17 Feb 2018

Review: King's Cage (Red Queen #3)



'' ''Those who know what it's like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light.'' ''

★★★★★

From Goodreads:
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.


She promised that all will burn. It's right there on the cover. I have always wanted to think I am an optimist when it comes to books, so not believing the clear sign on the cover was the way to go. Now, after a year of postponing, I picked it up. I ignored the clear warning on the cover. And burned.

Did you know that this is the third book in a series? So if you haven't read it, I warn you: There might be small SPOILERS if you decide to continue reading.

The second book in this phenomenal series left us shattered into pieces. This book will stomp on those pieces. Just kidding! Actually, not kidding.

'' The ghost who loves me, in what poisoned way he can.
And I feel that poison working in me. ''

There is just something about Victoria Aveyard's writing that draws me in. I don't know if it's the way she describes everything or the way she twists the plot. But there definitely is something that draws me in like a moth to a flame.

'' Not that my words mean anything anymore. My voice is not my own. Only my actions are, and those are severely limited by circumstances. ''

Mare's struggles continue this time inside her mind. Being imprisoned by Maven messes with her a lot, since the prison isn't cold, hard stone floors and bars in the windows. It's silks and jewels, all in blood red. It's feasts and being paraded around as Maven's newest pet. She is conflicted about what to believe. Is the Guard coming for her or are their attempts smothered by Maven's armies? Is there any hope left for her, now that her lightning is gone, stolen by the Arven guards?

'' There are pieces of me, small pieces, still in love with a fiction. A ghost inside a living boy I cannot begin to fathom. The ghost who sat by my bed while I dreamed in pain. ''

I can't help it. There must be something wrong with me. Maybe I have gone insane? But Maven's character, there is just something about him. Maven is camouflaged in secrets. He is not his own character, but then again he owns everything he does. He is conflicted, afraid to do certain things and then barging into making other moves elsewhere. In the Glass Sword Maven was still a mystery to me, now in King's Cage, the reader gets to see an almost entirely new side to him. The side that is obsessed about Mare. The side that will be anything to stay on top of the food chain. The side that realises that he is not unconquerable. To be honest, Maven might be a new book crush, as wrong as that sounds.

'' ''She always said it was better to be heartbroken. The pain makes you stronger. Love makes you weak. And she's right. I learned that before I even knew you.'' ''

Since it had been a while since I read Glass Sword I was a bit confused who Cameron was, but then I backtracked a bit and realised who she is. I didn't like her character that much in the beginning. She annoyed me, to be honest, but then I realised that she must be somehow a vital part of the book if she gets that much attention from the author. Towards the end, I started to actually like her a bit more. Her character describes the best how the war and the uncertainty of tomorrow show in the cast's lives.

'' He's terrified.
For a second it makes me happy. Then I remember - monsters are most dangerous when they're afraid. ''

The end. If you've read it, you know what I am talking about. The end. Victoria Aveyard gave us hope. She lit the flame in our hearts, showed us that there was light at the end of the tunnel. That we just might survive if we keep on going. We might survive! We might survive.

'' Do we have to choose - become empty, or become monsters? ''

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