King's Cage (Red Queen)

Really a good story. So much action, deceit and betrayal. For a brief moment there's joy, but too soon crushed achingly.
Great characters and interaction. I don't if there is another book, but I hope so. It would be nice to see Mare have a semblance of a happy ending. Most of the time reality sucks, especially for everyone in these stories.

This is one of the most amazing series of books I have ever read. It is beautiful and bold and heartwrenchingly, terribly true and honest in every awful way that it describes heartbreak and bravery and sacrifice and loss. This book speaks to me, shouts to the very core of my being, even when it is almost physically painful to keep reading. Victoria, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I applaud you for being able to do something no one else can. To show us what it is like to be human in a very short time, your only tools, the pen you use and the words you write. Thank you for writing this book that keeps you wanting to slam it shut and never look at it again, but at the same time, yearning for more, wanting to keep reading so much it hurts.

Much better than the first two book in my opinion. Loved the interactions between Cal and Mare and how their relationship grew. They both became much more likable characters. Also really enjoyed the new POVs from Cameron and Evangeline. The ending was brutal and I really want this series to have a HEA for the characters. So many YA dystopian authors kill off main characters or have them end up alone and broken just to make a statement and it is always disappointing. I personal read YA fantasy/sci-fi to escape reality, not have it thrust at me through meaningless deaths and heartbreak. Can't wait for the next book and I hope it continues the upward trend!

To be honest, the only reason I am finishing this series is because my Sister-in-law loves it and we are reading it together, or at least at the same time, and I already bought the book so I feel obligated to read it. I really enjoyed Red Queen and immediately bought the next two in the series and on the one hand I am ok with that because I hate not to complete my series when I already bought the first one, but on the other hand I feel it was a waste of money because they were both still in hardback and really aren't worth buying in hardback.
I literally can't get through a chapter without falling asleep! I wouldn't call this book terrible but it was a bit of a bore. For most of the book Mare is a prisoner of Maven and they "verbally spar" a lot because even though they knew each other only briefly they apparently know how the other ones mind works and what buttons to push (seems a little unbelievable to me). I hated Mare in Glass Sword and while she does get marginally better in this one, not by much. I just can't get connected to the characters. Mare seems obsessed with Maven. That is all she thinks and talks about, even if she "hates" him. It comes across to me as though she doth protest too much and is actually still in love with him which is baffling because she honestly didn't know him for long and she didn't seem so in love with him until after his betrayal and she is trying to force a relationship with Cal which is all just frustrating to me. She just strikes me as an unsympathetic person who lies to herself a lot and has delusions of grandeur, which is hard to get behind.
I understand that the author used Cameron's point of view in order for the reader to see what was happening to the Red Guard but she could have picked a better, and less obnoxious, character to do that with! I would have loved to get into Cal's mind, but even Kilorn or Farley would have been better. The parts with Evangeline's point of view on the other hand were pretty interesting. That being said I hate that authors have been doing this lately!!! If you only have one point of view for the first two books you should keep it that way!!! Otherwise it gets confusing, especially if you are going to use first person. Whenever I read "I did this" or "I said that" I immediately thought it was Mare talking until I had to remind myself that it was Cameron or Evangeline! I hated Allegiant by Veronica Roth for that reason! If you are going to use multiple points of view it is generally because your characters are in different places, doing different things, and you, the reader, needs to know what is going on in both places but to have them in the same place doing the same things and use first person it is incredibly confusing because half the time you don't know who is talking!!! Anyway, rant over. It is just a big pet peeve of mine.
In other words, this was not a great read for me and I will be glad to move onto other things.

This book was more character development for the main characters so it was a little slower than the other books in the series. I still enjoyed the internal struggles but I prefer more action. I am looking forward to reading the next book to see how Mare Barrow 's struggles are going to help her in her battle against Maven.

I liked the continuing story of reds versus silvers. I am getting annoyed with Mare's and Cal's relationship and how they both can't seem to figure out what they have or want. Maven was truly despicable in this one and has grown to be quite the villain.

Book is good goes a little longer than I expected but I guess she wants to explore on some of the characters perspective like Evangelina and Camden , I like it. I which she can put some of maven and cal view. overral isn't a bad book .

Great book. Love what's going on and how the different characters interact and have their own way of doing things or reasons for doing things. I love some of these characters that you get to see their several faces and see how a good guy and a bad guy may not be that different after all.

I had to find out if there is another book after this one to give my review... I hate these kind of cliffhangers. It could end with HEA or go a whole other direction. I will be disappointed with a traditional HEA so make it good.

It was so bad that I'm considering throwing away the book and putting the gorgeous cover jacket on a different book-- because that was the only part I actually liked.
I wish I could go back and quit reading this series after Red Queen. Red Queen was beyond phenomenal, easily one of my favorite books. Better than Hunger Games and Divergent!
Glass Sword was equally enjoyable until the second half when it started to blend into a cliche version of X-Men. Everything unique about the series disappeared. But I had high hopes for King's Cage!
There are so many issues with King's Cage, I hardly know where to start. So I'll just make a giant list:
-The main character is whiny and very much a damsel in distress-I can't stand Mare in this book.
-Several issues aren't resolved by the end of the book. Maybe that means the author is writing a 4th one, but I won't be reading it. If not, this was a classic terrible ending to a struggling series.
-Dual POV. Did not work for this book. And I felt like the author only did it to slip in the agenda she wanted to preach. Not subtle at all.
-The ending... was terrible. Don't get me started. From the moment I started reading this series, I had to remind myself: this isn't a romance. This isn't a romance. This isn't a romance. Just so I wouldn't expect anything wonderful (in the romantic sense) to come from the story. But I didn't expect it to be this bad. I was hoping for a glimmer of satisfaction when I closed this book. Or something to compel me to read the NEXT book. But I simply really wish I'd quit after reading Red Queen.

Parents should know: Sex is off-page, but very much obvious. Since I was planning to lend this book to my teenage siblings, I literally ripped out page 381/382 and marked out the beginning of chapter 23. There is also another brief mention later on that I marked out (no details, but characters are sleeping in the same bed, both get dressed, and it's the middle of the day). Cussing is scattered, maybe only 5 uses of profanity. F word is mentioned once. One character is in a homosexual relationship, another probably was in a homosexual relationship. And there's definitely a heavily preached agenda regarding this subject.

The grinding build up of the plot. The twisted emotions of our love/hate characters. The intense pull to see/feel freedom. The yearning to be loved. The desire for revenge and victory....All sets the theme of one very nail-biting, can't-put-down-my-book, need-to-know-more thrilling adventure in the Mare Borrow saga....AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ!!!

The beginning was a bit slow, though I understand why it was written that way and it helped develop empathy for Mare throughout the book itself. I really enjoyed the rest of the book (including the introduction of new characters and new POVs), and the cliffhanger at the end set the stage for the next book quite well.

The battle between Silvers and Reds continue . Cal and Mare are torn between there love for each other and obligations beyond their control. Hope there will be another book to follow in the series.

I'll give it a four just because I didn't like the end. First off, the lead, Mare like everyone said came back to her senses but better. Yes, she was awful in book two but Kings Cage gave you an insight as to why she changed. Just about everyone would have changed for the worse. So I'll give more credit to Glass Sword.

While I do like this pov style, I must agree Cameron didn't need one. Farley would have done without a the coded messages. Even better Maven's pov would have been awesome.

It's not even the ending was so bad but definitely RUSHED. Almost like a beautiful essay for school that you forgot about until it was time to turn in. Instead of asking for more time, it was as if she re-read the last two chapters and made up the epiloge on the spot. Maybe V. A. Wanted to make another book a fourth book last minute *shrugs*. Too many open ended questions just left me frustrationly upset.
Lastly, Ms. Aveyard l, do you hate Mare? Like, damn her life sucks lol. Mare never seems to have a happy ending in any book but, this one is the worst. I get some endings are never truly happy #life. Like the Hunger Games, while not a happy ending for Katniss but, a peaceful one. At least grant her that much. Throw the girl a bone!

Lastly in the new book she better not somehow end up with Kilorn! Or else ???

I haven’t read this book yet but I am very excited to. I love this series and I’m trying to find time to start reading this. The reason why I gave this a 4 Star is because of the book jacket. It was placed onto the book upside down and bent to fit the book so to put it on the correct way, I had to re-bend the cover. But now, when I put the jacket on the book the right way, there is a very noticeable and ugly crease on the front of the jacket.

King's Cage is a tumultuous journey for our heroine Mare, due to the fact that it begins with her imprisonment. King Maven proves himself to be a very sadistic ruler, a man who Mare once deeply loved. For the first third of the book, Mare has to endure torment after torment. The amount of pages her captivity takes up became daunting and tiresome. While this could be looked as a major flaw, I valued it. In a way, that same fatigue Mare felt became reflected in the amount of pages which caused us as the reader to feel the same. Art imitating life and vice versa.

What I loved most was Maven's huge role within King's Cage. Many fans like myself grew to favor his Dark and sadistic ways, and we didn't get to see him like that in the previous book. However, when Mare and Maven share a kiss, I felt awoken from a trance. No longer did I look upon Maven with kind eyes and a worthy suitor for Mare. She deserved better than that. She deserves Cal, his brother. Their kiss is described to be a "violation" of sorts. It made me cringe to see a character who I once rooted for, be described so villainously. In my eyes what they have is tarnished. The only sliver of hope he has with a fan like myself is knowing the brutal upbringing he had under his mother. She took his humanity away with her ability to ascertain extent. She molded him into the monster he has become. His morals are so blurred to the point he doesn't know where he himself begins, and where his mother's mind control ends. He just might be lost forever. As broken as Mare is too, two broken pieces do not in fact, make a whole.

I could discuss key details and such, but I believe an overall impression needs to be fleshed out. This book is about mourning. We need to mourn the Mare that is forever changed because of her imprisonement. She has seen and done things that will forever leave her tainted. We need to mourn Maven for the same reason, as well as Maven's and Mare's possible relationship. It will never happen. It just wouldn't be healthy for them to wind up together.

As bleak as this book felt for most of it's content, I can happily say we now have a Mare similar to the one from Red Queen. She's once again fierce, cunning, and motivated by her goals. It will be such a delight to see this Mare in action in book 4 to which I eagerly await.

King's Cage was a dark foreboding journey that brings it's characters to the brink. Darkness looms in many characters in the book, and each must force themselves to face it. Some handle it better than others, but ultimately it's their convictions that guide them through that darkness.

This book was.... A really hard read. I don't even know how else to describe the excitement and heart break I went through flipping these pages. First of all it will make you so anxious, I mean, Mare was captured by Maven and it just was so much. This made me more anxious than when Inej was captured in Crooked Kingdoms, and y'all just have to understand, Inej is my favorite. Now, Mare is this book was written really well. She is so strong but so broken at the same time, the whole time Maven had her she had to play a role and I really freaking hated it. Now one of the main reasons I love this book so much probably is because of how amazing Maven is. He is such a monster. I totally hate his guts. I want him gone. Then again I totally love him so much too. He is mean, and he doesn't care, he is so twisted and confused inside. I had no idea what was coming from one page to the next. Now, this might shock some people but read the book, I hate Cal. I mean I kind of hated him from the first two books honestly. He is so wishy washy and that makes for a terrible character. Pick a dadgum side! Farley! That's all I will say about her really. I love how Evangeline had chapters too. Her world is so messed up, and her situation kind of breaks my heart. I just want to free her from her father, and I figure she might have been a decent person once if not for him. Who knows. I just love everything. I was shaken to my core at some points and that is what a good book does. I really just need the next one. I thought it was going to be a trilogy and that is the only thing that really bothered me. I figured this was the end of the story and it isn't, it is another semi cliffhanger and I don't like cliff hangers. Sure leave the story open for more but don't just make it to where you don't know if someone lives or dies for a year. Now this one isn't a life or death but still, when you read you will understand. Anyways... I just love it.

Coukd not set this book down! Love the plot and all the characters. The author really brings them to life, making you like even the "bad guy." I can't wait for the next one. If you liked divergent, twilight, or the maze runner series I think you will really love these books.

Wow! That was incredible!

It has been a couple of days since I finished this and I am still gnashing my teeth waiting for the next one.

This book, third in its series, started off on a terribly somber note. After the monumental failure and surrender at the end of Glass Sword, I had no idea where this one was going to go. That said, I was not disappointed. I expected a slog of seclusion and imprisonment. I expected too many unknowns because of Mare's limited "vision" so to speak. I expected to be bored.

Boy was I wrong.

Things started off a bit slow, but they had to. From then on, there was no end to the surprises. <spoiler> Rejection. Rebellion. Humanity. Wider viewpoint through multiple points of view. Changing allegiances. And war. Glorious war.</spoiler> This could not have gone much better. Most importantly, even the author addressed Mare's constant, aggravating petulance. It's always been all about Mare and that was still the case throughout much of the book. Things are changing, though. <spoiler>Thanks to the ultimate rejection of both of the Calore boys because of their obsessions, she is free to care about something more: the world. The closing line in the book "We're going to let them kill each other." says so much in so few words. The entire conflict of the final book is teased and set up. </spoiler> I cannot WAIT for the final installment.

