King's Cage Review

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Release Date: February 7th, 2017

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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.

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My Review:

This book was so. much. better. than Glass Sword (but not quite at the level of Red Queen - the first in the series). I absolutely LOVED the backstory and generally more information we uncovered about Maven. Since the end of the first book he has had a bad rep, and in this one Queen Victoria gives a ton more explanation behind his character and includes a lot of moments where he is shown to be very human. I'm someone who loves a complicated and complex villain, and Maven is just the character for me. He is fragile yet tough, a total softy but also ruthless when it comes to interactions with Mare, and is an absolutely tragic and convoluted character. He gave me a Darkling (from Shadow and Bone) or Warner (from Shatter Me) feeling, which is always exciting.

When it comes to Mare, this book is a lot of growth for her as she learns to work through the effects of trauma and being able to move past that and grow stronger. She is so extremely strong through everything, and always manages to pull out a smile when she knows someone else needs to see it. I loved the fact that Victoria showed her in varying head spaces throughout the book - confused about Maven, determined to escape, fear for herself and her family, unwilling to give up hope. She lets her fear make her stronger and guide her through tough points, and I really admire that about her.

There were points where Mare being caught in limbo with Maven grated against the nerves and took waaayy too long to get through (which is why I knocked it down a bit on the scale), but overall this was a great addition to the series and I cannot wait for more, yet I am terrified of what Victoria will do to all of us. This is definitely worth the read even if you didn't really like Glass Sword because it gets so much more interesting and complex. I can't wait for the next (and final *cries*) book!

Final Grade: A-