RED QUEEN | REVIEW/DISCUSSION

This book was good. I liked it. I'll probably read it again, and I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the series. Set in a world of unjust divide in which the Reds are nothing more than the pawns of the wealthy, powerful Silvers, who happen to have supernatural abilities. The protagonist is a snarky 17 year old girl, and her character is actually surprisingly believable! I liked that the author didn't put much emphasis on her appearance. She isn't portrayed as secretly 'perfect' and doesn't always find a miraculous way out of a sticky situation. 

HOWEVER.

The love triangle. I hated the love triangle. I'm just so over the whole 'two guys fighting over one girl who happens to have feelings for both' cliche. Like it wasn't painful enough in Twilight, (which to be fair I enjoyed when I was 13, back when I thought the love triangle was hopelessly romantic, and heartbreaking, and bla bla bla).

OH and if it wasn't bad enough that two brothers (who also happen to be princes) seem to be falling for the same girl, the author randomly drops a couple of annoying, underdeveloped hints about the protagonist's best friend having feelings for her too. Three guys like one girl, and she has feelings for ALL of them? Yeah. Ok. Cool. Not saying it can't happen, I just personally think it's SO ridiculous, especially when used as the driving force behind the plot.

Actually, I'm glad the bit about the best friend was underdeveloped. In fact the suggestion of it should be totally eradicated. Wiped from the earth. Obliterated. For once it would've been nice if two people of the opposite sex could have actually JUST been lifelong friends without the hint of something 'more'. 

BUT.

Just as Red Queen was reaching an unbearable level of gross, and I literally had to put the book down for the night in disgust, EVERYTHING CHANGED. I picked it up again in the morning, disgruntled, and annoyed at the thought of having to suffer through an irritating love triangle AND WHAT DID I FIND INSTEAD. PLOT TWISTS MY FRIENDS SO MANY PLOT TWISTS. 

It was brilliant. The last 50 pages of the book just changed the whole game. It was intense, shocking, poignantly sad, and I was on total edge, devouring the pages in anticipation of what would happen next. The moment the book switched its focus away from romance the plot improved, drastically. Before that, Red Queen was still pretty good, gripping, and easy to read. I managed to connect with it emotionally, and there were some decent surprises tucked away in there too. Some of the characters were very loveable, and made me want to squish them in a big bear hug, which made the BIG revelation shocking to the core, like wow I did NOT see that coming!!! Rip away everything I hold dear why don't you.

I'll admit, aside from the love triangle I had a couple of other issues with this book. 

It seemed a little too similar to the hunger games, what with the horribly oppressed Reds and the disgustingly rich Silvers, and of course, the rebels. The revolution. Except the plot seemed a little simplistic at times, and the world itself felt underdeveloped. 

But if the next few books in the series are just as good as the final few chapters of Red Queen, then they should be UH-MAZING. I'm craving something more complex than a plot driven by (vomit-worthy) romance, a fate that the author just about managed to save Red Queen from. I do love a good heartless betrayal. 

Have you guys read Red Queen? What did you think? And how do YOU feel about... love triangles. (It's ok if you like them I'm sure we can still be friends)