I rarely write about books I don’t wholly
enjoy, but I feel that this series is definitely worth writing about. I’ll
start with a slight disclaimer by saying I haven’t read the final book in the
series, I may get to it at some point, but based on what I’ve been seeing
online it’s not something I think I’ll be reading any time soon.
This series follows Mare Barrow a girl
born in the Stilts who lives with her parents and sister. They are struggling
to make a living however they can, her younger sister Gisa working as an
apprentice seamstress and Mare trying to pickpocket from the wealthier people in
their area. In the kingdom of Norta people like Mare and her family are known
as the Reds, the working class who are only there to serve the silvers and
fight in their wars for them.
The Silvers are the ruling class, easily
differentiated from the reds not only by the colour of their blood, but by the superhuman
abilities they are born with. This unfair balance is disturbed when Mare is unexpectedly
thrown into danger while working in the royal palace and is able to save herself
by suddenly letting loose a bolt of lightning. The ensuing chaos throws Mare
into the midst of the royal court where she finds herself in a different
struggle to survive.
The first book in this series, Red Queen,
I really enjoyed and read through it all in less than a week. I was really
drawn in by Mare and what I thought would be just another rags to riches story
but it quickly developed into something more. Aveyard is able to paint a clear
picture of the intricacies of the royal court and a good build up to some
twists which I don’t want to ruin for anyone who hasn’t yet read the series.
I really enjoyed the slowly blooming
romance between Mare and Maven while she was experiencing her conflicted
emotions for Cal, as well as how the author portrayed Queen Elara, it takes
some talent to make me dislike a character in a book that much.
I found book two to be quite slow and I
honestly struggled to get through it, there are some bright spots which really
piqued my interest but overall I found it to be disappointing. Book three was much
better in that the story flowed a lot more and there seemed to be more going on
at a better pace however I did find the ending a bit disappointing. The book
explores similar themes to other books in this genre, the war between the upper
and lower class, a slight love triangle and the battle between commitment to
family and duty but it is a slightly different take on these themes. Now that I
know there is a fourth book in the series I can understand why the story ended
the way it did and I’m glad that it isn’t the final conclusion for Mare as I
felt she deserved better especially after all she was fighting for.
Unfortunately, I felt really burnt out after reading this series so I won’t be
reading the final book in the near future. If anyone has read it and would
recommend it do let me know!
Comments
Post a Comment