Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I have been reading a lot of dystopian novels with the most recent read being The Queen of the Tearling.  In the same vein (no pun intended), Red Queen is set is a time after a nuclear war has wiped out much of the earth.  A war has been continuing for centuries with the loss of many lives, and the world's resources are at stake.

.  Blood is two different colors, silver and red.  The Silvers rule and many have super human powers.  The Reds are the commoner and servants.  Their place in society is determined by the color of their blood.  

Mare Barrow is a thief.  She steals to help keep her family alive, and her blood is red.  She pickpockets the prince of the Silvers, and from that moment, her life changes.  Mare finds that she is different from the other Reds, and she also finds feelings that she didn't realize she had.  

Can she use her powers to help her people?  Can she trust those around her?  Will greed, corruption, and intrigue cloud her decision-making? Will the prejudice and servitude ever end? I am ready for book II, so book I is all ready for you!

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Hundreds of years ago, a group of people left their damaged world behind and sailed to another world, leaving behind technology and all of the problems that it caused.  A new world was set up, but that world remained far from perfect.  This world is ripe for change.  This world needs a strong, fair leader.

Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is not your average princess.  She is not unattractive, but she wouldn't get a lot of notice on the streets of New London.  She also could stand to lose a few pounds as a member of the Queens's Guard reminded her during training.  However, there is something different about her.  She is nothing like her mother, Elyssa, nor her uncle, who is the current ruler of Tearling.

 For reasons that Kelsea doesn't understand, she was sent away as a baby and kept hidden by two of her mother's servants until she turned nineteen.  She doesn't know who her father is, and she doesn't understand the power of the sapphire that hangs around her neck.  She tries to win over the Queen's Guard, and the outspoken Lazarus, but she doesn't know who to trust, or how to rule.  Can she trust the thief, Fetch?

 She has also angered the Red Queen because she has stopped the shipments of slaves to Mortmesne. If the treaty her mother signed is broken, then Mortmesne will invade Tearling.  The last time that happened, it was a slaughter.

Can Kelsea win over the Queen's Guard?  Are they even to be trusted?  Who is Fetch, and why does he show up at odd moments?  Who is her father?  What was her mother really like?

I really liked this book.  I liked this book enough that book II is at my feet waiting to be picked up and started.  Fetch and Lazarus have piqued my curiosity.   I know you will like them too.