I felt like there was no character development and that the whole time she was in Mavens prison was pointless because nothing important happened while she was actually there. Veronica Roth is an amazing writer but I was expecting more, oh well, I'm excited for the next book still I don't know if I ship Cal and Mare anymore though.

I liked how the characters backgrounds deepened in various ways, however I felt as if a lot of the information was not necessary to build the story and did not affect the plot. This book is overall a good way to kill time, but did not meet my standards compared to previous books in the Victoria Avyard Red Queen series.

Of course, I really hate cliffhangers like every other reader in this world, but Victoria Aveyard continues to surprise me with the twists and turns in her story! Well worth the read and super excited to see what the next book brings!

I love this series it's so addicting! There do much to say about this book but I'm still struggling to breathe after reading the last 2 chapters. I'm honestly so upset I really hope this turns on to another path because ill be pissed if the series ends the way it seems to be headed!!!

Honestly loved that we saw more from Cal because up until this point he was kinda a wet rag still I wish I could see more character development there. However I think the acknowledgments are the BEST I highly recommend .

I dove into reading this book the day it arrived on my doorstep. I had no clue this wasn’t the final book in the series and it makes me so happy to know I will be seeing more of Mare and Cal.

It had been awhile since I’d read the first two books in the series and while I remembered most of what happened, I couldn’t remember the exact moment Glass Sword ended.

Immediately, we are thrust into Mare’s new world as Maven’s prisoner. She remains imprisoned for a good portion of the book and if you’d told me this beforehand, I would have wondered how on earth Aveyard could spend so much time on her imprisonment. It works though and I was riveted from the start. It doesn’t lag, not even a little.

I fell in love with Mare’s character from the beginning of Red Queen and I continue to love her character after reading King’s Cage. My feelings about certain other characters have changed. I won’t reveal who, or why but know that it is amazing.

I have never felt this way after reading a book. I can’t explain it without giving away the ending but it is a whole new experience and I am baffled.

This book is just as good as the other two and leaves me wanting so much more. My only complaint is that the release date for the next book hasn’t been released… I need it like yesterday.

I liked the book over all. The ending left me feeling that the main characters are right back where they started and all the turmoil was for what? To end up right back where you started. The story lacks progression to me

I was going to give this book a 3 just out of respect for the good writing because OMG it starts off slow. However, it is kind of necessary for character growth and what not. Speaking of character growth... I really liked Mare sooo much more in this book. She is not nearly as whiny and brooding even though she has even more reason to be. I like how she interacts with people and how her relationships grow (for the most part). The reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because in addition to the good writing and character development, the second half of the book is very exciting! Lots of fighting and a little bit more romance! It ends on an emotional cliffhanger and I can't wait for the next book. I've become super invested in these characters and especially in Mare and Cal's relationship (it's so complicated and heartbreaking and why do I care about these fictional characters so much?) . This was better than the second book for sure. I became pretty tired of Mare's whining and the way she treated people but this book really made me change my mind about her. I can't wait for the 4th book though I kinda wished in a way it had stopped at 3 since I'm going to have to wait like...what a whole year?!

This book started off slow, but I kept with it and definitely was not disappointed! The last third of the book left me hanging completely on the edge of my seat. And that ending...god help me until next book!

Yes! Yes, yes, yes. Victoria Aveyard just keeps winning. King's Cage does not disappoint. The beginning of the book is lengthy and detailed, but necessary to shape characters and understand different points of view. Mare is more mature and reasonable (as best she can be), without completely changing who she is. The ending is perfect! It's not where I expected that to go, but definitely where it needed to. It makes sense, it's satisfying, and I can't imagine Aveyard would leave her main characters in that position for long ;) I vote for another 3 books!!!!!

Pros:
great battle scenes, more romance, deeper character growth

Cons:
The fourth book isn't out yet ;)

This is an amazing book. It's definitely worth the read, especially if you've already read the first 2 books. Victoria Aveyard's writing is beautiful, and her characters are so, so, so very real. She gives the world she writes in life.

The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt that the imprisonment was dragged on for too long. It started getting pretty tedious, especially without the lightning girl's brilliant lightning. However, that was all remedied later on... :)

You should definitely read this if you are a fan of dystopia or super awesome magical powers. Everything in this story is awesome and amazing!

I was disappointed that this was not the last book in the series because I tend to read books once the whole series has come out. While I felt like this series could easily have been told in 3 books, I did like this book. Some of it felt stretched out but I think that was helpful to show how miserable everything was for Mare.

Book started off slowly. I understand she wanted to show us different perspectives of the story but jeez why start so slow to end so abruptly? Is there a 4th book. We were left with such a cliff hanger. To not know what truly lies ahead for Mare and the reds after all the fighting was quite disappointing.

So please ignore all the "slow beginning" comments because the though it is true, it's necessary for the story. It picks up right where the 2nd book left off and Mare is still a prisoner.
She is imprisoned for quite a time and that itself is key to her character growth. It allows her to gain information worthy to help her friends and enough time to think on her actions in the last few months.
It's no secret Mare had grown cold and the imprisonment doesn't make her hollow but answers enough of her questions about Maven, Cal, and her dead brother Shade.

THIS IS THE BOOK OF MARE AND CAL. It focuses a lot on their relationship and what they mean to each other. You see more PDA and romantic declarations WHICH MAKES EVERYONES HEART SWOON but still gives them both perspective. They love each other while knowing the other is perfect.

While the relationship grew, I feel like the ending took 2 steps back and I'm not even sure if it's legit. Though Cal becoming King is uncalled for and a surprise, I don't COMPLETELY understand it. I feel like they could compromised.

But still a pretty good book. Definitely worth reading folks

Brilliant book with many complicated and unexpected changes . Great character development and awesome perspectives . History of others stories linked very nicely into this book club poo bed seeing Mare grow and cal as well calls March was explained a lot more i :/ this book x

Red Queen as an amazing book so of course I bought the second and it turned out to be incredibly boring. This third book started great but as the book went on it kept getting worse..... Finally by the end of it I was done. Mare makes her own drama. Her world is covered in war and slavery! Yet she finds time to create more and more problems I'm assuming to give the author something to go on. I have never hated a main character before as much as I can't stand her.... The writing in this books is beautiful and I can honestly say it is way better than the 22nd but the ending made me so mad I wondered why I wasted the last few years waiting on a conclusion. Also I loved the Mare and Evangeline chapters but after Cameron's first chapter I was so bored I just skimmed through it as fast as I could. I LOVED seeing a new side to Evangeline. No longer is she just evil to be evil but rather a girl who was literally made so she could be queen. Her chapters were great!

**spoilers**

That ending..... I'm so done. That ending was awful. Mare creates her own drama. The writing style just doesn't fit. Once upon a time she had a level head and why was she so mad at Cal?!?! She could have been the Red Queen and him the Silver King... Instead she's again throwing a pity party for her own self creates problems. -.- I'm done with these books. I bought it the day it came out and I'm so disappointed by it. Next time I'm not wasting my money. Maybe in 5 years if I find it at a used book shop for a buck but I'm gonna leave this series far behind.

What is it about the villain being so fascinating? I thought the first half of this book when Mare was with Maven to be endlessly fascinating. Here was a boy king who was obsessed with this girl, yet at one point he had her! He betrayed her, but somehow he still wanted her to love him. The psychology behind that obsession, the torture at the hands of his own mother in his childhood. It was so good! I almost wish Mare had wanted him back. I think that would’ve made this book so much more interesting. Imagine if instead of hating him, she loved him and fought with his evil side to do the right thing and become who the country needed. Instead, Mare falls for the older brother, Cal, and fights against Maven’s tyranny. For The Whole Book. Tiring.

I will admit that as I was reading this book I kept thinking this was the final book in the series., and that totally threw me off. As I got to about 50 pages from the end I figured that out and I was so mad at myself. Why? Why did I think this was the final book? Why did I read this book before the next one came out? Oh well. Despite wishing Mare had fallen for the other brother, I felt slightly redeemed that things didn’t go quite as planned in the romance department for Mare. Not that I want her to be doomed to disappointment, but it at least made having to read one more book before finding out the resolution to the battle between the bloods and also the battle between brothers.

After following this series for the first two books, I am upset by the third. It isn't from lack of story strength--the characters growth is shown in a complex mix of good and bad, and I enjoyed the new insights into Maven.
However, there was too much adult content in this book. You'd think one character's psychological pain from the choices that led to her pregnancy might impact the other for the better (I won't say who to avoid a spoiler), but sadly, this isn't the case. I wish authors could realize the deep pain that comes from young girls giving themselves to boys with the expectation that they will be treated like the romantic hero of books like these, only to discover the lover they expected to be a hero is nothing but an immature boy who can't give them the idealized love they read about. While I encouraged my fourteen-year-old to read the first two books of this series, I deeply regret that I won't want her to read this one.
Such a disappointment from what was a promising series.

Here's the first thing you should know before reading this: It is NOT the conclusion to the Red Queen series (despite the store calling it 3 of 3 in the Red Queen series). There will be a fourth book. I, however, didn't know this when I decided to read it. I read Red Queen and liked it enough to buy it (I originally got it from the library). Then, as is my normal path with series books, I waited until all the books in the series (or so I thought) were published, then read the whole thing. Only when I read 3/4 of this book and realized there was no way this long-winded author was going to wrap things up did I go searching and find that sometime after book 1 was published it was decided to turn this into a 4-book series instead of 3 (this explains a lot of the problems with Glass Sword--mainly that it felt bloated. Because it was--there wasn't enough story to spin into four books so we got pages and pages of unnecessary detail and Mare's repetitive inner monologue).

But aside from my frustration, this book was once again too long with too many extraneous details. Mare is with Maven FOREVER doing NOTHING. This book is 500 pages. It easily could have been trimmed to 350-400 and been a better story for it. And then there's the narrators. Mare has been the only narrator until Cameron's story picks up in King's Cage. It's understandable because Mare is separated from the Rebels and you need to know what's going on in both camps. Then suddenly we have Evangeline as a narrator. I like her story but it seems completely unnecessary for the plot (I'm sure it will make sense in the fourth book) but I could have lived without her expansive description of the wood floors of her home (and I really hope Elane plays a role in the fourth book, otherwise I don't see the need for her AT ALL).

I ended up being so completely frustrated by this series that despite the fact that I've invested in all three books, I can't stand the idea of reading them all AGAIN so I can read the last book (whenever that comes out). I hate not finishing this series but I just can't go through it again. I hope others enjoyed this more than me because by the end I absolutely hated it.

King's Cage felt long but I enjoyed the value that it brought to the series. I have to warn this is going to have a little bit of spoiler to today's review; not much of a spoiler just a little. This book was horrible, wonderful, and intelligent all in one. I think reading while she was captured was boring to a lot of people because a lot of time is passing and Mare isn't able to do really anything. I think the author did that very well. You feel the passing of time. You read as there are things happening in the world beyond Mare's control and she barely hears about any of it. You see how hollow and desperate she is for escape while she spends months in her room alone with nothing but silence. While she is held as Maven's prisoner, she has to deal with all the emotions that she has been avoiding in the previous books. That must have been horrible and I felt for Mare, it was a horrible time for her. If you don't read all the books in a row like I am doing these weeks, you might very well miss out on those important things. You might not remember how in Glass Sword, she was merely a tool to be used to fight. She cut herself off from everyone around her so that she wouldn't have any more emotions. Mare didn't allow herself to think or feel about anything but completing the next task. The first half of King's Cage features Mare and is about her captivity and character growth.

Victoria Aveyard gives us a reprieve from just reading about Mare in a plain room with nothing to do. She gives us a couple other characters perspectives in this novel. I appreciate that a lot because without that it would be a really boring book. You get to see what is continuing to happen for the Red Guard even though Mare isn't there. You even get to see from a silver's perspective, which I'm not going to say who, but I really liked that. I would love to continue but I think that would just ruin the "reveals" about that character and who they really are.

It was wonderful to see the strength of the uprising. The strength of Montfort, the Ardent people, and their leader. Victoria Aveyard does a great job of bringing them into the world and showing their democracy. You also get a small taste of their battle tactics and it makes you curious even more. Like I wonder how extreme are they? To what ends are they willing to go to? Wonderful to see the full force of all the different people fighting together and against each other. You actually see what a battle full of abilities is like in this world. Both sides bring their A-Game. You get to see how powerful Mare really could be as she stands alone protecting herself surrounded by silvers. You get to see new alliances and relationships how they have changed in the many months since Mare's capture. Mare and Cal get a reunion and it feels like the pieces are really beginning to come together for the world. It had the feeling that the end was near and the author could have written a quick happily ever after. That is not what you get in this book.

