love her writing about trauma and how real it is and how it can come up in so many ways, but blah romance blah Maven, and I swear I thought but apparently I entirely made that up!
Still, putting into the context of the times, it was pretty genre bending. Though if anything, I think it borrows from The Selection more than anything - but then that borrowed from The Hunger Games which pretty much stole the entirety of Battle Royale, so . . . Ya know.
November 3, 2024
This series was sooooo slow for me and took forever to get through all four books. I feel like it focused way too much on the war and the love story was haphazardly thrown in as a second thought. For someone who prefers romantasy books, I needed a lot more to keep me reading than some social injustice and a war with lots of death and fighting scenes. I almost quit like 5 times, I even looked up the spark notes once before deciding not to spoil it for myself (that’s how much I hate not finishing a book once I’ve started). And the ENDING? So lame and entirely boring in my opinion. I can see the author was trying to be more realistic and mature with it but COME ON. I honestly rate this a 2.5/5 stars but gave it three instead of two just to be generous.
July 26, 2019
If you are looking for a series that will have you on the edge of your seat from page one, this is the series for you. It is a well-crafted masterpiece that does not fall into some of the same tropes that most books in the YA series fall into. I very much appreciate this fact, as I am very tired of alpha males, love triangles, and god complexes.
This is a series that I definitely plan on rereading. There was just so much going on all at once that I know I didn’t catch anything.
Plus, it is a fantastic series that I would not mind reliving a few more times.
Full review: https://briannajean.blog/2019/06/21/r...
This is a series that I definitely plan on rereading. There was just so much going on all at once that I know I didn’t catch anything.
Plus, it is a fantastic series that I would not mind reliving a few more times.
Full review: https://briannajean.blog/2019/06/21/r...
March 6, 2026
Loved every bit of it!
I hoped for abeter ending... but...
It is a wonderful YA fantasy. The story progresses well. The scenes are described so well. The connection between Cal and Mare is a joy to behold until Maven rocks up and blows up everuthing. It really shows the importance of having a good upbringing. Your parents can make or break you.
Only negatibe thing i can say about it is, the author kept repeating events and phrases that did not warrant reminding. It was frustrating to read whole paragraphs of the same thing over and over. (Maybe it waz because it is a YA book?) Not sure.
There's a lot to say, but overall, great plot, characters and storytelling.
I hoped for abeter ending... but...
It is a wonderful YA fantasy. The story progresses well. The scenes are described so well. The connection between Cal and Mare is a joy to behold until Maven rocks up and blows up everuthing. It really shows the importance of having a good upbringing. Your parents can make or break you.
Only negatibe thing i can say about it is, the author kept repeating events and phrases that did not warrant reminding. It was frustrating to read whole paragraphs of the same thing over and over. (Maybe it waz because it is a YA book?) Not sure.
There's a lot to say, but overall, great plot, characters and storytelling.
April 23, 2021
Fun teen lit. I enjoyed the dystopian ideas and the characters developed. Along with addressing class systems, it argues for humanity’s proclivity for equality and peace. I appreciated the ways in which the storyline wasn’t cliche, but don’t expect it to be too far off the traditional story arc for this genre. The female protagonist is typically angry, maybe not as angry as Celaena Sardothian in the Throne of Glass series. I also appreciated that things didn’t wrap up as neatly. I probably wouldn’t read a break off series but maybe a jump in generation continuation.
June 4, 2025
Hat mich komplett mitgerissen
Eine Reihe, die unter die Haut geht.
Die Reihe hat mich überrascht – positiv! Mare ist greifbar, nicht perfekt, sondern impulsiv, stolz, verletzlich. Gerade das macht sie interessant. Die Welt ist hart, die Grenzen zwischen Gut und Böse verschwimmen, und man wird ständig überrascht. Ich konnte nicht aufhören zu lesen. Jeder Band hat Spannung, Emotionen und Wendungen, die einen mitnehmen. Das Ende hat mich aber nicht wirklich glücklich gemacht. Für mich ist es trotzdem eine der besten Jugend-Fantasyreihen der letzten Jahre. Klare Empfehlung!
Eine Reihe, die unter die Haut geht.
Die Reihe hat mich überrascht – positiv! Mare ist greifbar, nicht perfekt, sondern impulsiv, stolz, verletzlich. Gerade das macht sie interessant. Die Welt ist hart, die Grenzen zwischen Gut und Böse verschwimmen, und man wird ständig überrascht. Ich konnte nicht aufhören zu lesen. Jeder Band hat Spannung, Emotionen und Wendungen, die einen mitnehmen. Das Ende hat mich aber nicht wirklich glücklich gemacht. Für mich ist es trotzdem eine der besten Jugend-Fantasyreihen der letzten Jahre. Klare Empfehlung!
November 18, 2025
I really enjoyed the first two books. The third one kind of lost me. I can’t put my finger on it, really. I just know that it was kind of ridiculous that Mare really couldn’t trust anyone. The amount of betrayal in this series is astronomical. I do appreciate that big characters die. I enjoy when an author adds death that makes me seethe. I am so happy Maven finally met his demise! I don’t know if I’m going to be in a hurry to read the fifth book, but I swear to gods if somehow he isn’t dead, I’m losing my shit!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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