Hey, guys! After reading Red Queen (review of book 1) and Glass Sword (review of book 2), I was incredibly excited to read King's Cage, especially with the ending of Glass Sword. I was a little let down, but the book was still great.
The Cover:
The Cover:
I like that it continues the theme of a crown dripping with blood. That image seems fitting for this series. However, using basically the same cover for every book in the series is a bit much. Without the titles, I don't know if I could pick this book out of a lineup. I appreciate the theme, but it goes a bit far. B- cover
Official Description:
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.
My Review:
This book felt very Mockingjay: Part 1. It lengthened the series (with a stunning 530 pages), but it was all build up that led nowhere. This series was intended to be a trilogy, but after its success, the writer and publisher decided to keep at it and get themselves more money.
The plot moved very slowly. For the first half to three-quarters of the book, Mare is just sitting quietly as Maven's prisoner waiting. Nothing at all happens in that plot line. It's just pages and pages of limbo.
Meanwhile, again in the first half to three-quarters of the book, Cameron (a second narrator) whines. Cameron is quite possibly one of the most irritating characters I've ever read about. Her chapters do not have any content except for her whining to various people. She complains that Cal doesn't pick a side/ betray his family and everyone he knew growing up, yet when the time comes for her to do any action, she refuses. She claims to be fully committed to the cause, even going so far as to accost Cal about not being committed, only to show her own lack of commitment. If she's going to yell about Cal not helping, then she should help! Cameron is such a hypocrite, but the way the narration is set-up, you are supposed to feel bad for her. It just backfires.
Victoria Aveyard also suddenly decides that her series is about politics in this book. She hardly goes a minute without launching very obvious connections between her made-up society and today's world. This disrupts the story because it's a bit out of character for many of the main characters, and she is just so heavy-handed with it! Instead of noticing the links on your own and it affecting you, Aveyard hits you in the head with a brick and expects you to be so impressed. It's like having a moral shoved down your throat.
The other characters are much the same as they had always been. Mare is a not-very-likable-but-still-okay type of character. Maven attempts to be deep and for me to relate to him, or at least pity him, and fails. Cal is the only real salvageable character and gets little scene time.
All that said, the writing style was still good. Victoria Aveyard obviously knows how to write. I'm disappointed in how much worse King's Cage was than the other books in this series. I was really looking forward to reading it. I even picked it up the day it came out, but I am just now able to finish it.
Overall, the characters and slow-moving plot ruined this series for me. I doubt I'll read the final money-grabbing book in this series.
Phrase:
"king's cage" (the phrase is mentioned at least 20 times during this book, which is about 19 times too many)
The Cover:
I like that it continues the theme of a crown dripping with blood. That image seems fitting for this series. However, using basically the same cover for every book in the series is a bit much. Without the titles, I don't know if I could pick this book out of a lineup. I appreciate the theme, but it goes a bit far. B- cover
Official Description:
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.
My Review:
This book felt very Mockingjay: Part 1. It lengthened the series (with a stunning 530 pages), but it was all build up that led nowhere. This series was intended to be a trilogy, but after its success, the writer and publisher decided to keep at it and get themselves more money.
The plot moved very slowly. For the first half to three-quarters of the book, Mare is just sitting quietly as Maven's prisoner waiting. Nothing at all happens in that plot line. It's just pages and pages of limbo.
Meanwhile, again in the first half to three-quarters of the book, Cameron (a second narrator) whines. Cameron is quite possibly one of the most irritating characters I've ever read about. Her chapters do not have any content except for her whining to various people. She complains that Cal doesn't pick a side/ betray his family and everyone he knew growing up, yet when the time comes for her to do any action, she refuses. She claims to be fully committed to the cause, even going so far as to accost Cal about not being committed, only to show her own lack of commitment. If she's going to yell about Cal not helping, then she should help! Cameron is such a hypocrite, but the way the narration is set-up, you are supposed to feel bad for her. It just backfires.
Victoria Aveyard also suddenly decides that her series is about politics in this book. She hardly goes a minute without launching very obvious connections between her made-up society and today's world. This disrupts the story because it's a bit out of character for many of the main characters, and she is just so heavy-handed with it! Instead of noticing the links on your own and it affecting you, Aveyard hits you in the head with a brick and expects you to be so impressed. It's like having a moral shoved down your throat.
The other characters are much the same as they had always been. Mare is a not-very-likable-but-still-okay type of character. Maven attempts to be deep and for me to relate to him, or at least pity him, and fails. Cal is the only real salvageable character and gets little scene time.
All that said, the writing style was still good. Victoria Aveyard obviously knows how to write. I'm disappointed in how much worse King's Cage was than the other books in this series. I was really looking forward to reading it. I even picked it up the day it came out, but I am just now able to finish it.
Overall, the characters and slow-moving plot ruined this series for me. I doubt I'll read the final money-grabbing book in this series.
Phrase:
"king's cage" (the phrase is mentioned at least 20 times during this book, which is about 19 times too many)
If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
The Young Elites / The Rose Society
The Selection
If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!
Happy Reading!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret
The Young Elites / The Rose Society
The Selection
If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!
Happy Reading!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret
