Part of Red Queen, book 1
First published 2015
Mare Barrow lives in the Stilts, where her red blood marks her as a commoner beneath the silver-blooded elite. At seventeen, she expects nothing but poverty under rulers who wield supernatural abilities. Everything changes when she takes a job inside the Silver Palace. Surrounded by the very people who oppress her kind, Mare makes a shocking discovery. Her blood runs red, but she possesses lethal powers that rival any Silver's abilities. The ruling class fears what she represents. They conceal her true identity by claiming she is a lost Silver princess and arranging her engagement to a prince. Mare plays along with their deception while secretly aiding the Red Guard resistance movement. She walks a razor's edge where a single mistake means death. The palace becomes a battlefield of competing loyalties. Princes turn against each other, Reds plot against Silvers, and Mare faces an impossible choice between revolution and her own survival.
Genres: romance, fantasy, action, young-adult
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, secret-identity
Setting: Stilts, Silver Palace
Period: 17th Century
388 pages · Hardcover · HarperTeen
Content warnings: violence