Book Review: King’s Cage

The third installment of the Red Queen series, I had high hopes for this book due to not loving Glass Sword as much as I had wanted to; starting again from where the last part has ended, we see Mare having lost her lightning, her freedom and her dignity due to the the events of Glass Sword. Imprisoned in Maven's court, it is only his mercy that is keeping her alive. A slow beginning, detailing every element of Mare's imprisonment, however once the action begins it never truly ceases. Aveyard has a fabulous writing style that creates action smoothly; the build up is subtle, mostly using conversation and military tactics to orchestrate full scale rebellion. King's Cage ultimately describes Mare's physical predicament, but it can also refer to the world's mental predicament due to a fast becoming dictatorship. Much of this novel is centered around pain, both physical and mental, across many of the characters. The fantasy elements, such as the territories and the powers are such a massive part of the storyline and so ingrained into the text now that they're easily read without surprise or confusion, although considering this is book 3 of a quartet that's not overly shocking; at this point in the series you need to be committed to the very end. 

This is the first book in the series that has first person narrative from a perspective other than Mare's; a nice touch as it allows the reader to see the elements of the plot that Mare oversees or disregards. The second and third narrators, Evangeline, a metal wielding Silver and Cameron, an unwilling Newblood. Both of them have a different world view to Mare, as well as each other. The addition of multiple layers makes a massive difference to how various characters are perceived, such as both of the Princes and finally the Kingdom becomes more than simply Norta; the mythology deepens, providing the reader with more information on situations involving politics, ownership and the High Houses. Aveyard has created a beautifully described alternative world, one which is addictive; you constantly want to know more, to understand the workings of their everyday life. Although Mare is not as the forefront of the rebellion for this novel, the rebellion is becoming a genuine threat, a concern for all; there are no games being played anymore, the battles are being brought to be won; both sides are determined to see a victory.

I've said it reviews about the books in this series previously, but regardless: I do wish that there was more overall character development, as I feel like there are many characters and not as much understanding of all of them. That said, some characters had excellent development and Evangeline in particular became much than simply a nasty piece of work; she stands up to be the perfect anti-heroine. Cal also showed a lot of improvement throughout this book; we get the opportunity to finally see his intentions and feelings toward Mare. A massive part of this book was the relationship between Mare and Cal, although there were snippets surrounding their relationships with Maven too; as a couple, a brother, a past love. Maven is a fantastic villain, although it was interesting to see how his monstrous personality was shaped, made by his mother; proof that in the Silver world, monsters are deliberately made. His mother effectively cursed his life. The biggest flaw within the plot is the amount of characters that underestimate Maven; he is cold, calculating and determined. Mare also grew as an individual; it was good to see her feel pain, empathy, hope and fear whilst somehow managing to find strength at the exact moment that she would be expected to be weak.

Overall, the addition of two other narrators was a fantastic move; it worked not only in allowing the reader to see the world outside of Mare's imprisonment but also for adding fresh perspective. I liked getting inside the head of other characters, seeing their deepest thoughts and feelings as well as their intentions and loyalties. The relationship between Cal and Mare was nice to see, as the connection was there from the start of Red Queen, there has always been an attraction, the potential for a relationship at some point. At this point in the series, it is impossible not to be emotionally invested and so the ending was heartbreaking for a number of reasons, but ultimately due to it being not entirely unexpected because power always causes strong emotions in people regardless of their blood status. The characters all felt a lot more human in this book than they have previously; powers (or lack of) became irrelevant, it has become a war for equality and the rebellion grows ever stronger. King's Cage was a 5 star read as there are so many strong, interesting characters and I honestly can't wait to see where Aveyard decides to take the next and final installment.

Book Review: Glass Sword

Following on from the first novel in the series, Red Queen we follow the mind of the unusual Mare Barrow once again in Glass Sword. The novel begins immediately from where the first book left off, with a bang. Trapped by her Red blood status but with her Silver abilities, she tries to run from her former friend, love and Prince; no longer sure if Maven is truly who she thought he was, she is constantly on the run from his pursuit of her. Along the way, she discovers that she is not the only one of her kind; essentially she begins building an army, training and understanding herself and others like her, although at points Mare becomes unrecognisable. Changed forever by the actions of Maven and his mother, Mare has started to become exactly the kind of monster that she so desperately seeks to overthrow. Through being betrayed so many times, she’s no longer able to trust or form regular friendships to the point that she doesn’t truly believe or trust in herself either. The majority of this book is based around military tactics, such as training, planning and attempts to takeover the Kingdom. Mare has a genuine understanding of the difference between right and wrong, although through the lengths that she goes to protect others, she creates a ridiculous amount of pressure on herself to be stronger, faster, cleverer... By doing so, she begins to lose her purpose and her sense of self. Her own mind is tearing her apart.

There is a lot of character development for Mare in Glass Sword; she begins to hone her ability and build an army, although as I’ve said, she does start to lose her sense of self, unfortunately. This is what helps the reader to remember how truly young she is, how strong and how much life has thrown the world into her face. As a reader, it is difficult to witness characters that were previously loved and trust begin to betray Mare, although ultimately it is unsurprising due to the world being at war. Mare is both a thinker and an actioneer, which at times does lead to her personality taking over the plot at times as the world is told purely from her first hand perspective and so naturally, Mare does miss some vital points in some cases. It was interesting to see her relationships develop, particularly between Cal and Maven, the two Princes. This second part of the series is definitely more focused on action rather than romance, although both sides of the story are beautifully written, with the reader constantly wanting more information and clarification on thoughts, feelings and intentions. I liked the realistic portrayal of the relationship between Mare and the Princes, how both Mare and Cal mourned the loss of the boy that they believed that they knew; it is so important to remember just how young they all are, as that is the key reason why each of the three 'main' characters have such explosive reactions to the various situations that arise.

Overall, I wasn't as impressed with Glass Sword as I was with Red Queen, but regardless it was still a fantastic read. Victoria Aveyard really knows how to craft a villain, as well as set the scenes for war and add many more characters in the midst of this. The final chapter of this book absolutely saved the whole novel for me; not only was it a cracking cliffhanger, it was beautifully orchestrated. One of issues that I had throughout this book was the amount of emphasis on military operations; as much as it was interesting to appreciate how much organisation and planning is put into staging a rebel group, it came to a point where it was difficult to differentiate rebels from the crown, as both sides were concerned with military tactics. I would have preferred to see more character development of those other than Mare, but ultimately this book felt like it was written to be the bridge between worlds; with Red Queen as pre-war and Kings Cage destined to be full on warfare. The introduction of more characters was welcome, particularly the newbloods as they add another angle to the story, although I would've loved to have chapters told from the first person by characters other than Mare to project more of an overview of the whole story, as opposed to just one perspective. Farley, Shade and Kilorn all had excellent character development and added so much to the story that I found myself wishing for each of them to have a chance at narration. This book wasn't quite flawless, but the ending resulted in it being an easy 4 stars; I can't wait to start Kings Cage now!