Serving as the first book in a series of five, Red Queen is a suspenseful fantasy novel with plot twists that will surprise you and leave you wanting more. The book is about a world where there are two types of blood, red and silver. Those with silver blood have superhuman abilities, and live in wealth and royalty. Those with red blood are typically servants, live in poverty, and are entirely separated from silvers. The main character, Mare, is a young adult living in a poor run-down town, who resorts to stealing food and money to keep her family alive. When  a raging war and a draft threatens to submit Mare to the same fate as her brothers – fighting – Mare would do anything to save herself from needing to fight. Then all of a sudden, her life changes in an instant. It is discovered that she has a special ability – to produce lightning. However, she has red blood.

Mare is taken to a seemingly new world – where silvers live and rule. There, she is torn between two choices – to be faithful to her red blood, or to protect herself and pretend to be someone she isn’t.

Red Queen is a young adult novel, but should be read by everyone. The only thing that would classify it as a young adult novel is strong language, but there’s not a lot of inappropriate language. . However, if that makes you uncomfortable, you might not necessarily enjoy some parts of this book.

Another interesting part of this book is that while reading, you think you know exactly what’s going on. However, that’s when the author hits you with multiple plot twists. This is a very enjoyable book to read where the characters feel real and their growth and development is very evident. The characters are likeable and there are significant moments where you can relate to them on an emotional scale.

Other books following Red Queen in the series are Glass Sword, King’s Cage, and War Storm. I would recommend this book to everyone and would rate it 4.5/5.  The reason I took off .5 would be because the chapters are very long and can sometimes feel drawn out, which can get slightly tedious. , But overall, I believe that it’s a great novel that everyone would enjoy reading. .