Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Published: 12th February 2015
Publisher: Orion

Review
Red Queen is a book I have been hankering to read for a while. I mean the cover alone is more than enough to peak your interest. I love it! I would have read this sooner of course, but had some other reading commitments as is usual, but finally found some time to read it. Red Queen is a world divided by blood- red and silver. Those who have silver blood have special powers that they believe make them the elite, whereas the red blooded like you and I are treated as no more than servants as they are without any unique abilities. If the Reds cannot find a work placement before their 18th birthday, they are sent straight to war against the Lakelanders, which is where our protagonist Mare Barrow sees herself heading in a years time. Poverty and hardship are all the Reds have ever known and that's the way they think things will stay. That is until Mare finds herself working at the Silver Palace and she discovers she is not so powerless after all...
Initially upon starting this, I thought this was going to be your typical YA dystopian novel, and yes there are bits of it that are very similar to other dystopian novels. But not far into the book (I didn't read the full synopsis by the way) there was a twist that I didn't see coming and after that I was pretty much hooked.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mare's story. I never knew what was going to happen or what twists and turns the author would throw at us next. No it isn't unique, but Victoria has written a brilliant story that works well. Mare is a fantastic character, she's strong, she's feisty, she wants to fight for what's right, but she has morals as well. She is also surrounded by a brilliantly imaginative cast of characters and not only this, but you can't take them all on face value, as as Mare was told, you don't know who will betray you.
Victoria Aveyard has written a wonderfully vivid and colourful world through her descriptions and I was fascinated by the way in which Mare's world was divided by blood colour- red or silver. There are some great themes running through the story such as well and I particularly enjoyed the hierarchy between the Silvers and how they all back stab each other and want to be the best. It is all about self-image and who has the most influence. 
So although this book did remind me of many other dystopian novels, it was still unique in its own way and I still enjoyed it. A definite read for dystopian fans.