If Mare going from a Red pickpocket to a palace pawn—masking her lightning among Silvers, enduring Queenstrial, and secretly backing the Scarlet Guard—hooked you, you’ll love how Darrow disguises himself as a "Gold" to tear down his world from the inside in Red Rising. Expect vicious trials, house rivalries that echo the Arvens and Samoses, and betrayals as jaw‑dropping as Maven’s turn.

If the knife‑edge scheming in the palace—Queen Elara’s mind games, Council manipulations, and Mare balancing Cal, Maven, and the Scarlet Guard—was your sweet spot, The Winner’s Curse delivers a similarly tense game of influence. Kestrel’s clandestine bargains and public deceptions mirror the delicate alliances Mare juggles after Queenstrial, with every move threatening to collapse the board.

If Maven’s betrayal and the last‑act reversals in Red Queen made your jaw drop, The Cruel Prince thrives on that same whiplash. Jude navigates a venomous royal court where loyalties shift faster than Mare’s standing with the Silvers, and every apparent ally can pull a Maven on you when the crown is at stake.

If you rooted for Mare as she risks everything for her brothers and the Scarlet Guard while trapped among Silvers, Laia’s covert mission into the Empire’s brutal Military Academy will hit the same nerve. Like Mare enduring Evangeline’s taunts and Elara’s probes, Laia faces merciless trials and moral crossroads as she turns survival into revolution.

If Mare’s I-narrated, up‑close voice drew you into her fear, defiance, and split loyalties between Cal, Maven, and the Guard, Katniss’s first‑person present tense will feel instantly familiar. The page‑turning momentum, media manipulation reminiscent of Mare’s staged royal façade, and survival under a rigged system echo the tension that powered Red Queen.