RED QUEEN by VICTORIA AVEYARD

Red Queen

by Victoria Aveyard

Published: February 2015

Publisher: Harper Collins

Genre: YA, dystopian

"The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the 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?"

As this was on my most anticipated releases of 2015, I was pretty excited about this one. The premise sounded like something I would enjoy and I was intrigued because it was a debut novel and I'm always keen on supporting new authors. 

I will start by saying that I will be continuing on with this series as I felt that this book was a well written one. Once I got into the story at around 50 pages I wanted to keep reading, the plot was fast paced, although occasionally any action scenes did go by in the blink of an eye but I wouldn't say that is a negative. Whilst the plot and characters itself aren't the most imaginative in the world, I think that the actual world of Red and Silvers and their abilities IS original and incredibly interesting. That being said I can see why this book has got a lot of hype, but I am glad I read this without reading too much into the hype as I do think that would have left me feeling slightly disappointed.

You don't know who to trust in this novel, everyone is suspicious and everyone has their own motives. I can't say I loved anyone in this novel but that's not really the point. Mare, the main protagonist was often annoying and made mistakes (so like pretty much all of the protagonists in YA dystopians) but she was made of fire and wit. I can't imagine how she found the will to go on when everything was against her. The Silvers are menacing and so overpowering that it made me wonder a) how they got their abilities and b) why the Red's don't just band together and overrule them, its often hinted at that the Reds outnumber the Silvers, but then I supposed you wouldn't really want to go against someone who has the ability to read your mind and disable your thoughts...

I can see great things in this author's future if this is the standard of her debut novel. Harper Collins did a great job in snapping her up, I am looking forward to the sequel. If you are a fan of dystopians then I would recommend this in a heartbeat. 

4/5 STARS

THE ONE by KIERA CASS

The One
by Kiera Cass
Published: June 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: YA, dystopian
*This will be a spoiler free review UNLESS you haven't read the previous two books*

"THE SELECTION changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. Now, only one will claim Prince Maxon’s heart…
For the four girls who remain at the palace, the friendships they’ve formed, rivalries they’ve struggled with and dangers they’ve faced have bound them to each other for the rest of their lives.
Now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.
America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown – or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realises just how much she stands to lose – and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants." -taken from goodreads

This is the final book in the Selection trilogy and it concluded remarkably well. This was by far the best book in the trilogy and I really felt like it this one had far more action and plot than the other two. I felt like their was so much more development with the characters, especially the other contestants in the Selection.

There was a little bit more of a development with the world and the Rebels which was done pretty well but still didn't make the read totally dark as most dystopians are.

Maxon was always my choice right from the start, I never really got Aspen and America's relationship at all I thought that Aspen was so obnoxious and irritating, he had no personality other than acting like the hard shipped six.

I did think that Americas's humility did her well but occasionally it did seem as if she was trying too hard to be the selfless lower caste.

Anyway, all in all I think that this trilogy is a really easy light read that has kept me entertained and although yes, it does have its imperfections, it will be a great re-read and I did really like it.

5/5 STARS

'FOUR' A DIVERGENT STORY COLLECTION by VERONICA ROTH

'Four': A Divergent Story Collection
by Veronica Roth
Published: July 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins

Genre: YA, Dystopian
*possible spoilers if you haven't read the Divergent series*

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling divergent series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son, and The Traitor—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the Divergent trilogy." -taken from Goodreads

I loved Divergent and Insurgent but Allegiant was the biggest let down ever (read a full review here), part of the reason that I hated it so much was the duel perspectives between Four/Tobias or Tris. Now, normally I really enjoy duel POV but this was done so badly, both Tris and Four sounded exactly the same and often I had to flip the pages back and forth to remember who I was reading. Also, I felt like the Four in Allegiant was a completely different character to the Four in Divergent and Insurgent, so therefore when it was announced that there would be a bind up of novellas from Four's point of view, I was slightly nervous and was considering not even reading it. But for the sake of being a completist I felt like I needed to if only because of my love for Divergent and Insurgent.

