Red Queen

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Dates Read: 6/1/16; 6/12/18-6/13/18
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series: Red Queen #1

The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.

This, along with the Hunger Games series, was one of my first true YA books. I fell in love with this series quickly. It was such a fresh idea when I read it, plus I had just delved into YA.

Mare Barrow is a 16-year-old girl with a knack for pickpocketing. She and her family live in the Stilts, the slums of Norta. Her sister, Gisa, is a skilled seamstress. Her best friend Kilorn is apprenticed under a local fisherman. All three of her brothers are in the army.

Mare and her family are reds. They are commoners. Mare's world is divided by blood. Reds are the commoners while Silvers are the rich and royal. Some silvers even have special powers. Mare discovers that she too has one of these abilities, against all odds. She is whisked away to the capital to live with the royal family. She is betrothed to Maven, the second-born prince.

Before she leaves, however, she joins the Scarlet Guard. The Scarlet Guard is a rebellion group bent on bringing down the silvers and providing equality for all. Mare is playing a dangerous game and could cost her more than she bargained for.

Crooked Kingdom

Title: Crooked Kingdom
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Dates Read: 10/9/2017-10/14/2017
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series: Six of Crows (book 2)

Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for. 

To be honest, I don't know how to write this. It's probably going to be incoherent rambling since I finished 5 minutes ago and haven't recovered.

I'm not going to give a summary of the book, since it would spoil Six of Crows. Crooked Kingdom does, however, pick up just a few days after the events of Six of Crows. I have mixed emotions about this one. On one hand, I loved some things, but on the other, I didn't like some things.

I loved how the characters were portrayed in this book. Is just as good, if not better than their portrayal in Six of Crows. Sometimes, in series, the character development tends to go downhill, but not in this series.

I also grew to like Matthias more. I didn't like him very much in Six of Crows, but now I like him.
My favorite quote, though, is a little familiar from book one.

“Where do think the money went?" he repeated.
"Guns?" asked Jesper.
"Ships?" queried Inej.
"Bombs?" suggested Wylan.
"Political bribes?" offered Nina. They all looked at Matthias. "This is where you tell us how awful we are," she whispered.
He shrugged. "They all seem like practical choices.” 

There was only one thing I didn't like, however. That was the storyline. It started off very fast paced, but it dragged through most of the story until the end. This is not enough to deter a reader, but it doesn't have the action like Six of Crows.

I don't want to let these characters go, but I'm glad to see it end, as we get a feel of justice and finality. Who knows, maybe she will write a third one ;).