One part that I had to bother my husband about because I thought it was sooooo good, was the political side of things. You get to see different people strategically moving to complete different tasks. Maven had it rough this book. You find out more about his damaged character, he is betrayed, and he has to repair his kingdom enough so they'll stop rebelling. He does a tour, but really it is just like today's politicians, going around town to town making promises and motivational speeches. I loved that, it makes you think about how much we hear and what is just someone trying to keep you dumb and ignorant of what's really going on. I think that fits perfectly with today's world of politics that it's almost scary. So bringing something like that in, and having it written well that you can understand the meaning at any age is pretty good. There are a lot of politics going on in this book, more than the others. You have even more people who are just trying to maneuver the things they control to get to the ending they want. It's done really good.

Cal is an idiot. I'm totally serious, he is an idiot

I 110% believe this deserves a 5-star rating. There is a sh*t ton of stuff that happens during this whole book. You meet many new leaders from different places, an escape attempt, a rescue, two major battles, a few reveals that were previously speculation at least for me. A little bit of love and a lot more loss.

Title: King’s Cage

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Series: Red Queen, book three

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

Sorry I haven’t posted anything more recent, you guys! I’ve been crazy busy, with my family life and work and everything else, and on top of that, King’s Cage was so explosive and emotional for me that I needed time to process all of my feelings, and then time just got away from me. But on to the actual review! King’s Cage is the second to last book in The Red Queen series, and man, was it explosive. Way to pack a punch, Aveyard! I finished this almost a week ago, and I’m still reeling; I’m practically salivating for War Storm, and the only reason I haven’t lost my mind is because it’s on its way! I’m so excited and anxious to see how one of my most recent favorite series will end! That ending though: Ouch, my heart! I’m so scared for what’s in the future for Mare, Cal, and Maven!

Mare Barrow has gone on to sacrifice everything, her heart and soul, her freedom, the love of her life, in order to stop Maven. Giving herself to him freely in exchange for the lives of her friends and fellow soldiers, she is used as a trophy for Maven’s twisted new regime and tortured brutally. But Maven isn’t done; he’s determined to use her to wipe out what’s left of the Scarlet Guard and the newbloods they’ve taken in. Desperate to escape the clutches of her captor and the feuding factions that come out of the woodwork under his fragile rule, Mare must decide if she is willing to sacrifice the things and people she cares for most in order to stop Maven, or if she will walk away from the battle, tired as she is of the bloodshed.

This book; this book was strong in some respects and the weakest of the series in others. I’ve even had time to think about it and I still don’t quite know how I feel about it. The pacing was breakneck; Mare’s terse, spare narration grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go; even when I wasn’t reading it, it was constantly on my mind, picking at me. (It even wormed its way into my dreams several times!) My heart broke for Mare and what she had to do for her loved ones, and the too-young soldiers under her care. I liked the way that Aveyard added in two other perspectives to even out the tension: Evangeline Samos, Maven’s betrothed and eternal nemesis of Mare, and Cameron, the reluctant child-soldier rescued from the battlefield of The Choke, focused on nothing but rescuing her twin brother and the other innocent children trapped in Maven’s war machinations. I liked the way that Aveyard explored Mare’s twisted, poisonous relationship with Maven. At times the book seemed really focused on Mare and her relationship with Cal, so much so that it took away from the other parts of the story. But I enjoyed the political intrigue of it all, and that ending—it was insane. I’m still reeling over it, and frankly, I’m angry; I can only hope that War Storm isn’t going to rip me apart as this did. But it’s Victoria Aveyard, so, I don’t really have my heart set on it. The bottom line: The second to last Red Queen novel, King’s Cage butchered me, despite some little flaws that took away from the better parts of the story, and I can’t wait for War Storm! Next on deck: Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Mare, the Lightning Girl, is a prisoner to the boy king. She gave herself over to him to save her friends and now she lives each day wondering what new horror she will face above the constant weakness of silence. Maven has his little red pet but his grip on his country is far from firm as the Scarlet Guard continue to fight on. It is no longer a right of Red on Silver or Newbloods. Alliances, blood, abilities, it all forms and turns on itself as the battles grow stronger, leading to all out war!

Okay first of all the ending of the last one was horrible. I knew this was supposed to have a bad cliffhanger as well so I held off until close to release of the final book, still knowing didn’t prepare me. I didn’t think anything could be worse than Shade. Okay it probably still is the worst but this one breaks your heart in a different way. It all continues to build upon itself as things grow and grow with the different splinters widening and spreading. I loved seeing the slow boil inside the court as things began to happen. Seeing from Mare as she was broken a little more each day was so very hard, because even when she wasn't my favorite and made some questionable decisions there are just some things no one should have to live through. Okay maybe a few people but not anyone you even remotely like.

Speaking of liking characters. I enjoyed in this that we got some new POV’s including that of someone I never thought I’d enjoy, Evangeline. Yes we hear from a Silver POV in small parts though the vast majority I still Mare’s story. This works for many different reasons the first being practicality given Mare is a prisoner and we need a way to see things she’s not privy to both in the castle and the rebellion (Cameron) and secondly it provides a deeper understanding for other character that I personally didn’t like as much. With Cameron I didn’t want her dead like with Evangeline (seriously book one I just wanted her fried) but more that her attitude grated on me but seeing what she normally kept to herself I grew to enjoy her. I even grew to understand if not respect in a small way Evangeline which is a miracle in and of itself. We of course also see more of our other characters on all sides and even get to meet several new ones both on team good and evil.

All in all the final book comes out tomorrow and I can't wait to dive right in and see where these characters and this war is going to end up. There are so many wheels spinning I can't wait to see where they end up and who is left standing at the end. So many possibilities and to be honest I'm not 100% sure which one I want to happen more. I'm hoping my heart will heal and I won't be broken even more but I don't have high hopes there as I think these books have always shown they can and will be ruthless just like war itself. So now I just have to buckle up and hold on.

Damn, this book gets me every time at the end. Another, cliffhanger ending. However, I do want to mention it again, it is not one of my favorite series. Mare annoys me...a lot. This book is in 3 POV - Mare, Cameron and Evangeline. Although, majority of it is Mare. The title King's Cage has a two fold meaning and you understand it completely by the time the book ends.

This book picks up where Glass Sword ends. <b>Mare </b>is captured by Maven and he wants to parade her and exploit her to his own devious ends. Thus, begins the torture of Mare Barrow at the king's orders via silent stones and whispers. She's struggling with the death of her brother Shade (I miss him), her love for Cal, her what she thought Maven used to be...all the while being a puppet for Maven. The first 2/3 of the book is pretty much about Mare dealing with her capture and realizing that it is up to her to escape as there probably won't be any rescue.

-- "You ask how much of it was me," he whispers. "Some. Enough."

We also get to find out the history of how <b>Maven </b>came to be. I must say while I hated Elara before (dead queen B****) I truly despised her by the end of this book. She was one sick queen B and what Mare did to her at the end of Glass Sword was not enough justice. I did feel sorry for Maven a bit...However, not enough to feel he could be redeemed. While I feel sad for him I also want to see him being punished for what he has done. He is one twisted puppy!! Monsters are made!!

Cameron, annoyed me in the beginning. While I enjoyed reading her perspective & questions she raised I also felt she was a hypocrite to a degree. Towards the end, I guess we get to understand her better and I guess I came to be ok with her.

Evangeline, was surprising and yet not to an extent. I actually thought her parts were interesting and definitely showed some insight into her life at court, her struggle and life with her Samos family. It was definitely an eye opener. And the twist her and her family end up with....very interesting. Her mother though -- ugh, reminds me of another Elara in a different way. I want to see what she will bring to the table next book as I can see her playing more important role if she grows a backbone.

Cal, our Prince (who was meant to be) and in love with Mare. God, I am not sure what to do with you? I liked him throughout the series. Now, I don't know what will happen? He just made me sad at the end.

Overall, this book was tough to completely get in cuz of all lag in the beginning of the book. It picks up in the latter half and then, it brought in MORE plotting and scheming. I felt my head hurt at times. I still dislike Mare for some reason. She annoys me. I want to read the next book cuz I want to now find the conclusion and I have no idea how it will end.

I am really enjoying this series. Even though I found the book really good, I'm going to start out by virtually high-fiving the author for the end of the acknowledgments section. I truly enjoyed reading that.

Back to the story. It almost feels like she wrote it backward from the traditional story arc set up. The ending I somewhat saw coming, but it still made it a tough pill to swallow (in a good way, reader-wise). There were a lot of lines to love in this book. And it really does mirror society and holds a warning. I thought, at the end of Red Queen, that this might be more sci-fi than fantasy, that it might be a book with a future setting. The map at the start of this book, and a reference or two in the story, confirms that. So it is Speculative Fiction, a fantasy set in our possible future, dotted with horror, a splash of romance, and bits of science-fiction all rolled together. Like tossing the Lord of the Rings books and the X-Men graphic novels, and maybe one Star Trek book and a few pages of the CliffsNotes on Diary of Anne Frank, all in a blender together. That's what it feels like to me. And I love it!

There are different heads to be in during different chapters. I'm generally not fond of that approach, but it was well-done and reasonable here. Afterall, the first half of the book has the main character separated from the supporting cast. Evangeline's POV was especially interesting, as her thoughts are so different from the character she portrays herself as.

I love the diversity in the book. I imagine Mare as a teenage Michelle Rodriguez (actor). Universal has been talking about making this series into movies for years. (I wonder what the hold up could be, given that this is perfectly suited to slide in with the Marvel and DC films dominating the box office.)

There's no true heart (or soul) in the third installment of this Red Queen series. I'd advise readers just to skip this one altogether and just read the plot summary when that goes up on Wiki. You can also skip the first 500 pages and read chapter 29 and the epilogue, which will tell you all you need to know.
My main issue with this book was: there was no joy, and no character development. Just relentless whining and torture. Why on earth would any reader be interested in sitting in the POV of an emotionally stunted adolescent girl (cameron)? Yes, this is YA, but the best YA books manage to thread maturity and wisdom into the story. Reading Cameron's POV was like reading someone's inane twitter feed. Suffering--at least the way it is presented in this story-- is not all that interesting. It's gratuitous.
I no longer trust that this author knows how to plot stories or build characters. I'm done.

HELP ME. Another "Glass Sword" ending which leaves me oh so grateful for the fact that there's a book four.

---

Mare is Maven's prisoner. A puppet and figurehead, she endures the worst at Maven's mercy. Meanwhile, Cameron Cole and the other newbloods are busy planning out their next move against Maven, and possibly a rescue attempt for Mare. But their allies are nothing more than their enemy's enemies, with hidden agendas that threaten to divide them forever.

The first part of King's Cage is Mare's POV. Then, Cameron's POV is smartly chosen and used well to show the rebel (or should I say terrorist) side of things. Later, we have a few chapters from a surprise POV which answers many of your questions from earlier books. We also get some insight into this mystery character's personality and why it is that way. I really loved reading this book, and I devoured page after page but it did drag along quite a bit especially during the earlier stages. This didn't make me lose interest, but I did pay less attention to those pages.

Mare is portrayed well in this book, with things such as trauma and other issues carefully thought out and weaved into the novel. Cameron is but a little girl wondering if she should join the war, but her tough exterior is something I admire. Evangeline is such a troublemaker in this book, her motives unknown. I have a feeling she'll be key in book four. Farley, Farley, still the same brave woman, yet haunted by loss. My baby Cal... I really hope he realises what King's Cage has done to him and wakes up.

We move well outside Norta in terms of territory, and well into neighbouring areas. The climate/landscape is described frequently and consistently in detail. Can we all just stop and take a moment to appreciate Marecal (miracle!!)? Stuff happens in King's Cage. I repeat, this relationship is not dead, and neither is Marven (unfortunately for me). Finally, the hating and "different worlds" thing is shoved aside, albeit temporarily. As for the ending... I'm telling you, it's another Glass Sword, but in my eyes it's worse than that. King's Cage has a stellar plot, character development and storyline that can't be missed.

While This book advances the plot and has more world building, it has some major logical problems. I was surprised about Maven using to Mare to recruit new bloods. I had thought, all the New Bloods had already joined the Scarlet Guard or had been killed by Maven. The story that they make Mare tell on t v has is full of logical holes and since they had previously forced Mare to make false statements that were later proved to be lies, why would the story have any credibility with either Reds or Silvers? Why would so many Reds believe Maven's propaganda about the Scarlet Guard being terrorists and murderers? They have all experienced cruel oppression under the Silvers. Why would their care about them killing the previous King or a few silvers. The South African Aparthied government used to call The ANC terrorists, and that didn't turn Black South African's against the ANC. The scene with the Morrey and the other child soldiers is completely ridiculous. Why its reasonable that he would be worried about his sister, since he thinks the Scarlet Guard kills New Bloods' he is upset when he finds out that that is not the case and that Cameron is a member of the Scarlet Guard. Why are the other child soldiers so afraid of the Scarlet Guard? None of them are New Bloods so even if the propaganda had been true they would have had nothing to worry about and the Scarlet Guard wouldn't go to all the trouble to rescue them just to kill them.
The twist about the peace treaty was interesting and I liked learning more about the Lakelands and the political situation across the continent. I hope that the series doesn't become to long and padded.

