Red Queen is a book that resembles X-Men meets Hunger Games. A dystopian fantasy world that draws readers into an adventure of Reds and Silvers on the verge of war. At first glance we have a gorgeous cover with a bloody crown. It would definitely make a great movie poster for the upcoming movie! This cover draws the reader’s eye but what lies inside is an action pact adventure that won’t let the reader put down the book. There was a lot of hype around this book and for good reason too, it’s just that good! It smashed all my expectations and gave me a wonderful read that makes me yearn for the second book. I bow to the talented Victoria because it’s going to be pure torture waiting for book 2.Our main character Mare Barrow lives in the Stilts, a dilapidated muddy village of Reds that serves the Silvers. In this world people are divided by blood. The Silvers live their lives with luxury because of the powers they wield and the color of their silver blood. Due to the fact that they have red blood with no powers, they serve the Silvers. Mare’s brothers fight in a war that never ends. The kingdom of Norta is at war with Lakeland. To make things better she steals to give her family food and electricity. But her time to fight in the war is drawing near as her conscription date arrives. Mare has come to terms with it, that is until her friend Kilorn is being sent to war. She tries to save him anyway she can but soon she finds herself in the palace as a servant until one fateful night it all changes. Mare discovers she has a gift too, a power like the Silvers. Problem is that she isn’t a Silver. The King and Queen attempt to hide Mare and give her a new identity as a long lost Silver Princess.Yep, she is now a princess and engaged to the second Prince, Maven. She has to train and learn the ways of the silvers and harness her powers. To make matters worse, or a lot better if you think about it, two princes, Maven and Cal, via for her affection. She has enemies who hate her, one in particular is Evangeline, a silver who can manipulate metal…can we say Magneto’s kin?! A rebellion is rising among the Reds and they want Mare to join. They call themselves the Scarlett Guard, revolutionaries who want to change the whole nobility process. Mare has to deceive the world that she is Silver while deceiving the Silver’s for the Scarlett Guard. What’s a girl to do?Let’s first talk about the abilities. I love the powers. I’m an X-men fan and the ability to control things is fantastic. In Victoria’s world you have the Silver’s who have X-men esque powers. Each one has their own ability. There are the strongarms, tellky, whispers, magnetron, and nymphs just to name a few with one badass lightning girl.Mare is a wonderful character. She’s headstrong, heartfelt and cares for everyone. Everything she does is in good intention. She wants to protect her people, the Reds, but also finds there are some Silvers she wants to protect too, some that she has grown close to. Mare is so outspoken that I just love that characteristic about her. I couldn’t wait to see what snide remarks she had next for the Silvers. She starts to see both worlds and the repercussions that occur in them because she lives in both worlds. There’s many times she falls down with failure but Mare is so strong she gets back up fighting!The secondary characters were just as interesting, especially the two princes. There is Maven, Mare’s fiancé, and there’s Cal, the Crown Prince. There really wasn’t much of a love triangle between them. Which I’m glad because I loath love triangles. In reality they don’t exist. Cal wants to protect his people but sneaks out to see how the Reds live. This is where he meets Mare, who pickpockets him. For the would be king, Cal keeps his distance and observes. He keeps to himself but show’s his concern for Mare and his brother in the ways he helps them. He’s brave and strong. Maven is a kind prince who’s easy going and lives in the shadow of Cal. He takes it in stride and helps Mare anyway he can. There are other characters such as Kilron, the king and queen and Evangeline that bring this world to life. You can’t miss them because they spark some anger or concern within you when it comes to their association with Mare.The world building is fantastic! Victoria’s writing flows with the action and every scene is breathtakingly vivid. Her descriptions puts the reader right into the story. There’s action, suspense, and slight romance that makes an edge of your seat read that you can’t put down. Victoria helps the reader delve into her world with the right amount of information, no info dumping here people. The twist and turns are epic, some you see coming and others just hit you in the gut with surprise. POW! One thing I do hope is the next book is the backstory regarding The Ruins and The Wash. There is some backstories I hope Victoria explores because it’s so interesting in the first book!Should you read it? Yes! A phenomenal debut from from Victoria! X-men meets Hunger games with action intense scenes that make you turn each page swiftly. You won’t want to put this book down so come see what you’re missing!