Hazel Harbor Books

“Anyone can betray anyone.”
— Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

Red Queen was not originally on my radar — I came to it by way of the online discourse surrounding Powerless by Lauren Roberts, and the conversations comparing the two books. Curiosity got the better of me. What I did not anticipate was cancelling plans, more than once, for the sake of this series. I have zero regrets.

What I Loved

This book consumed me. I finished it and immediately picked up the next two in the series — which is, I think, the highest possible endorsement I can offer. Victoria Aveyard has written something that is genuinely difficult to put down: a story that is equally character-driven and plot-driven, which is a balance far harder to strike than it sounds. Neither element cannibalizes the other. The plot is urgent and propulsive; the characters are layered enough to make you care deeply about what happens to them. Together, they create something that kept me reading well past any reasonable hour… for multiple nights in a row.

The character arcs in particular are handled with real skill. The development feels earned and internally consistent. The characters change because of what happens to them, in ways that make sense given who they are. There is no sense of the plot demanding a character behave in a certain way for convenience. Everything feels motivated, and that integrity goes a long way toward making the story’s twists and turns land with genuine force.

A Note on Powerless

I want to address the elephant in the room, since it is the reason I picked this book up in the first place. Having now read Red Queen, I understand why the comparisons to Powerless have sparked such strong reactions online. The two books share not just broad thematic territory but specific story beats and scenarios that, when read back to back, are striking in their similarity. I will leave it to each reader to draw their own conclusions — questions of influence and originality in fiction are rarely simple, and I am not in a position to make definitive claims. What I can say is that reading Red Queen first would significantly color how you experience Powerless, and for me personally, the overlap was enough to give me pause about seeking out more from the author of Powerless.

Overall Thoughts

Red Queen is a gripping, beautifully constructed fantasy that earns its place as the start of a series worth losing sleep over. Aveyard writes with confidence and clarity, and the world she has built is rich enough to sustain not just this book but the volumes that follow. If you have been on the fence about starting this series, consider this your sign.

Cancelled plans and all — it was absolutely worth it.

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