Quotes:

“To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun.”

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

“Now I'm in a king's cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown.”

“As you enter, you pray to leave. As you leave, you pray to never return.”

Review:

If you know me, you know I love the Red Queen series. However, I didn't enjoy this one that much. The first half was immensely boring. I wasn't enjoying it whatsoever but when I reached the second half I realized why we had that first portion. There would've been so many what if scenarios had that situation not happened. So while I wasn't a huge fan, I got its purpose. There was a meaning behind it.

It's really hard to mention names or what's going on without spoiling things. I'll just say the first half had very little action. I felt we were constantly in this one person's thoughts and literally nothing was going on. It just drug on for what seemed like half the book. The second half made up for the first part by far. 

Overall, I just didn't vibe with this book. I felt there was too much time spent in someone's thoughts. There was also too much time describing the surroundings and giving background information to things I felt weren't necessary. I really wanted to love this book but sadly it fell flat for me. I also struggled with a certain character and their actions. I won't go into details but it was very frustrating. I will say I loved the quotes in this book. So many great lines were sprinkled throughout the book, especially towards the end. I have higher hopes for the final book, War Storm.

I honestly do not know what I expected from King’s Cage, but it defiantly was not what I got. With King’s Cage being the third book in the series, I expected it to be amazing and progress the story forwards in ways that I could not imagine. You would not believe how let down I felt once I had finished the book.

I was not interested in any of the characters and I did not feel any of the stakes in this. Whilst I have not read anything like this before, I had the constant feeling that I knew where this was going as I felt like I had read this before. To be fair, their were some plot-twists that I never saw coming, and those were the best ones and gave the story the most progress and got me invested in the story. Apart from these, I can only think of a handful, everything was predictable to the point that I was wishing that something drastic was going to happen, like their be a traitor in the Scarlet Guard.

Whilst Aveyard did take us places that we have never been before, they were exactly as I expected them to be. They were all very cliche and dull. At times it felt like some of the life had been leached from wherever they were, but put into other places where they should not have been.

Maybe it is like my mum said and I just moving away from the YA genre and growing up (I turn 20 at the end of this month, WHAT?!); but if you do enjoy YA, then King’s Cage will be enjoyable for you.

Yeesh. Mare and the Scarlet Guard just can't catch a break, can they? While not my favourite in the series so far, KING'S CAGE is definitely an emotional powerful entry to the series. I really enjoyed the first half, with Mare shoved back into the court and forced to suffer the Silvers once again, with one volatile whisper tormenting her more often than not. There were some really tense moments throughout, and it led to an epic battle midway through that had me nervous to flip the page. The book is split through three perspectives, but the only one that didn't make a lot of sense to me was Cameron's, because I don't really care about her as a character. Most of the second half of the book is slower, and this is when my love wavered a little. The conspiracy was great, I'm not arguing that, but a new antagonist was introduced basically out of the blue and this person tipped the scales so easily. I was shaking my head and sighing, because it seems like we're back at square one. Not the best ending I could have hoped for. All this said, this is still a really good book with some wickedly powerful characters (I would absolutely read a spinoff regarding those colour-coded electrion's because wow they are powerful), and I'm super excited for my box set that will be coming in soon. I'm sure the next book will be explosive!

The third installment in Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, King’s Cage, is probably my favorite so far. Once again, Aveyard proves she is more focused on telling a story than describing a romance – something my readers know I really like. Especially when it comes to young adult fantasy. In fact, I feel labeling this series as “romance” is a stretch – especially given how little Aveyard focuses on actual material meant to draw in readers of that genre.

King’s Cage begins where Glass Sword left off: Mare’s deal with Maven. While she spends her time in prison, we finally get to learn more about other characters in the story – namely Cameron and (later) Evangeline. Though the latter takes place more toward when the action begins to kick up. Naturally, the story is more focused on Mare even from these perspectives, but it provides a refreshing look at the rebellion.

Surprisingly, there are several turns in King’s Cage that caught me entirely off guard. This is a good thing: I hate when books and stories become predictable. I won’t divulge more than that, for fear of spoilers, but I will say this: so far, this book is my favorite in the series and though I am so angry at the ending I could burn it, part of me wants to open it back up to page one and start again. I don’t imagine the library will like it much if I burn their book.

Until the fourth book hits shelves, I guess I’ll have to satisfy my hunger for more by reading the two novellas that Aveyard wrote for her post-apocalypse universe. Oh, and as a side note? This is the first one I read physically so I finally got to see a map of the lands. As I suspected, it takes place in the ruins of what was once the United States.

So, me being the idiot that I am totally forgot that this series was a 4 book series, so picked up this book thinking that it was the last book in a trilogy and stayed up until 3am to finish it. Then at 3am finished the book and realised it was in fact a 4 book series and spent the next few hours wide awake because I needed to know what happened next!

I came a little late to this series which meant that I was able to read Red Queen and Glass Sword together, therefore no agonising wait between books for me. Until I finished Glass Sword which had possible the most amazing ending which has kept me desperate for the past year. This book was no different and yet again I have been left a desperate puddle in need of the forth and final book in this amazing series!

"Love makes you weak. And she's right. I learned that before I even knew you."

One big change in this book is the fact that we now have 3 POV's. We still have Mare but now we also have Cameron and Evangeline Samos. I have to be honest I was a little disappointed because I would have LOVED to have seen everything from Cal's POV especially whilst Mare was being held and he couldn't get to her, I live for broken hearts and deep emotional moments. But by the end of the book I had to agree that Cameron and Evangeline were such great choices and gave us so much more of a rounded view of the war.

"To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun."

Ok, so Mare. We left her in the last book having bargained her own life for those of her friends and Cal and we find her in this one now in the hands of Maven. She goes through a hell of a lot in this book but is still such a strong character and manages to manipulate Maven, just as much as he does her, in order to gain valuable information for the Scarlett Guard. I loved that she never lost her humor and kick ass character personality but that we also got some very vulnerable and emotional moments from her too as she struggled with her new situation and also with the PTSD that follows.

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

In comparison to the last book Cal seems a lot more sure of himself in this book which I think is down to the fact that he has a purpose: finding and rescuing Mare. He has finally picked a side and I liked seeing his relationships with people develop further as he finally starts to let people in (just a little bit!). He seems a lot more comfortable with being a part of the rebellion now and takes an active part in working with them and advising them against his brother. However he is often torn between knowing what is right and what he must do for his kingdom and when put in the position of having to make tough decisions sometimes really struggles. It makes for an interesting conundrum of whether he will eventually become King and if he is strong enough to make the tough decisions. Next to Maven, Cal is probably the character I am most interested to see develop further in the final book.

"The fallen prince is exhausting. I don't know how Mare could stand him or his inability to choose a damned side-especially when there's only one side he can possibly pick."

For those of you who have been as desperate as me for more development in the romantic relationships in this series (aka. Cal and Mare!) I can happily tell you that you will be rewarded in this book. It's definitely a case of absence makes the heart grow stronger and I'm not going to say much except we get some REALLY swoony scenes. As is the norm in any dystopian series it's not the smoothest of romances, but I have big hopes for Cal & Mare in the final book.

"She was his hurricane, and every nudge pulled him deeper into the eye of the storm."

Maven is such a complex character and although I hate him as a character I love his place in this book. We get to see a lot more of Maven in this book as he reveals parts of himself to Mare that no one else knows about or understands. We get a lot of answers in this book about how Maven ended up the person that he is and I like that Aveyard managed to get me to feel sympathy for this character who I hate so much. Maven's cleverness really shines in this book and his ability to plan and scheme results in some big wins for Maven, whereas his last shred of humanity and his love for Mare threatens to bring him to his knees. I have some big hopes for how this series will end for Maven and he is possible the character I am most excited to see how his story ends.

"I'm not a fool, little lightning girl. If you're going to play in my head, I'm going to play in yours. It's what we're good at."

We get even more 'newborns' as they are named in this series and some more really cool powers/abilities that turned up. I was a little disappointed in their lack of time in the spotlight in the previous book and so was really happy that we got so much more of them in this book in both battles and some seriously cool training scenes.

The story flows well for the most part although a few off notes a long the way. Mare's imprisonment, although psychologically terrifying was frustratingly slow at times and the lack of action nearly resulted in some skimming at times. Also, Cameron's POV took me a little time to get into, I just wanted to see what was happening with Cal and so all her thoughts and worries about her brother was just getting in the way of that for me.

The ending of this book left my heart in shambles, mostly because (as I mentioned below) I thought it was a trilogy and I really wanted to know how things were going to end, but also because Aveyard is a genius at writing heartbreaking cliffhangery type book endings. This is the 3rd time she has done it this series and I only just survived the last one! I seriously fear for my mental stability after I have finished the final book!

"My heart breaks for him; my heart hardens against him."

We’ve made it to Book 3 guys, and s**t just got real…kind of. This installment of the Red Queen series has action, misfortune, and a little bit of that romance. King’s Cage is upping the ruthlessness and deceit, and fans of Maven are finally going to get another taste of who he is and what he can do. Books 1 and 2 are just kindling compared to the real war that comes about in book 3. For those who are loving the battles that consume this story, this one is for you.

Assuming that you guys have been reading along, let’s start where book 2 has left off…shall we? For those of you who haven’t read the series yet, I will do my best to keep the spoilers to a minimum. Except for this paragraph, sorry. So, Mare is imprisoned and her hopes of escaping are pretty slim wouldn’t you say? Finally her character makes a little sacrifice for others instead of thinking about herself! I think we can all agree that we saw this coming, because this seems to happen in every YA/Fantasy story doesn’t it? Self-sacrificing one’s self has become QUITE the fad! I think what was really unclear when Mare gave herself up to Maven, was what Maven was going to do with her. This guys is the EPITOME of unpredictable, and I still don’t feel like I have a grasp on his character. Whether this is intentional or accidental by the author, I don’t care. I love it.

As the first half of this book is dedicated to Mare’s imprisonment, we get a fairly suitable glimpse into her time under Mavens watch. She is locked away in a surprisingly comfortable room, fed some very un-prison-like food, and obviously but confusingly…kept alive. Though we have witnessed Mavens unusual obsession with Mare, it still seems so stupid of him to keep her alive as she is such a powerful weapon. Though in true Maven fashion, it all ends up being for a bigger purpose: to use Mare as a pawn for Maven to begin to collect newborns. Not only must mare cope with her abilities being blocked by her guards and constantly trying to find a way to escape, but now she is being forced to tell the public that she is against the scarlet guard and everything they stand for.

I have to tell you guys, I am loving how the author has introduced so many different levels on mind games into this story. From book 1 the main character is lied to and manipulated by everyone around her, and still it continues. The fact that this series can become quite dark and really question your faith in humanity, is brilliant. Though the constant pattern of characters throwing each other under the bus is apparent, in book 3 we finally get to see some characters switching sides and supporting the cause. For one character in particular, I did NOT see that coming.

For the romance seekers who have been waiting patiently for the face-impaling and heart-lurching whirlwind that is Mare and Cal, you are finally rewarded. Ahhh yes…those many months have ignited the fire in these two young characters, and has finally blown up like a box of dynamite on Fourth of July! Picture it guys: an intense eye-lock from across the way, the release of doves, a slow-motion gallop to each other’s arms, a passionate kiss…blahhh blahhh blahhh. I mean, it was okay. For being pretty disappointed in this relationship from the start of this series, I’m not really surprised that their reunion fell flat for me. Once again, I just didn’t buy it. The story between these two feels like one that I was told in a 3 minute summary, and I’m still pretty uninterested. Oh well.

So apart from the reunion of Mare and Cal and Mare’s imprisonment, the rest of this book focuses on the battle of the ages. Just like before, and probably much more, I was skipping over the fighting. Like I said in my previous reviews for this series, I love a great action/battle scene in a Fantasy story. They get me amped up and hooked to the point where I can’t put the book down. However, I keep losing interest when it comes to the action scenes in the Red Queen series. There is too much fluff in it, and not enough of the author getting straight to the point. I feel like there should be more detail, not more of saying the same thing in three different sentences. I skimmed through the last part of the book, and stopped at the very end to see how everything got wrapped up.

In regards to the ending, saw that one coming didn’t we? It is obviously another cliff-hanger for what is to come, but it ends on a pretty emotional note. Or…what is supposed to be an emotional note. Again, I am left feeling nothing from it. I just CANNOT connect with Mare or really any of these characters. It’s driving me crazy! I am honestly not even sure if I will continue on with this series at this point, and I don’t think I will even miss out on much. With that said, I saw some improvements in the story and writing but it just isn’t enough for me. When I see a positive and get excited about one small aspect of the story, two things are thrown at me that I can’t stand. Unfortunately, I think this is where I end the Red Queen series. Good luck readers.

