Special Powers - Oppressed People - A Prince - A Heroine from the working class. 
 The world of Red Queen is set in a fantastical dystopian world where people are divided into two classes; Silvers - the ruling class and the Reds - the servants and soldiers. It is not that simple really, but that is the general outlook of the world in which Mare Barrow lives. Close to her conscription date, Mare is offered a job in the royal palace. What seems to be a relief from a life in the army, soon turns into something much more. The Silvers have always had powers and the Red don't - Mare seems to be an exception to it! She is a Red with powers and she is discovered smack middle of an event at the palace. She soon finds herself betrothed to the young Silver Prince as there is a revolution brewing and the Silver Court wants to use her as a pawn in the game. 
 Red Queen was interesting and disappointing at the same time. This book has some very interesting characters. Mare, our protagonist, is a rebel from the very beginning. From stealing to help out her family to try and save her friend from being drafted to the army, Mare does what she feels needs to be done. The Crown Prince Cal is my sweetheart in the book. He is the kind of a person I would like to see in the leadership position. He genuinely cares for the people of his kingdom and is not afraid to get down and dirty to root out the problems. Prince Maven was a character who surprised me - while I felt that something was off about him through the story, I just didn't expect him to turn out the way he did. And the Evil Queen... Well, she is an antagonist that I dare not cross - especially with her special powers. 
 I loved the way the author has set up her dystopian world that is quite different yet familiar at the same time. It has a few elements that we have already seen in some books before - the inherent good vs evil feel and the love triangle that I feel is overused in most plots. But the narrative style holds attention through the book, making it a page turner.