The Red Queen Series – Victoria Aveyard

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

This four book series is probably one of my favorites. The red queen series was recommended to me by many of my friends and fellow book lovers and after having it on my to-be-read list for a long time, I finally got around to reading it. I have to tell you, you will not regret reading this series. 

Red Queen

The first book of the series begins kind of slow with the introductions to our main characters. I have to admit, I definitely found it hard to love the main character Mare Barrow until the story started really moving along. Mare began the story as being just another powerless red who’s only real skill is being a pickpocket. It is only until she gets the chance to work in a silver world, does she discover what she truly is. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but it is definitely an amazing dystopian fantasy. 

This first book gave readers insight to the world of silvers and reds and I have to say I absolutely love the entire idea of it. The world of silvers being superior and reds not having the same equality was fascinating to me and as I saw just how willing each of the characters were willing to fight for their own equality, the story just grew on me more and more. Each of the characters added to the idea of red vs. silver and I just knew that I was going to love the world that Victoria Aveyard had created. 

Mare Barrow as a character was so easy to follow once the story actually began and as she joined with the rebellion of reds against silvers, her character also grew closer to the silvers she had been stuck with. I found myself on the edge of my seat just wondering how the whole situation was going to end. 

The ending of the Red Queen book definitely left me on the edge of my seat absolutely needing to read Glass Sword – the second book of the series. I have to say, I was not expecting the betrayal of one of my favourite characters towards Mare, and his actions surprised me completely. 

Glass Sword

Glass Sword began with Mare finally being free of the restrictions of being a “silver”, and she was with the Guard. As Mare goes around to save her kind, I found myself loving her strong character even more. Her development throughout the book was really well written, and I think that her ability to hold her ground made her a character that even I would want to follow. 

This book was really important to the storyline and it added a lot of information that I was especially wondering about Mare’s kind and how it contributed to the ongoing fight for equality and change in Norta. 

With the Guard’s main enemy being a king, their issues were piling higher and higher as they had to navigate the streets while also being fugitives of the crown. After finding enough of Mare’s kind, I found myself waiting for more, and the book just kept on delivering. The main fight of the book was exactly what I had been waiting for from Glass Sword, and while I absolutely loved the entire scene, I also hated it for the death of one of the best characters in the series. 

Glass Swords shocking end was such a surprise, and made me love the series and want to read the next book just that much more. 

King’s Cage

I have to say, King’s Cage was the worst book out of the entire series (in my opinion). After the ending of the last book, I thought it would be way more exciting, but I was waiting for something to happen for several long chapters, where Mare was basically just collecting information. 

After the whole “King’s Cage” aspect of the book was done, however, I found the story picked up again and it was a lot easier for me to read. This book really began the fight that the characters had been preparing for and I just had to know how it was going to end.

After taking over certain parts of Norta, the Guard finally had leverage against their King and so begins the final book of the series where the war is brought to the front. 

War Storm

War Storm is the final book of the series, and I did not like the ending. It left me hanging, and I needed real closure on the series. The rest of the book though, was really good. I really loved the change of narration every couple of chapters, especially because of Iris’s point of view where I was able to learn about the Lakelands and the kings side as well as what was happening in terms of Mare and the Guard. 

Throughout the book, it was mostly leading right to what we had been waiting for. The entire book of War Storm was leading up to this fight, and giving the characters the motives they needed to end the series. 

In the final chapters of the book, the war was finally happening and after three books leading up to this one moment, I did expect a little more. I wasn’t surprised with what happened between Mare and the Guards long lasting enemy, however I was kind of sad when it did happen and since he did begin as one of my favourite characters, I was sad to see him go. I also wanted a lot more than the ending of the war gave, because we basically just find out who won, and don’t get to actually see enough of the action as I had hoped. 

The overall ending of the series really did not do it justice. I recommend reading the novella Broken Throne for the real ending of how the characters do with what had happened in Norta and how they rebuilt their lives after fighting for equality for so long. 

Do I Recommend The Red Queen Series?

Absolutely. I was surprised by just how much I loved these books. I ended up reading the novella Broken Throne afterwards just to give me some closure on the story line, which definitely gave the ending that the series needed. I would definitely read these books again, and I loved getting lost in the world of Norta’s red vs. silver war.

Rating: 5/5 ⭐