Okay. Okay. Taking a breath before I continue this.

First let me talk about the things I didn't like. Honestly the only issue I had was the multiple pov. There were some chapters with the other characters that I enjoyed but over all they kind of bored me and I just kept wanting to get back to Mare. Besides that I didn't really have any other problems.

Now the rest. This book is heartbreaking. I don't want to spoil anything but it takes you on an emotional roller coaster that is insane. Also still struggling with whether I want to hate Maven or hold him close and tell him everything is okay. I just love how deep and crazy complicated his character is. You can't help but feel for him. Mare has so much development in this book. You see everything she goes through and how she handles it and I loved all of it. There is tons of action and lots of new characters that I can't wait to see more of in the next book. That ending though. Again I don't to spoil but I was holding back tears through that ending. Victoria Aveyard knows how to leave you wanting more.

MY HEART!!! NOOOOOOO
Okay so I have so many feeling about this book. Like my heart has actually been destroyed.
Mare allowed herself to be captured so the ones she loves could get away. AND OH MY GOSH DOES SHE PAY FOR IT. I knew Maven was bad, but damn this took it too a whole new level. And then there were moments when I felt so bad for Maven and liked him and then I was reminded about what a bad person he is. The feels are too much here guys, it's killing me.
My love for Mare is ever growing, and I just think she is an amazing character. She is so strong and resilient, even though she has been through so much. I just want a great ending for her. She deserves it.
The plot of this book was AMAZING too. It had me on the edge of my seat THE WHOLE TIME. There was a little foreshadowing, but for the most part I had no idea what was going to happen next and I NEEDED TO KNOW. Which meant yet again, I was up all night finding out the fate of Mare Barrow and the Guard.
Can I just take a second to address the FEELS IN THIS BOOK?!?! Everything was so raw and real. The love, the anguish, the heart break, the hope... it just all was too much for my poor heart. King's Cage just ruined me. Completely.
The ending of this book (no spoilers, I promise) wrenched my heart out. WHY?!?!!?! HAS MARE NOT BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH?!?!?! I guess not. But I can not wait for the fourth book to find out what is going to happen.
If you love dystopia and have not read this series..... YOU DON'T LOVE DYSTOPIA. If you want a good dystopian series to read: LOOK NO FURTHER.
As you probably guessed, I am going to give King's Cage five out of five hearts.

**spoiler alert**
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, we get to learn more about Maven, my favorite character in this book series and one of the more interesting ones. On the other hand, the rest of the characters in this book just kind of fell flat for me. I was more interested in the first half of the book, where much of the setting took place in palace. I felt that Maven was still characterized as an evil hollow shell, though largely a victim of his mother's evil intentions. I'm also still somewhat confused by his continuing obsession over Mare, when he was the one who had ordered her death in Red Queen. Perhaps that was also the consequence of his mother's control over his mind. Some things are still not explained well here. The second half was a little dull for me with too much details about the Scarlet Guard attack. I also didn't care too much about Cameron's point of view and was a little bored by Evangeline's POV as well. Evangeline seemed like she was going back and forth between wanting a royal title and then not wanting it; then desiring a female lover while encouraging her brother to marry that female lover(?!). Cal's behavior was a bit confusing as well - hot for Mare one moment, even declaring that he didn't care about the throne-what he wanted most was her. Then shortly thereafter, we see that he wants the throne more than her. In later chapters, I felt the book spent too much time detailing the Scarlet Guard training that it got too tedious for me. Overall, I found that most of the characters were rather flat, confused and/or inconsistent. In addition, some of the plot lines felt unnatural or "forced." While I didn't hate the book - it just let me feeling a bit empty and not entirely satisfied.

After reading Red Queen, I couldn't wait to read Book 2 and 3. Book 1, the introductory story, was predictable and cliche YA dystopian genre but I became heavily invested in the characters and wanted to see how their stories unfolded. I should have quit while I was ahead. Book 2 was okay but Book 3, King's Cage, was beyond disappointing. The slow moving first half of the book did almost nothing to advance the plot. There were numerous unnecessary repetitions and references to things that took place in the earlier books. And the tedious focus on Mare's suffering at the hands of Maven just dragged on and on and on, well past the point needed to communicate her dire circumstances and set the scene. Beyond that, as a reader I was extremely frustrated with the treatment on one of my favorite characters from Book 1, Prince Cal. He started out as flawed but intriguing and had lots of potential. I really wanted to follow his character but he was virtually MIA for more than half of King's Cage. And even worse, when he was referenced, he was portrayed a one-dimensional big, hulking guy who grunted. Seriously??? What a missed opportunity for the author to have developed him into one of the most interesting characters in the series. Instead, we got portions of the story told from Cameron's point of view. Can't recall who that was? My point exactly. Who cares? I won't spoil the ending because the author did that.
King's Cage really just deserved 1 star but since I bothered to read until the end I generously rated it 2 stars. I do not recommend it. I would have been much happier not reading it and just making up my own ending to the series.

After that twist in the end of book two, I had to pick up this book as soon as possible.

We see Mare in captivity and Maven’s obsession with her. They continue to play mind games with each other. On the other hand, the Reds and the New Bloods continue to train and strategize. Will Mare be able to free herself from the captivity? How will she do it while the silent stone all around her bears upon her? Will Maven ever realize what Mare keeps on trying to do with him? And what about Cal, the silver Prince who is on the run and living with a group of New Bloods?

There were so many questions at the beginning of this book and they are all answered in this instalment. It was fantastic to see Mare and Maven play their game of cat and mouse. And the level of mind games that go on in this series is just mind-blowing. Mare really grew as a character in this book. After being lied to by different people and her mind games with Maven, it would have been easy for her to lose herself completely. Yet she doesn’t and continuously fights back for what she believes. And Evangeline never stops to amaze me. Maven is a truly interesting character – one who I wanted to hate but couldn’t really hate because of his background and his reality.

The plot moves at a steady pace after the first few chapters. There’s a lot happening in the book to keep the readers engrossed. There are couple of twists that I did not anticipate happening. Overall, this is probably the best book in the series and that is saying something since books one and two were pretty interesting themselves.

I thought the ending of Book 2: Glass Sword was killer but after finishing King's Cage, I would have to say this is even worse! The way Victoria Aveyard concludes this story just has you begging for more.

The title "King's Cage" meaning is two-fold. The first part being how Mare Barrow perseveres captivity under the tutelage of King Maven. Curious enough, her imprisonment is not what I would have expected. And although this did seem a bit long and drawn out, it gave us an opportunity to see King Maven in a different light. He is one you want to abhor but as you learn more of his upbringing you wonder if he so much more than it seems. Is he redeemable? Time will tell.

The second part would be that of Prince Cal who in all sense is the rightful king. Towards the end, you are left contemplating - is this something that he would take ownership of and if so, how would this affect his relations given that his life isn't completely his own. Only time will tell which way he will sway but this is definitely one of the MANY reasons that will keep me coming back for more.

Another factor is the addition of all these new and intriguing characters. I appreciated that the story wasn't just told in the primary character's voice. It added so much more dimension and although this isn't their story you kind of hope and wish that Victoria Aveyard decides to further explore these interesting characters.

Just like the prior books, we are left with numerous unanswered questions. Question is.... did that prevent me from enjoying the book? Not at all! The world building, storytelling, and character dramatization is magnificent enough to outweigh the uncertainty and the wait.

My heart is quite literally in this. Cal beautiful quote from the beginning of the novel.

I'll try to be spoiler free, but you may want to stop reading now.

So I hate Cameron as a narrator. Hate her. I
Just don't care what she thinks, what she says, or what she believes. She annoys me. I cringe every time her name comes up at the beginning of chapter. She complains about Cal not making a decision, but what she doing? No one is forcing her to stay. How am I supposed to read this book if she's narrating?

She stopped narrating not long after my rant. Most of the next chapters are in Mare's point of view. Six months in captivity is a long time. A LONG TIME! The book is monotonous in the middle. It's day after day of captivity. Sure, some things happen, but I wish the plot moved faster.

Eventually, Mare is released, returned to Cal and the Red Guard. There's sweet moments between Cal and Mare. Cameron narrates another chapter, but it's ok. I'm not annoyed by her anymore.

Evengeline narrates a few chapters. That's an interesting perspective. She has dreams and desires I didn't realize. She and her brother are an interesting pair. A new political group is formed. Or forming.

I'm four chapters from the end. I'm beginning to wonder in any group in this novel has a clue. No one tells anyone anything.

I'm finished. Ugh. Just ugh. Stupid people stick in their own stupid worlds.

I saw the end coming, but seriously? Can anyone in this book take responsibility for his or her actions?

What I Liked:

Writing. I enjoy Aveyard's writing style and love reading her prose. Even if I dislike some aspects of her novels like point of view I will still read them because of the writing.

Characters. The main thing I like about the Red Queen series and Aveyard's writing is her characters. The best character in this book was Maven, she did a great job of creating a great three-dimensional villain.

Powers. I love the different types of powers but I would have liked to see even more of them. I do think that the world-building was ten times better in this novel than the second one.

What I Disliked:

Pacing. I had a similar complaint with the second book because at parts of the novel it was hard to get through. It did not need to be over 500 pages and about 50 pages from the end I felt like it could have ended a lot earlier.

Plot. I'm glad that the plot picked up in the third novel because the second one seemed to drag. And now I'm intrigued to see how the fourth and final novel finishes up the story.

Point of View. My favorite point of view was Mare's and I was able to fly through her chapters.
However, I believe the novel should have been only from the point of view of Mare (or even Maven or Cal) because the chapters with Cameron's point of view were not as compelling as the others.

I recommend checking out this series, the second book was my least favorite in the series but it is starting to get better.

King’s Cage is the third book in the Red Queen series, but not the final book in the installment. I highly suggest that you read the first two books before this one, otherwise you will be incredibly confused. The overall premise of the series is very intriguing and draws you in. Unfortunately, it is a little slow at times and can be difficult to get through. Glass Sword, in particular, took a while to get its stride and I kept putting it down. As a result of the cliffhanger at the end of Glass Sword, King’s Cage is able to start more quickly.

Originally, I didn’t have very strong feelings about any of the characters in the series. They were from various worlds, had different personalities, but I just didn’t truly connect with any of them. King’s Cage made a few of the characters slightly more likable to me, but it still wasn’t enough. Whether it was an important character or a side character, I wasn’t emotionally involved enough to deeply care if something happened to them. It was a simple, oh that’s sad or unfortunate, but it didn’t tear my heart out like some writing does.

Mare’s world is turned upside down and overall the plot of this novel is more engaging than Glass Sword. The fights were described very well and I felt like I was there watching them. I still wish that there was more world building in these novels. There are such varied lands, ruled by unique leaders that I wish we knew more about them.

Overall, I enjoy this series and would recommend giving it a shot. It’s difficult to categorize between fantasy and a form of dystopian. The series is not high fantasy so the world isn’t too difficult to dive into. I’d recommend to young adult/teen fans of fantasy books or books where the characters have powers.

In this third installment of the Red Queen Series we once again find ourselves brought into the world of Mare Barrow who has traded her freedom for the lives and freedom of her friends and family. Mare is now trapped in a painful abusive world where her entire life and every breath is controlled by the one she hates most - Maven the mad boy king whose entire purpose in life seems to be controlling and possessing Mare. He seems to think of her more as a pet than a human being with thoughts and feelings of her own.

Mare is abused not only by Maven but by the other Silver nobility who now surround her and by her personal guards whose job it is to enforce "the silence" on Mare so she has no way to use her lightning ability and thus has no form of escape. This book is filled with the details of this next step in Mare's journey as she is tortured and under the thumb of those she hates the most for their treatment of reds and those called newbloods who have powers like Mare when they shouldn't because they are reds not silvers. This story was completely engrossing to me it had equal parts inner dialogue of characters, action and adventure, engrossing characters that are believable as people yet also fantasy because of their unique abilities and the dystopian society in which they live.

Aveyard outdid herself in this book for me I liked it as much or even more than Red Queen the first book in this series. Mare seemed more human in this book; her reactions and relationships with people like Cal, or her sister and parents seemed more tangible and real than how her personality was portrayed in Glass Sword; in that book she seemed untouchable and more aloof not caring about who she hurt to get her own priorities accomplished. In King's Cage Mare through her captivity seems to gain some of her humanity back and views herself more as a person with special abilities rather than a demi god whose orders should be followed without question. As you watch her personal struggle it is easy as a reader to connect with her and you feel as if you are right there with her as she fights to survive and hopefully escape Maven.

