Hello again.
A couple of years ago, I finally finished reading Glass Sword and it wasn’t an easy journey, as I thought it was very boring. Despite my love for these characters and the story Victoria had written, that book was awful! Once I completed it, I really didn’t want to quit the series–I was worried about it–but I tried my best to have some faith… and I’m happy to say, I enjoyed King’s Cage a lot.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Some things like degradation, forced prisonment, childhood trauma, PTSD are included in the book and this post. So, if you’re not into any of these themes, please ignore the review.
In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl’s spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?
Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.
As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.
When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.
taken from Goodreads.
One of my somewhat favorite things about having multiple POVs (point of views) telling the story. I wasn’t a big fan of it at first, but I thought they were essential to the narrative because Mare Barrow has always been the heart of the series, adding newblood Cameron in the beginning shows you the inner workings of The Scarlet Guard. She also has a different intention for joining the Guard, and she develops a “friendship” with Farley, so you get to see that highly respectful and intimating character in a softer tone compared to the previous books.
A prison where I was kept. Starved, neglected, forced to watch people around me wither and die because they were born…wrong.
While I wasn’t for the sudden stop of seeing Cameron’s POV, you do get another one, with Evangeline. This was an interesting look into the imposing character that is Lady Evangeline Samos. She has a bigger role concerning Maven, as she is now engaged to the other Calore brother. She is still an enemy to Mare, but once as the reader gets into her first chapter, you realize there is a lot at stake for her, and goes back to a theme that surrounds everyone, and that is their families.
My only thing about the entire book was the big battle. I believe a lot of it could have been saved for War Storm, but then again, the direction as the characters moved wouldn’t feel as authentic without some of the elements featured in the last bit of the book. I love a good battle, but again, I would have enjoyed it more if we were able to let Mare take a break and find her footing again. And maybe once I get into the thick of the final book, my tone will change of those last ten or so chapters. However, that’s just my opinion.
“Not a god’s chosen, but a god’s cursed,” I murmur, recalling the words he scrawled in a forgotten book.
I am thoroughly excited to start on the final book. I have already read a few chapters and I love it, mainly because we get yet another point of view that may be interesting to see later on.
Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to spend a lot of time outside, we have really bad mosquitos and since we are heading into the summer heat faster than usual, that is yet another factor in my quest to read my fantasy, larger-than-life books with my cats. So, in other words, don’t expect the next review of this series to come out anytime soon.
Have you read “King’s Cage” by Victoria Aveyard yet? If you have, what were your thoughts on this book?
Got Meghan's Blog 