Mare is a Red blooded girl, destined for a life of conscription into never ending warfare at the behest of the Silver blooded ruling elite. But a chance meeting, and an even more chance discovery, take her right to the centre of the Silver court and she must decide where her loyalties lie. Should she act to maintain the safety of her family and friends, or risk showing her true colours?

I have developed a real love for dystopian YA fiction, and this is certainly a series I'm looking forward to exploring further. The premise is relatively simple, and the story is very well told. It appears to be a great introduction to the world, but leaves plenty of room to build on in the next books. The characters are all well drawn and an interesting mix of personalities, the setting is vivid and clearly visible on my mind's eye, and there's a nice amount of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

That being said, the writing does lack a little depth in my opinion, particularly in the inevitable romantic element. You can clearly see what the author is trying to achieve - the choice between two brothers, and there are definitely moments that make you favour each of the boys in turn. But I didn't feel the growth of the relationships as much as I would hope, particularly given the way the book leaves off. I think the ending would have had far more impact if this element had been more fully rounded. However, there is still room for development in the rest of the series, so I haven't lost all hope just yet!

There are of course the inevitable comparisons to make with the likes of 'Divergent' and 'The Hunger Games'. Perhaps it is just me, but one of the reasons I do like this particular genre is that there is so much similarity between the stories, so it really makes the bits that are new and different shine through! I don't think this is quite on a par with the first books in the aforementioned series, simply because there is actually very little 'original' content; a lot of things have been well recycled. But I stress the word 'well' - what has been lifted and reworked fits nicely and it doesn't feel like you are just reading a rip off.

I think I'll keep reading before I commit to buying the series; the next one is already on order at the library! But a definite recommendations for a book that's an easy reading escape.