Maven himself in this book was a wonderful villain in his own right; his thoughts and actions were really interesting to see because he has such a damaged psyche because of the things his mother did to him in his infancy and childhood. At some moments the reader can even catch a glimpse of the little good that is left in his flawed character that his mother tried so hard to eradicate. You get the sense that in his own twisted, cruel way he does love Mare; but that love eventually turns into a sick desire to own her and be in control of every aspect of her life; though you really can't call her captivity much of a life it is really more of just existing and her trying to stay alive until she can escape and get back to those she loves and wants to save. I have to say even though Maven is the villain in this series he really is one of the most interesting and enthralling characters especially because the reader never knows what he might do next and that adds a sense of suspense to the book that really helps draw the reader into the story.

This book was very easy to read. I once again enjoyed the type of font Aveyard used because it was easy to read and didn't lead to a headache which is often my problem after hours of reading a book. This is my new favorite book in this series so far; I really thought Aveyard outdid herself in this one especially with the ending which for me was completely a surprise and unexpected. I love that feeling when after you read the last page in a book you physically have to stop for a minute because it rattled you and was not what you were expecting at all. I like this because every story automatically having a happy ending can get quite boring and stale; I feel that with her ending in this book Aveyard really outdid herself.

If you liked the first two books in this series you will love this one in my opinion and won't be able to put it down...I know I couldn't (I finished the entire book in two days). So be sure to pick it up or download it; its worth the price; Aveyard is right now at least my favorite author so far this year. =)

I have to say that if KING'S CAGE was not on your most anticipated releases of 2017, you must live under a rock! I remember how much I was looking forward to GLASS SWORD when it came out and when I received an ARC, I was on cloud nine. I was surprised at how much I loved it in comparison to RED QUEEN.

I knew that going into the third installment, I would have enormously high expectations. I think that Victoria Aveyard's writing is simplistic, but moving and so emotional. I still remember reading the last page of GLASS SWORD and realizing that this was an epic fantasy story and that it was an amazing sequel to RED QUEEN.

Having finished KING'S CAGE after nearly two days, I was somewhat disappointed. Not because it was not a great story, but because a lot had happened and I needed time to process it. For readers who enjoy fast-paced and lots of action, this is for you. I was not a huge fan of the amount of action sequences there were.

What I really love in Aveyard's story are her characters and their relationships. They make my heart wrench in ways that are unspeakable. And they are the most memorable to me. Despite all the things that happen, the point of those scenes are never lost. Instead, they make me crave for more.

I was astonished at how much I felt for Maven and for Mare. After the events of book one, I was sure I would hate Maven until the end of time, especially when I loved Cal so much. But this book gave me the worst conflict I have ever felt and I love/hate Aveyard for what she's done to my heart. I found it especially heartbreaking because I never experienced Maven in a POV. This story is told by the powerhouse females of the book and I think that having Mare's POV in her scenes with him are what make them so freaking angsty to me.

Speaking of powerhouse females, I think it can go unsaid of how much I loved reading about Mare and her climb from her downfall at the end of GLASS SWORD. To be bruised and beaten the way that Mare had been, there is nothing but love and respect for the girl. But I loved, loved, loved reading about Evangeline. Surprisingly, I started wanting her chapters to be longer and longer. She was just so....awesome and I loved that Aveyard brought in the DIVERSITY WITH THIS GIRL! I needed to have more of Evangeline and I hope that her POV carries to the final book because I want to experience everything she goes through (because girl go through so much).

I genuinely felt like Aveyard was trying to enforce more diversity in her characters because I would notice more descriptions of a character's skin color or their sexual orientation or distinction on class. I really applaud her for trying to bring more of that into her series and I am excited to see more.

Lastly, I am extra salty about that ending. But somewhere deep inside me, I think that whatever happens in the end, I will be satisfied.

We are on book 3 of the Red Queen series and it is just getting stronger and stronger, with multiple layers and intrigue being woven into every separate novel, deepening the mythology and making all the character arcs ever more gripping. Therefore I add a cautionary note to readers to ensure they read Red Queen and Glass Sword first, before entering the utterly riveting story that is King’s Cage.

I love these. There are a very few absolute stand out series in this genre, although a lot of very good stuff, but with Red Queen and beyond Victoria Aveyard has created an immersive, beautifully described and intensely addictive other world with a cast of eclectic and troubled characters and a divisive and ever changing political landscape.

I won’t say too much about this instalment just in case you are reading this cold, but suffice to say our heroine Mare, is in an untenable situation, brought about by the events of Glass Sword, she is now living the consequences. For a lot of this book you live that pain with her as she wonders if the life she has is worth continuing on with. Meanwhile more political maneuvering and a war that is widening its grip goes on both around Mare and in the background, leading to an explosive, thrilling and emotionally charged finale. Oh what will happen now? I can’t guess – another one of the reasons this is so good – but boy am I keen to find out.

I like that the author throws surprises at us regularly, not only with regard to the ebb and flow of wider loyalties but with how you view individual characters. One of the mainstays of the series showed us a whole new side in this, it was both fascinating and made you view previous actions in a different way, that is what Ms Aveyard does so well. There is good and evil in here – but good is not always honest and evil is not just born but made – those are the themes that come to the fore a lot in the Red Queen series, none so much as they do in King’s Cage. Murky motivations abound on all sides.

The magical fantasy elements are just ingrained into the stories now, its like that is just life, the abilities of different groups within the varying factions just pretty much the norm and having them there makes for some extensively thrilling, edge of the seat battle scenes. The intricacy of the world building is intensely good, more understanding of the history and the way different factions came into power, all beautifully imagined and flowing through the narrative, you never quite know where the next friendship will be thrown aside as the battles, both civil and extended, rumble on with often powerfully emotional consequences. Especially when you are invested. I’m invested. I love these characters. I’m probably slightly weird in that my main sympathy lies with Maven. But you know. I like the divisive ones, the ones who show so many sides you can’t grasp onto a single one of them..

Overall King’s Cage was a gorgeous, intense and beautifully written rollercoaster ride of a read, it took me but moments to be absorbed once again into Mare’s world and I seriously cannot wait to go back.

Highly Recommended.

To say I was immensely disappointed with this book would be a monumental understatement. For the first three-fourths of it, I was totally underwhelmed and basically just . . . waiting. Waiting for Mare to break out of Maven's grasp, waiting for her reunion with Cal, and waiting for any hint of the action and intrigue that I loved so much in Red Queen—but none of those things happen until the last third of the novel! That simply wasn't enough to redeem this book. Overall, this was just one big whine-fest. Ideally? I was imagining banging Mare and Cameron's heads together and knocking them both out.

However, Mare and Cal are so adorable in this book until the very last second . . . when their ship literally goes to hell. I'm so angry about this in particular because most of Cal's character growth and development are completely destroyed in the last few pages, and it was so frustrating and totally unnecessary. I am now officially concerned that I'm going to end up hating how this series ends. I'll still read the series conclusion though, since I've stuck around for this long.

I enjoyed slightly more of this book than I despised. If it had been a stand alone book, I would have stopped reading it. Loved The Red Queen. This book has too little success and way too much suffering in it. The first half of the book is dreadfully slow and repetitive. Mare is being tortured, her life wasting away, again and again and again. The plot just doesn't advance for a LONG time. To be in captivity all that time, more needed to happen. She needed to be creating some success somewhere, do something important. I liked Evangeline. Cameron wasn't much of a character. When she had a chapter, I felt like I was reading an untortured, uncaptured Mare chapter. She needed to be more different from Mare, and how about giving a blurb of background about her when she first starts narrating? I didn't remember who she was from the Glass Sword for a time because she was a minor character in that book and it was a year ago. There is some interest, thankfully, when Mare escapes and afterwards, but the romance and heroism could be stronger. People read these books because they want to watch someone rise and do great things. Instead there are a billion characters and political connections to sort through along with a battered heroine who doesn't seem to do that much. Where is her save the day cleverness or ability like no one can believe? Now there are many with lightning and they are training her. She never rises above them later so she doesn't keep the hero spot. Her escape and the final battle scene are exciting still. I like the different abilities. But that's about it. No one likes the ending of course. You read for heroes, not for people who turn their back on each other. The book was nearly all miserable and then a miserable ending was chosen. That's not a crowd pleaser. Aveyard should take a page from Rowling and realize that even if your demon still lives at the end of the book, the hero must end that installment heroically and the ending needs some finality to it. Mare fought heroically, but she is not credited with the battle. No one really sings her praises, and then her prince denies her. There is no reader satisfaction in that.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book. A lot of ideas got to be fleshed out but really I think Victoria Aveyard excels so much in twisting characters and making them fight through it. All of the plotlines with Maven were expertly done. Watching him sort of struggle to keep his crown in the face of so many people wanting to take it, but also wrestling with everything his mother taught him. It was fantastically done.

I also REALLY enjoyed the POV introduced in the back half of the book.

Cameron I was meh about, but I did like that she didn't shy away from complaining about Mare and Cal. Usually you don't get that in YA - you have your heroes and any other POV characters usually find their flaws, but Cameron just lays into them. I liked that. I also liked that it was Cameron's POV and not Cal's. For a while I was confused about why, but it all fell together and I liked MUCH better that we didn't get Cal's. It would have ruined the back half of the book I think.

Again, like the previous two, I really loved the ending of this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mare and the others do with their gifts and choices in the final book. I do kind of wonder if splitting the third and fourth book was the best choice because I think like 2/3 of the way through this one, it was a little harder to get through, but I can't say for sure until I read the last one. And sometimes you just have to much for one book.

Overall, I really liked the first half of this book and watching Mare sink but also watching Maven flounder for his Crown. The back half was saved mostly by the introduction POV, some good dialogue, and a fantastic ending.

I'll be eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the series.

What can I say... with each book we dive deeper into a battle that in the end may have no winners. After the last book we found the scarlet guard scattered. Will they be able to over come the obstacles that they face against Maven? Or will his evil consume him and make the world suffer? Will Mare find a way to make everyone co exist? Will Cal finally be able to choose a side no matter the consequences? We are left with many dates to still be decided and I look forward to the storm that is on the horizon, I only hope I get the outcome I am hoping for...

This is book three in the Red Queen series, these cannot be read as Standalones, so be sure to read the first two books before reading this one!

This book, following the pattern of the first two books, did not disappoint me at all! The second book, Glass Sword, ends with such a cliffhanger that I was so glad that I could go right into reading this one.

While I wasn’t surprised that it’s a split POV, I was surprised that it was Mare and Cameron and not Mare and Cal. Which I think would have been the better way to write it, but that is entirely my opinion. I just didn’t really get why seeing Cameron’s perspective was more important than Cal’s.
I loved seeing Mare’s character develop and change after Glass Sword. Her strength is amazing and since you all know my preference for Maven I don’t have to lie when I say that I enjoyed the Mare/Maven moments! I know he is kind of psycho….but…I just want to love him and fix him!

Cal was kind of a disappointment, even though he and Mare really developed in this book I just can’t bring myself to be 100% about Cal. And he finally choose a side…maybe…did he?? I just want to slap him for what happens at the end though! Seriously… I can’t even…

Overall I absolutely LOVED this book, even if it made me die a little inside, but that is all the more reason to wait, not so patiently, for the next book!! CAN’T FREAKING WAIT!!!!

I do really like the Red Queen series, but I do have a few concerns about it. In the beginning, I read that this was supposed to be a trilogy and then recently, I read that this is being pushed into a four book series? While, I do not know all the facts of what has happened, I do feel like it has hurt the books and its true potential.

To really start this review, I must say I was disappointment with Glass Sword and heard not so good things about this one. So I went into this with not so high expectations. I definitely think King's Cage was better than Glass Sword because it focused more on character development-especially for Maven!

What I didn't like what all the chapters with Cameron's POV, Evangeline's POV I didn't mind TOO much and it brought an interesting perspective to her back story, but I just never really liked Cam and often felt the urge to put down the book when her chapters came up. I feel she bashes other characters too much and I really could not figured out how she was important enough to have her own POV chapters. Feel free to disagree, but I just can't get into her character.

Similar to Glass Sword, there are parts I believe are complete "filler" chapters that kinda slowed down the book. I was glad to see that it wasn't AS BAD as Glass Sword with that and I pray that the next one improves back to what Red Queen was like.

It is very hard for a squeal to be better than the first book, but I feel these books have turned to a different direction with much force to add, add, add all this content that just slows the whole story down.

I give it a 4/5 because I do think those who liked Red Queen would be pleased for the most part of King's Cage, but like I said before, I had some issues with this that took a lot of the interest in the book out of me.

No spoilers, but Maven is AWESOME to see in this one which made me continue to read it. Mare is a LOT better and I think more herself in this book. So if you minus all the filer (and Cameron chapters) at least for me, I really liked this. So, my overall review is, if you liked Red Queen and even if somewhat liked Glass Sword, pick this up because it does get better.

