Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen Trilogy #1
Genres: Dystopia, Fantasy, Young Adult

Release Date: February 10th, 2015
Publisher: Harperteen
Source: ARC from Publisher

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Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

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.

This is an incredibly hyped book but lately, some negative reviews have been popping up that had me worried. One of my friends adored this book though so I knew I had to at least give it a shot. Was it worth it? That’s a hard question to answer. This is one of those books in which the ending plays a major part so for some people, there feelings towards the book could be completely changed by the ending and for some people, the ending might come too late. I was somewhere in the middle.

You see, this is a perfectly good book but the reason it’s good and not great is that so much of it feels like I am reading some variation or another of books I've already read. With elements reminiscing those of The Hunger Games, The Selection (from what I hear) and even elements of Divergent (and probably some other dystopias I cannot think off at the moment), it feels slightly unoriginal but I have to give Victoria credit, she does make the story her own in ways. The problem was that some of the similarities were obvious and so that hindered my enjoyment of the book. 

Mare is not a character I can say I love but one that intrigues me. She makes a lot of questionable decisions but for some reason, I still liked her. There is something about her that made me feel like I could understand her. She is desperate to find some comfort in this unfamiliar world that has been thrust upon her and it makes sense that her need for comfort will make her blind to certain obvious truths. Certain things that happen towards the end of the book definitely make me think that she is someone who is going to undergo a LOT of development over the course of the series and someone who will manage to win our hearts. I am looking forward to seeing her develop and shed her naivety. 

The secondary characters are all an interesting bunch and I will leave it at that for reasons you may better understand once you have read the book.

I will; however, talk about the two brothers, Maven and Cal. Nothing as is seems with these brothers. Anything could be true and as a wise man one said, trust no one. The brothers are an interesting bunch and I liked getting to see the kind of people they were deep down but more importantly, I liked that neither of the two were perfect! 

The thing more of you will be intrigued about is how these two brothers are involved in the romance. The romance is… interesting but more importantly, it’s not a romance. It’s politics. And no, Mare is not necessarily the victim in this case. It’s very complicated and there isn’t technically a romance in this book. Romance takes place but there is almost no development so I never saw it as a romance (no matter the fact that a certain word was used).

The world building is interesting if not entirely unique. I wanted to know more about the silvers, these god like creatures who hold power over the reds. I want to know more about the war. Really, I just want to know more and I hope that in the books to come, we will get to find out more!

The plot was also set up in an interesting way but one of my major problems were the rebels. Not the idea of them but rather their drive. There was something about them that just didn’t work for me and for that reason, I wasn’t entire sold on the idea of the rebellion.  

It was the ending that made me see what the big deal about this book was. I have to admit, I wasn’t surprised by the ending, I KNEW something was off but at the same time, I was very interested in the affect the ending had on our characters and that’s what made me incredibly happy. The way it brought them together is interesting and I won’t say more because spoilers.

This may not be what I had wanted it to be but at the same time, I thought it was a good read and if you’re curious but scared of the hype, I’d still say to give it a shot since I ended up quite liking the book.

The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis

Series: Pirate Stream #1
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Middle Grade

Release Date: November 4th, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Checked out from Library

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Wherever you need to go--the Map to Everywhere can take you there.

To Master Thief Fin, an orphan from the murky pirate world of the Khaznot Quay, the Map is the key to finding his mother. To suburban schoolgirl Marrill, it's her only way home after getting stranded on the Pirate Stream, the magical waterway that connects every world in creation. With the help of a bumbling wizard and his crew, they must scour the many worlds of the Pirate Stream to gather the pieces of the Map to Everywhere--but they aren't the only ones looking. A sinister figure is hot on their tail, and if they can't beat his ghostly ship to find the Map, it could mean the destruction of everything they hold dear!

In Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis's first installment of a fantastical new series, adventure, magic, and hilarity collide in the treacherous skies and dangerous waters of the Pirate Stream. Heart-pounding escapades and a colorful cast of characters will have readers setting sail through this wholly original and unforgettable tale.

This seemingly simplistic book turned into a favorite of the year and I am not the least bit surprised. I love all kinds of books but I have a soft spot for adventures. All I’ve ever wanted from life is to have an adventure, a fantastical (in both senses of the word) one in particular. So whenever I come across an adventure book, I become extremely excited and get all grabby hands.  So when I came across this one, all I could think about was how much I needed the book. Awesome premise aside, have you seen that cover? Doesn’t it yell adventure?  To me it did. And indeed I had quite the adventure.

What makes this book so special though is the characters. They shine in the book because they are so well developed. They aren't some mere caricatures there to serve the purpose of an adventure, they are what MAKE the adventure. The book wouldn't be the same without them.

Fin is a master thief, but also someone no one remembers. Not just because he is 12 and unnoticeable but just because there is something about him, whether it's magical in nature we don't know. They could have met him yesterday but will forget who he is the next day. As a result, Fin doesn't have any friends or even a family since he is an orphan. As a result, he struggles with certain self-esteem issues. How would you feel if no one remembered you? The thing about Fin is that in spite of the way this makes him feel about himself, he is headstrong. He is stubborn and he makes smart decisions and he remembers his goals. He isn’t easily fooled. It’s why you cannot help but love him.  Also, he is pretty darn clever which just makes me want to tackle hug him. Aren’t clever thieves the best? (in books.. not so much in real life)

When Marill comes along though, for the first time someone remembers him and it’s so much fun to watch Fin deal (yes deal) with having a friend for the first time in his life, having someone to talk to. Well the more appropriate term for their relationship would be beautiful. You cannot help but feel all fluttery inside since he’s been on his own for so long!

But let’s talk about Marill now. Marill is fabulous. Marill is a great friend but more than that, she is just as brave and smart as Fin and even more determined to get back to her mother. What I like best about Marill is that she seems to realize when Fin needs to be reassured. Considering the kind of enemy they have in this book, Fin sometimes forgets that he isn’t just a nobody, there are people who remember him and people who care about him and she makes sure to remind him of this.

As you can already imagine, their friendship is pretty much full of win. Neither of them have really had a friend before so they have to learn to trust one another and depend on one another and it’s so much FUN watching them do so. They get to learn the friend dance and they become the best of friends. I’d totally want to be friends with them too. I know I could count on them to have my back.

All that said, the fun part. Ahh, the adventure. We spend this book looking for the pieces of The Map to Everywhere. The one that will take Marill home to her sick mother, the one that might help Fin find his mother. But they are joined on this journey, or rather they join Arden and Col both of whom are fabulous secondary characters even though they don’t remember who Fin is (in fact, it’s always funny to see their reaction to him each time they ‘meet’ him).

We are sailing on THE pirate stream, the stream that broke off from the river of creation, the one that connects all worlds together. I am sure this already gives you an idea of how fantastical the world building is in this book. The authors don't hold back on us. We are emerged into this world but the authors make sure we never feel lost, there is no sense of info dump and I felt quite in the element. I could imagine everything happening. 

This book is incredibly fast paced but it never feels rushed, it’s more like the fact that the book flies by and suddenly it’s over and you have no idea what to do with your life. Good thing this is part of a series because I am DEFINITELY NOT ready to let go of these fantabulous characters.

This original and gorgeously written book won’t fail to take you on an adventure, so strap in and have the time of your lives!