I am so surprised by how much I liked 'Four'. The Tobias in this book was the Divergent and Insurgent Four and for that I was very happy. He wasn't the whiney, boring and insufferable Tobias of Allegiant, but the Tobias that although has been affected by his life before Dauntless he doesn't stop it from getting in the way of doing what needs to be done and instead of his experiences hindering his actions they bettered his actions and he just seemed like the Tobias from the first two books.

I felt like these collections of novellas were really nice to add more depth to the Divergent series and in my opinion has saved Tobias' character that was very damaged in Allegiant. I would recommend this to fans of the Divergent trilogy. I enjoyed all of the stories but my particular favourite was 'The Transfer' as you had never got to see this side or story of Tobias.

4/5 STARS 

THE SELECTION by KIERA CASS

The Selection
by Kiera Cass
Published: April 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Contemporary

"In a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels the Selection is the chance of a lifetime: to compete for gorgeous Prince Maxon's ear. But for America Singer it means turning her back on her secret love, and leaving home for a prize she doesn't want.

Then America meets Maxon and all her plans start to crumble. Can the life she's always dreamed of compare to a future she never imagined?" - taken from Goodreads
Interestingly enough I went into this book slightly sceptical as I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. I was pleasantly surprised though and ended up actually enjoying it and reading it in about two sittings. The Selection is the first in a trilogy and is advertised as a 'girly dystopian'. To be honest, I felt like it fitted a little better with a contemporary as the whole premise of the book is basically having a bachelor-esque TV show so that the prince can find a wife but the slight hints towards a dystopian setting were very well done.

The world is a very interesting concept, Illea, has a system were people are ranked between One and Eight via birth right, One being a royal and Eight being effectively a homeless person, each Caste as they are called have specific jobs, for example, being a Five, which is what America was before the Selection had jobs in the arts, so she was a singer and musician as well as her mother and her father was a painter. I felt like later in the story there were some subtle hints that things aren't quite right with the history of the world but they are skirted over pretty quickly. 

I went into this book with the knowledge that America is an annoying character, I didn't necessarily feel that annoyed about her although she of course had her moments. I did feel like she changed her mind about Maxon very quickly considering everything but I guess thats what happens when you are amongst 35 girls fighting for his attention. 

I had no real issues with this book and enjoyed it as a light, fluffy read, it is certainly one I can see myself re-reading. Not perfect but certainly not too shabby. 

4/5 STARS

ALLEGIANT by VERONICA ROTH

Allegiant
by Veronica Roth
Published: 22nd October 2013 (hardback), September 2014 (paperback)
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Dystopian, YA

"The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 
But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love." -from Goodreads

It has indeed taken me this long to finally get around to reading the conclusion to the brilliant Divergent series. I had SUCH high expectations for this book and I'm sad to sad that it didn't meet them. 

I'll try to avoid spoilers but obviously if you haven't read the first two books (which you definitely should) then you will be spoiled. 

The thing that let this book down the most was that it was just confusing, it was confusing to the point where I found myself having to re-read chapters because I had completely missed what was happening. Due to the frankly quite boring plot of the "GD and GP's"I  found myself completely losing interest. This book brought nothing special to the series and just didn't have the spark that made the previous two books so special. I don't think it was due to the actual writing because that is what drew me in so much to the previous titles, I think it was more to do with the fact that the plot was just so off from the world that we had become accustomed to.

Whilst I understand why Veronica Roth chose to write the book from Tobias and Tris' point of view and I didn't dislike it, something should have been done in the way of publishing to make it clearer who's point of view it was, especially because both voices are so similar. I feel that an effort should have been made (like with books such as the Legend trilogy) to make the difference in voices clearer. The main problem that writing the book in this way created was that I realised that Tobias and Tris don't seem like separate characters, I just felt that they were written almost too similarly and it ruined the dynamic of them.

I'm left feeling disappointed by the conclusion, I suppose I understand why the author did what she did but it just left me feeling flat and wondering the point of it all was. 

In conclusion I think Allegiant was a fairly non-remarkable ending to an otherwise brilliant young adult dystopian trilogy.

3/5 STARS