I awaited this book eagerly. With the ending of Glass Sword, how could I not? This book picks us at Maven's feet, right where we last saw Mare. Prisoner of the boy she once thought she loved, but now hates most in the world, Mare has few concerns greater than orchestrating an escape. The only thing she could care more about is her people and Maven exploits that to keep her under his control. With both red and silver forces gathering against Maven, Mare sees opportunities that will help her destroy her biggest enemy, but she'll need more than the Scarlet Guard to help her see it through.
Even though I still liked this book, this is the book I've liked least out of all three in the series-- which frankly was kind of a shock to me. I have a confession to make: I like Maven. I have since the first time I read Red Queen. Not in that “he's so misunderstood and he should stay with Mare” kind of way; obviously he's a monster and he deserves all that's coming for him. I like him as a character. I think he's the most complex character in the entire series and I love him for it. This book brings out a whole other side to Maven that I just completely loved seeing.
However, that's the only thing I truly liked more about this book. In this third novel we get three POV's and that was a little bit hard for me to get used to, especially since all three voices are very similar. I mean, I get wanting strong, kick ass heroines, but those are not the only kind of women that exist. I just wish one of the POV's would have been substantially different from the others: a cute, innocent girl; a sad, fearful one; a sexy, funny one. Instead, all three POV depict powerful, cynical girls.
Also, I feel that this novel was about waiting. Mare waiting to be rescued or to be killed. Cal waiting for the Scarlet Guard to take action and rescue Mare. Maven waiting for the Newbloods to come to him. It felt like a lot of in-between time while we waited for the real action to take place.
Of course, the writing is good and the story is still interesting so I did enjoy this novel; I just enjoyed it less than the previous books in the series. Still, I can't wait to see how this all ends.

Yup so, I'm so EPICALLY mad right now..... yup mad.....
Great book.... awesome book.....Fantastic story.... the characters in this series have come so far.... they have all grown up and all have taken everything that has happen to them in stride. They have have their bumps, bruises and scars but they are a family and they are doing ok. Cal finally picks a side. Cameron is still annoying as annoying can be. She makes a decision in this book that I do not agree with that could have either gone drastically well or bad...thank goodness it goes well. The person I like in the first half of this book the most is Maven....yup...there i said it... MAVEN :0) He sticks to his guns that HE DOESNT LIKE ANYONE, other than Mare, AND HE DOESNT CHANGE. Some of the other characters change like the wind with allegiances or attitudes and its a little much sometimes.... but he stays the same. I like that. The end of this books..... I have no words other than I almost threw my books across the room. :0) So I am waiting for Book Four....Patiently.

King's Cage was an unpredictable book. It continues where Glass Sword left off with Mare being held prisoner by King Maven. The beginning of the book starts off a bit slow and kind of depressing as Mare is unable to escape or use her powers for months. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Guard tries to overthrow Maven and it is told from Cameron's perspective which I totally did not expect. It was good to learn more about her.

The plot was great and interesting. Victoria Aveyard really knows how to draw readers in.

There were also a lot of twists and turns and so many unpredictable alliances and events.
The book really picked up when Mare finally escaped, used her amazing lightning and was reunited with Cal, her friends and family.

It was another surprise when there was also chapters from Evangeline's perspective as she reveals more about herself and her family. Something I also did not expect. And all the fight scenes were really action packed and something I didn't know I was really waiting for. The last battle scene was really interesting and so was the ending. I'm really excited to see where the next book will go.

I was overjoyed when I was able to download and listen to this book. All my reading friends had bought it, and I was just patiently waiting for the audiobook, to which I was number 23 in line to check it out. Sure I could have bought it from Audible, or even checked it out at the library, but I wanted to finish it through overdrive instead.

After the ending of Glass Sword, I was ready for more action and for the story to really make strides forward. I was pretty disappointed by the fact that nothing really happened throughout the book. There is a lot of inner dialogue, and a lot of thoughts about Maven, and will Cal save me, but mostly it was pretty boring.

Mare's power being silenced, and her meals with Maven made the story really tame, and not quite the back to ass kicking I was expecting. Hopefully the next book, if there is one will get back on track and we can move forward instead of continually spinning our wheels waiting for the end of the story.

Like my review? Read all of my book reviews at the-pink-moose.com.

I don't know what my deal is, but I just can't seem to get into these books the way I expected and still want to. The action moments are quick and grab my attention with all that's going on, but there is so much down time with discussions of everything they plan to do and how they're going to do it, and I find myself zoning out. Also, we're getting multiple point of views now. Why? It just rings too close to Allegiant. The characters interest me. Mare has grown on me since book one. I'm still waiting for Cal to come into his own. He seems to be floundering. Lastly, Maven keeps me intrigued in this morbid way. So, I'm curious to see how everything falls into place for them, and part of me wants to read the next book when it comes out. On the other hand, these books are pretty long, and that's a lot of time put into something I'm not completely enjoying. I'm on the fence, but don't go by me. These books have quite a following, and there's a lot to enjoy about them. So, they may be right up your alley.

Okay, I read this last month and forgot to write a review so I'm going on my rusty memory here...First: Mare is much less whiny when she's in chains. I finally feel like Aveyard is writing her own world and characters that she believes in. We're into book three now and she's starting to build out characters and create her own storyline instead of trying to patch together The Hunger Games with some other teen dystopian series. Maven keeps Mare locked up like a prize he can't let go while the Scarlet Guard keeps growing. Through the eyes of the new blood that Mare found just before being captured, we're taken inside an organization that is obviously far more organized than either Norta or the Lakelanders believe. Even Evangeline is given a human side!

A book that gives me hope for the future of the series and for Mare and the other characters.

This third installment was better than the second , mostly because Mare was too stifled in her manacles to be a stupid whiny brat. However, it took so long for me to end the book that I can't give it three stars. Usually a book is interesting enough past 85 and 90% that you can't stop reading. She doesn't write battle scenes very well.
And then comes the epilogue. It's back to reading Mare's childish naïve attitude . Why doesn't she see how perfect it would be for Cal to be king and for her to be right by his side?! She's stupid. This is stupid. Of course I can't stop now. I have to see how book 4 ends things. Grr

Why can't women authors write smart women?

King’s Cage is the Third installment in Aveyard’s Red Queen series. In this book we get multiple POVs which was nice because as I said in the review for the previous review, Mare tends to grate on my nerves sometimes. This book follows Mare’s imprisonment under Maven and what has happened with the Scarlet Guard in the mean time.
I really enjoyed this installment. It was well balanced story wise between action and quieter moments, Mare seems to have finally ceased thinking she’s The One and we even got a little romance between her and Cal which was nice.
I liked the addition of Cameron’s POV a lot, as she has a vastly different perspective on all this. The battle scene during the storm was awesome and suspenseful.
I would have liked to see something from Maven’s POV. He’s a Kylo Ren-esque villain but I find him a lot more interesting than Kylo and I would like to get in his head at some point.
Over all I had no major complaints. This series is really picking up!

I read this book thinking it would end this series. But now I am waiting for the 4th book to come out. This book is told from Mare's, Evangeline's, and Cameron's points of view (had to think about and remember Cameron from THE GLASS SWORD). I was a little annoyed by Cameron at first, but I decided to like hearing opinions about Cal and Mare from someone inside the Red Guard who does not like them. Then, (oh my goodness) sympathy for Evangeline??? And maybe a tiny bit of sympathy for Maven??? Then ... Cal, the classic hero, turns out to have his own agenda? The two royal brothers have certainly kicked Mare's heart about. I hope her heart can be saved in the 4th book because it would be a disappointment for her to have a sad ending after all the sadness she has endured. This series started out very strong, sagged a little in the middle even though I still enjoyed it, and therefore, I am hoping for strong finish. AND why not? This series has some incredible characters, intriguing problems, and complex plot developments to solve in the end.

It was not as good as Red Queen, neither was Glass sword. But overall, this book is good, a page turner and is essential to the series. I liked how it began as Glass Sword ended, you dont miss anything. I loved how it switched from Mare, Cameron and then eventually Evangeline. It was nice to get to know the characters, since there are so many in the series its almost hard to keep track of who is who. I kind of felt like Camerons character should have been Mare. Her drive and stubborness was how Mare should be, but it was taken away once her brother was rescued and Mare was more of her once she was rescued. I had a hard time picturing the cities and buildings, like in the other two books. I also felt like some things were not completely upfront and i found myself getting frustrated and having to re-read the paragraphs because i didnt understand what was happening. The first half was not as exciting as the second half, but everything that happened did make more sense after Mare was rescued. It was a great book and i am excited and looking forward to read the next and final book, but i am also sad that it is ending. I hope it is as good and exciting as Red Queen was.

King's Cage was one of the books I was most looking forward to in 2017, especially after I found Glass Sword to be slightly disappointing. I'm not going to lie, the first 250 pages or so were pretty boring and I thought I was going to be disappointed again. But after that 250 page mark, King's Cage got so much better. I really enjoyed seeing Cal more in this book, so far he had been such a background character. It was also interesting to see all the different new bloods and what their various powers are. My, honest to goodness, favorite chapters were those from Evangeline's POV. She is such a compelling character, I hope she'll have more chapters in the 4th book.

Speaking of the 4th book, I don't know why but I had in my mind that King's Cage was the last book. As I got closer and closer to the end I was wondering "how is this going to wrap everything up?" But it's not and now I feel silly since the 4th book was already on my TBR.

Its an improvement to Glass Sword, however its still lacking... Glass Sword and KC could have definitely been just 1 book. They both have a lot of filler and lack in moving the story forward.

My biggest issue is how the book is repetitive. Words like 'manacles' for example. Why does the reader have to constantly be reminded of Mare being imprisoned? The same descriptions also circle around the book constantly... pharagraphs of descriptions. Its literary filler, worst of all is how she uses the same sameness to describe them. Like comparing colors to gems, constantly. Or using phrases like "X brings up the rear" or "X character and X character flank him/her". I could only chew so much of the same. Every page just contained a lot of repetition, if not in words, in descriptions or just simply in how the story is laid out that made what truly is a great story, dull. Which brings me to how all this breaks the immersion of the story, specially how quickly time seems to either pass in one sentence, or crawl in paragraphs.

Mare still doesnt show much character development, which I was hoping would improve, but she remains flat. A lot of her characters to me, lost a lot of their uniqueness. In the way they expressed themselves and how they were described, they felt more like just being there.

On that point however, great characters were introduced (Iris) that made the story seem more interesting and Evangeline gets her own POV which adds a lot of depth.

Aveyard definitely has a great story on her hands, Red Queen was a fantastic building ground for her to work off... im just not sure what happened in Book 2 and Book 3. In my opinion, it shouldnt had been split into two books, they both suffer a lot from filler and what seems like scenes and characters knocked off other authors/creative works. Which is concerning because the Red Queen series has a lot of concepts that are new, they just need to be developed.

Its hard for me to leave this review because I still believe this is a great story, but the author should trust herself more, as she did with Red Queen. Theres still concepts that are unique, characters that have definitely been added to and expanded, and more than anything, its still an amazing story all on its own. I believe this is also just the beginning of Victoria Aveyards work, I have a feeling she wont stop her writing career here, and while I was not exaclty as entertained with GS and KC, Im still looking forward to the 4th book and her future creative work.

Would I recommend this book and the Red Queen series regardless? Yes! Her story will still trap you and feed your imagination. Flaws aside, its still a great piece of art that deserves its place in your bookshelf.

My heart hurts.

Victoria Aveyard fueled my heart with hope only to rip it apart to pieces. Out of the three books, this one affected me the most.

The beginning was certainly dragging but all of that is forgotten now. As I have said before, endings are Victoria's strongest suit. This one isn't as shocking as the others but it doesn't mean it's less heartbreaking. I understand. I completely understand. But it hurts just the same.

One thing I loved about this book was how Victoria wrote her characters in a way that would make you feel for them. I finally understood why Maven is the way he is. I understood Mare and Cal's choices. Victoria didn't give us rose-colored glasses, she made us see through the mask. And as flawed and as selfish as they could be, she made us love them all the same.

This book was equal parts emotion and action. It made me hold my breath in a lot of scenes. But even though I went into this for the thrill and excitement, surprisingly, my favorite scenes were the ones that touched my heart.

Overall, this series has been incredibly surprising and I found myself liking it much more than I thought I would. I typically get ya books on audio for my long commute to class, since they are usually relatively easy to listen to and often not very complex. This series isn't a huge exception, but it does more than average for the genre.

This book in particular is the usual middle child of a series, where the author decides to spend time developing characters more than plot. As a result, the book is slow and there is a lot of internal struggle. A lot of people on here seem to see it as teenage whining... I would like to meet those who have apparently had worse lives than any of the characters in this show to the extent that they can call ptsd and other psychological issues "whining." Some of what mare goes through is whining, but most of it is actually just survivors guilt and moral dilemmas. Most people in her shoes would be equally affected.

