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?
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?
Mare is actually a cool character. She is an amazing character. In the beginning, she's calm and a thief. Awesome. She lives in the shadow of her sister a talented seamstresses. Mare isn't talented in anything but using her quick fingers to snatch up coins and watches. (Not yet at least.) She has three brothers missing. She lives in the slums, wallowing in filth and conditions no person should bear. She has to see Silvers parade about their strength on First Friday. But then she experiences having a rippling power. (Okay. How did she not know she had this power? Does it first manifest only in times of trouble? I'm not sure.) She becomes a determined heroine. Determined to save her people the Reds. She is now in the spotlight. It's her turn to shine. She doesn't forget her roots, though. She still cares for her Red family but hesitantly embraces the lavish life of a Silver. Her change from the shadow to the star was great. I enjoyed it. You don't have anything holding you back but yourself. It's only you. You can be the star. You can be the one that everyone looks at. Or you could not. It depends on you. And Mare perfectly displays that ideal. She's also powerful. Her ability? Awesome. I've read enough about the elemental powers. No fire. No water. No earth. No air. Let's get something different. Electricity? Definitely different.
I didn't care too much for distant and seemingly cold-hearted Cal. I know he has another personality...but throughout the book, I didn't like him. Kind stranger or not. He seemed to always be distant. Emotionally, I mean. I don't like that. He was too distant. He didn't have enough time in the book to have anything special build.
But Maven...maybe. He had an interesting story to tell. He was a shadow like Mare. He connected with her on that. But he was power-hungry like his mother. He would do anything to be the flame not the shadow. I want to know why. That's the only reason I can say maybe about Maven. Why did he do it? Why? Is it his mother pushing him? Or inner motivation? Was he like this since he was a child? Or did he actually accept being a shadow long ago? I want to know what pushed Maven to be...well...Maven.
The setting is the thing I loved the best. It was fantastic. And the world building was great. The world was built well. There weren't many cracks.
The split between Silver and Red. It was definite. Certainly. You could tell the difference. You can see the line. It's a large line. It's an impasse. Really. This reminds me of the time before race equality. Except one side is magical.
And the magical element. The powers weren't just elemental. It was metal. It was electricity. A whisper. Someone with the power to create explosions.
This world isn't the same. It looks like the others. But it's magical. And it's fantastic. This world is very different than some of the other fantasy royalty worlds.
The plot. How dramatic. There was so much drama. It was drama not of the level of romance and royalty. It was an action drama. Rebellion drama.
Gah. The plot twists! Surprising and unexpected. I couldn't expect the one about Maven. Oh man. What a plot twist. I couldn't expect them. I didn't like them. They were shocking. Surprising. I had the wind knocked out of me.
But it seemed like the plot was skimming over important parts of the story. What I mean by that is that the plot wasn't talking about the 'becoming a princess' scenes but more about the rebellion. Not that I don't love rebellions and their action sequences. It seemed so odd. Wasn't she fumbling? Wasn't she not a natural? She seems to be perfect at it. But doesn't have a lot of lessons. Okay... I don't believe that.
The ending...not bad. It left questions, though. Like...how are they both bloods? What happened? What about Maven? How did they not kill Shade? Okay. I was lost.
It was a dramatic ending. A rushed ending too. Things were being thrown at the reader. This happened with the queen. This with Maven. And dodge this! Shade's secret! Dodge the fight. Dodge everything.
It was hard to swallow it. So much happened.
The romance was the turn-off. When did it form? Why did any of them think it was going to happen? I don't see it. It was an awkward piece of the puzzle. It didn't fit. At all.
Also. Is that a love triangle? Uh. I don't think so. The boys don't get a lot of love from Mare. Both guys aren't given love or much reason to be given love.
Cal? Why him? He didn't treat you that well. Sure. The job thing. But it doesn't seem right to place him as a love interest. I think he was pining after Mare. Not the other way around. Mare...she used them.
And Maven? Uh. What's with that? Wasn't she suspicious? Wasn't she suspicious about his willingness to turn? Odd. Very odd.
Weather:
Sunny with a few clouds
4/5
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