The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
I got this sent this book from Netgalley, a book that's been floating around all the "must reads" lists for 2015. So originally I was quite skeptical that it could be over hyped but by gosh I was so SO wrong. This book is brilliant! Its a kind of Game of Thrones meets X-Men- if you love them then you will adore this book as much as I did!
You meet Mare Barrow a born Red girl who wants to escape with her friend Kilorn, the war between her people the poor Red's and the rich Silver's. With her brother already fighting in the war, she could be next. Mare is thrown into the dangerous world of Silver power as she gets employed into the royal household thanks to a hooded handsome stranger she bumps into the night before. Throughout the novel you see Mare discover a power she didn't she had and with that come brave decisions for the greater good of keeping her family safe, even if it means her own life is in danger. The problem being she needs to distinguish who she can and cannot trust!
I really enjoyed the character development in this book, the author Victoria Aveyard has a brilliant way of deceiving you with her characters. Never mind Mare try to tell apart the people she can trust, you the reader have a hard time of who's genuine and those who aren't too! This book kept me guessing and that's what made it even more enjoyable.
My favourite character I feel has to be Queen Elara, she's evil and reminds me SO much of Cersei from Game of Thrones, she's feisty, manipulative in control of her family- not that the King notices much and has a distinct power of reading minds. With this said, all the characters are great in their own ways, some you learn to love and some you learn to hate!
Overall, I just thoroughly enjoyed reading the first installment of this series. There is so much more to be discovered in this story and I cannot wait to find out where it will lead to, so to put it simply, please hurry with the second book Victoria!
