I've been looking forward to Red Queen ever since last year; it sounded like an epic YA fantasy, plus the cover was beautiful. I'm pleased to say that it ended up being pretty awesome. 
 The world was a little difficult to settle into in the beginning. I'm always a little confused when we have things like kingdoms and magic, yet at the same time there's modern stuff like guns running around. It's like a mash-up of genres, and it's disorienting because the two things are so different. So it's hard to tell what kind of things these people would have, and what they wouldn't. I'm really hoping the sequel has some kind of map, because that would have worked well in Red Queen. Once I got past that minor annoyance, the rest of the world-building was cool. It's something we've seen a million times before - a mistreated lot of people, one thing that sets them apart from the powerful group and an evil oppressive government. 
 That aspect of the story is far from original. But that isn't really the fault of the book. In Red Queen, there are the Reds (the non-magical, normal, oppressed people) and the Silvers (those who possess some kind of ability). The protagonist of the story is Mare, who I liked quite a bit. Mainly I understood her desire to be a better person than she was in the start of the book and I loved how level-headed she was. Yes, she had feelings for boys, but it never overwhelmed her. When it got in the way of her goal, she was able to put aside her feelings - she's even willing to manipulate her love interests if it helps her cause. Overall I look forward to spending more time with her in the next book. 
 Honestly, Red Queen reminded me a lot of The Selection. There's a kind of competition between a bunch of girls to marry the prince, and once Mare is betrothed to one, she is very sympathetic to the rebels like America was. There isn't a chase system, but the society had the same kind of feel. The difference is that while the Selection books were (mostly) good, lighthearted fun, Red Queen is a lot more darker and sophisticated. And Mare was the heroine America should have been. The whole time I was reading I had this little voice in my head saying, "Yes, this is how that series should have been." The main theme of the book is "Anyone can betray anyone", and that added a lot of suspense. I was pretty sure some massive treachery was just around the corner at all times, so I never really allowed myself to get too attached to anyone. 
 I liked both the love interests. Cal was a bit distant, but he seemed like a really noble guy. Obviously I disagreed with his views on keeping the country basically the same as it always was after he was King, but at the same time I saw where he was coming from. Of the two, I think I preferred Maven. He seemed to gradually build chemistry with Mare as time went on, and I really liked them together. There is a bit of a love triangle in the story, but really I wouldn't worry too much about it if that kind of thing bothers you. I guess you could even count Kilorn, Mare's childhood best friend (kind of like Aspen) as a love interest, but it's too early to tell if anything will come of that or not. 
 I was completely hooked for the last hundred pages or so. I loved the way the climax of the book unfolded; it all seemed to happen so fast, but not too fast. And now, a spoilery part to express my feels: (view spoiler)[ I totally expected Queen Elara to betray the rest of her family at some point. There seemed to be no great love between her and the king. But I was heartbroken by Maven's betrayal. It was so hard to believe that all his kindness was just a lie. He almost seemed completely insane in the end after he was crowned. I kind of hope he finds some kind of redemption, but I've fallen into that trap before. *coughGrishatriologycough*. And that one scene where Elara was controlling Cal was kind of sad. Not because the king died (he was, after all, a huge jerk), but because Cal is definitely going to have some issues with that in the future. (hide spoiler)] 
 Red Queen was a very enjoyable story, and I'm excited for the sequel. It's too bad we have to wait until 2016 - it seems so far away. 
 4.5 stars