Red Queen Collector’s Edition by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.
I gave Red Queen only 3 stars when I read it for the first time. So it’s weird that I’m now giving it 4 stars. Hahaha. Many people in the YA community have conflicted feelings about this book, which is supposedly a maelstrom of frustrating tropes.
It probably helped that I reread this book without high expectations. I merely wanted to have fun, so I did. I can honestly say that I was super entertained. By the dystopian-like world, the sibling rivalry, the fast-paced battle scenes, and more. I particularly loved the infamous plot twist although I wasn’t that amazed by it back in 2015.
It was darkly funny to witness Mare being manipulated by Maven, the “shadow to Cal’s flame”. Don’t get me wrong; I did like Mare in spite of the fact that she was such a Special Snowflake. I have watched a lot of reviews on BookTube discussing her lack of agency and whatnot. Then again, I didn’t expect much from her, so her personality didn’t annoy me. Truth be told, the only thing I could hold against her was Lucas Samos’s death. It was such a waste. 😦
Oh, did anyone else notice the Star Wars moment in the climax, when King Tiberias blames Mare for turning Maven against him, and she’s like…
HAHAHAHA. I can’t get over it! It might sound funny, but this rip-off scene is the main reason why I can’t give this book 5 stars. The fact that Victoria Aveyard mentioned George Lucas in the Acknowledgements doesn’t change anything. My eyes are still rolling.
In the end, I am proud of myself for giving Red Queen another chance. Buying this beautiful collector’s edition definitely increased my motivation. Harharhar. My copy of Glass Sword has been preserved in plastic since 2016, and I’m so pumped to flip through the fresh pages. And yeah, I have heard MANY BAD THINGS about both Glass Sword and King’s Cage. According to the grapevine, Mare becomes more annoying. Strangely, this makes me very excited. Reverse psychology works wonders! xD
High Literature 
This review was so much fun to read haha! All of the Red Queen reviews I read are all so unrelatable to me because they either sing it incredible praises or trash it completely, but this one reflects exactly how I feel about this book!!! It’s not amazing or a masterpiece but its entertaining for sure!
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Cal was also slightly annoying in King’s Cage (imo).
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