That being said, I liked this book. That is, the parts of the book that didn't include Cameron. I tried my hardest to like her. I mean, not many books have poc, and even though she was an ignorant brat in book 2 I wanted to give her a chance. Sadly, the author apparently thinks that being stubborn and angry means being a complete idiot and a selfish pos. Because that's what Cameron is.

Nothing about her is redeamable, although again the author tries to do so by stressing how hard her life is and how much she worked in the factories. Except every red in this series is a slave, and by many accounts Cameron has it better than most considering she isn't shipped off to die in a pointless war when she comes of age (until the measures, at least). And she has some kind of ridiculous issue with Mare, which means she needs to throw shade and constant insults about her whenever she possibly can. She's basically obsessed with being rude and obnoxious.

She's also just a huge hypocrite, and is calling people out constantly for doing the same idiotic bs she does....

Cameron honestly ruined this book for me. It took me months to get through not because of the lack of action, but because Cameron's personality just really made me want to punch someone....

I am so very disappointed. There were a lot of times throughout the series that I thought they could've shortened a little, but I still was okay with it. But that ending just ruined the entire series for me. That wasn't even an ending! What the heck? I feel like that could be the beginning of a next book. There needs to be more to the story. That was a horrible ending. If feels like everything accomplished was for nothing. The growth of relationships seem to be pointless now. Things that were said and done are just blown away like dust in the wind. I can't really give it a bad rating, I feel it was well written for the most part. Overwritten at times, but I still feel that the author did a good job. Right up until that ending! I think I'm still in shock. I am left needing more. I guess I'll have to write my own ending.

This book was just so... boring. The first half of the book was really repetitive and the last half was dull. I found myself reading each sentence three times, trying to finish the book. No matter how many times I read the ending, I can't comprehend exactly what is happening because my mind is elsewhere and the book just isn't interesting enough to pull my mind back. The reason that I am giving the book 2 stars instead of one is because of the parts where Evangeline narrates the story. They appeared out of thin air right when I was wanting a part narrated by her. That is the mark of a good book, even though this is the opposite of a good book.

taht3-1/2 stars

Another great installment by Victoria Aveyard. King's Cage picks up where the last novel in the series left off with Mare captured by Maven and imprisoned. This is the story of her incarceration and the next round of battles.

I really enjoy this series because it’s full of action and adventure and is able to surprise me with its storyline at times. Having said that, this one had some seriously slow-moving sections which dimmed the brightness of this novel compared to its predecessors. But, I will concede that these slower sections were not unnecessary so I won’t judge it too harshly. As before, with so much going on in the story, I’ll need to take notes that I can review before the next sequel since it won’t be released for another year. Otherwise, I have nothing much to say that I haven’t said before about this series. I look forward to the next one.

King's Cage was good, not great, and was entirely too long. With a repetitive plot and unsatisfactory conclusion, I expected much more from this third book in the Red Queen series. I am not sure how it is possible, but main character Mare Barrow is simultaneously a pillar of strength and a pile of weakness. If there truly is another book in this series, I will have to think long and hard about my decision on whether to read it.

My least favorite out of all the books so far. The majority of this book could have been edited out.

Mare is imprisoned and can't use her powers. Cal is stuck hiding.

Maven is probably the most entertaining part of this entire story.

And why was so much of this in Cameron's point of view? I don't care and her POV is a waste of time.

Book 4.... you better be good because this was disappointing.

Most reviews here have been negative, but I stand tall to differ. The premise is amazing, we all agree. The pace many say is slow, but that’s what real life is like, is it not? I understand some upset about consistency, but please do allow the author so creative control on who represents their book best. If pronunciation is a problem, then there’d be a multicolored war between the British, Americans, Canadians, Scottish, Irish, Indians... must I go on?
If this series doesn’t suit one, I think the best course of action may be not to read it. For those of us who think it’s fascinating, please read on and cheer! I know I am - rock on Victoria Aveyard!

I liked this book, the part from Mare's viewpoint anyway, more than the previous book. However, reading from Cameron's perspective and worse, Evangeline's, is distracting and without much of a point. It's completely different than the previous two books. I'd rather read from Maven's and Cal's viewpoint than theirs, since at least it would help flesh out the triangle between the three and allow for better understanding of the direction of the plot.

I thought this was a trilogy so I have mixed feelings on it not ending. There are so many great characters but I'm trying not to get attached to any of them because they have a really bad habit of dying. And sometimes you think you know a character and everything you thought you knew gets proven false. I am not supposed to feel sympathetic towards those characters! Back to the actual story line now. I felt It dragged a bit at times there was so much repetitiveness to Mare's captivity that I started having trouble reading it. I understand that it was necessary to show what it was doing to Mare, but I was getting bored reading it. But it did have some really good shocking twists and as I said before it really makes you look at some of the characters in a whole new way.

I read Glass Sword and the way it ended got me thirsting for more so I waited the two months then bought the third book. I had never been so excited in my life. Then I finished the book in two nights and I don't think I even want the next book.

The introduction of thr book was drawn out way to much. I diin't really learn anything except how much Mare hated the place. Then there was the tiny fight scene and the most disappointing en. i thought this book was a trilogy! This book could haae been the perfect end to a trilogy Aveyard had to draw it out.
I love the way Aveyrd writes fight scenes so it would have been nice to see a little more than what was written.
There's not much more to day other than bummer. i was really expecting and amazing end to this ries from this author but ow i am left crying in my room wishing there just cold have been a hapoy ending. You let me down, Aveyard. You let me down.

Kind of shocked by the mixed reviews here! This one was one of my favorite out of the series. I'm struggling with the worst book hangover right now! That ending!! There was lots of action, finally a slight uptick on the romance side, and I absolutely loved getting some POV from Evangeline. There were a few slow portions--honestly, I love Cameron yet sometimes found her storyline to be a little slow. But that being said, I loved it so much!

I was really captivated by the Red Queen story line. I couldn't wait for Glass Swords, but when I read it, I found it quite confusing and unstable in characters, emotions and plot. Mare couldn't find a true purpose to follow, actions and thoughts always in conflict. All actions in the book were about Mare and her own ideas of rebelling. Scarlet Guards were helping her and following her, but why, I can't really tell. After the lack of true direction in book 2 and it's unexpected end, I wasn't sure what to expect. I hoped book 3 will help Mare find a direction and also explain where the plot is going to, but I was disappointed. For some reason Aveyard twisted a plot to a point where it became boring, unclear and disinterested. If this book was kept to 3, rather than 4, then maybe she didn't have to fill them with so much confusing scenes and plots and thoughts.
!!!Spoilers Ahead!!!
First 1/2 of King's Cage could very well be written in a few chapters, very slow, conflicting plot. Mare finally gets her heart in check and finds that she loves Cal, but again, everything else in the book is kind of a mess. What is the Scarlet Guards goal, what are they fighting for? Along the way they pick up families to feed and keep in military bases without any use of them?While this is humain, where is it really going to end?
Also, there are some acts that don't make much sense, example, the day before Maven's wedding, Evangeline drags Mare in Maven's bedchambers, why? Evangeline should have known by then that Mare will be freed the next day.
And that entire "King of the Rift" thing is so lame, along with Evangeline's f/f stuff. Ptolemus marries his sister's lover knowingly? He is a silver prince, and silvers marry for a reason, not for the sake of his sister, or at least that was said all along in 3 books.

Of course at the end it's clear what Cal would chose to do, and I think that is the right choice. His words are very true for a prince who knows his responsibilities: "How did you think this was going to end? What did you really think would happen next?"
If can only Mare find enough wisdom to understand that Cal can do more good with her by his side....I don't see that happening though. Really disappointing...

I'll probably read the last book too, but I don't expect to be much better than books 2 & 3. Most likely will end unexpectedly with a twist that no one saw, which could be really good or really bad. At this point I really hate Mare for all she is and she is not, a young girl with a lightening and noting more. Selfish, egocentric, stupid, hateful, unstable and difficult. I'll be happy if she ends up back in the Stilts, where she really belongs.

For the most part I am loving this series, but King's Cage fell so flat for me. It definitely suffered from the "middle book" syndrome and sort of felt like it was just filling in time until the final book. Honestly, I think it would have been more beneficial to edit the story down and split it between the book before it and a third book in the series rather than having four books. I'm looking forward to what's coming, but I also feel like I could have skipped this book entirely and not missed out on much.

I liked this book a lot, much more than Glass Sword(Which I didn't reallt care for). I wasn't very hooked on Cameron's point of view because I honestly didn't remember who she was. I wish it had been Cal or maybe even Maven! But as much as I liked this book, I didn't like how it ended. Cal and Mare were totally meant to be together and they've been through so much that they deserve a win! I want, in the next book, for Cal to come find Mare or Mare to go to be with him. I really want them to get back together! Anyway that's my hope for the next book.

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard is the third book in the Red Queen series and it was really good. I feel like Glass Sword suffered from the second book curse, but I am glad that I kept reading. In this one Mare is captured by Maven and Cal finally chooses a side. I feel like Mare really matured as a character and I also enjoyed the other point of views that the reader got to see as we also followed Cameron and Evangeline in their own separate journey’s. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read the next one.

Okay people, reviwers, and complainers out there, I have read the comments/reviews about this book and 75% of them have said "SHE IS A SELF CENTERED BRAT THAT ALWAYS COMPLAINS ABOUT HERSELF AND HOW THE ROMANCE FACTOR AND THE ENDING HAS BEEN THROWN OUT OF THE WINDOW AND STOMPED ON." I would like to remind you that Mare is a teenager and they do this type of stuff and I know cause I am one, and also the author (Victoria you go girl) is working her head off trying to make the fourth book and maybe a movie so please don't try to bring her down too she is trying her best.

Also if you don't like this book because of it's monotone setting you should have look at the title when you got the book and should've read till the end of the book when the setting actually changed.

So I rate this book 5 stars cause I have loved the WHOLE series (that includes Glass Swords) and I will remain to love this series till the very end. And I would liked to know how she'll end this awesome series or begin the movie.
:) :) :)

OMG this one leave me on an edge. I need to know the end of this story soon or I will explode. this one was so charged with hope, betrayal, love and so many things. I liked how the characters grown with all the different choices they make and are still growing and how human they look like really. loved that this book have so much love in different manners truly masterfull in reflecting human nature, it was a surprise but a good one. now I dont know how i will survive another year to know the end bit i will wait anxiously.

The overall plot was hardly progressed AT ALL through this very long book. Don't bother paying for it when you can pick up the next one and miss almost nothing at all!

In addition, they tried to make some characters, who were "bad" for the last two books, likable. They did a poor job and it was just annoying and confusing.....It felt very forced.

I swore after the last book in the series that I wouldn't read another one. Mare came across as self centered and irritating. I wanted to reach through time and reality to slap her! In this one, she showed a little more spine and she somehow realized that everything didn't revolve around her. The only criticism is that her captivity seemed a whole lot better than she whines about later. Really...she was kept in a nice room, treated fairly well, and given food and water. I realize that no one wants to be kept in captivity, but if that's your fate, then I would choose her situation over any Nazi concentration camp!

Others have said this, but I have to agree: This series is going on too long.

I'm normally one to finish a series. I can't promise that I will be buying the next book.

Spoiler warning
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I really find myself annoyed enough at Cal that I am rooting for them to not get together. If he cared enough to be worth her time, he shouldn't have gone along. In fact, I was annoyed enough with the ending that I find myself not even caring what happens next.

This is the 3rd book in the series and it was brilliant. I loved the pace and story was amazing. The pace and the page turning story was amazing. I learned a lot about the whole, the bad ppl, the good ppl, abilities, and the scheming as well. Just a great book and I can't wait for the next and final book in the series.

Because I liked the red queen and glass sword I decided to read kings cage despite what I read about it being a filler. I agree it is a filler, the POVs are not necessary for me. I'm disappointed with the ending. It not what I expect from Victoria Aveyard. Someone needs to her feelings in check ( MARE) unfortunately I can't help but have mixed feelings about her. I hope the War storm brings a little bit more excitement to the story. The plot line Is amazing the Execution not so much.

Hopefully in the next book I get the chance to write a better review for such good author.
Keep reading

This book was ok, I will be honest I am so glad I was able to read it for free with my public library digital library. It lacked something, I can't put my finger on it. I liked the different point of views, I was surprised by the choices, but I do think they worked to help keep the story along. But Cal in the end just annoyed me, it looks like he takes 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Also, I think this story would have benefited with a chapter in Maven's point of view, the epilogue would have a been a great place to put it. I just felt unfulfilled and it has nothing to do with it being a cliffhanger.

I love this series! King's Cage was slow at times compared to the first two books, so on its own, I might just give it 4 out of 5 stars. However, it gets the 5 stars for progressing the story I'm intrigued by and further developing the characters I adore. Overall, this wasn't my favorite, but it stood as a respectable entry in a fabulous series.

I thought this was the last book in the series, but it wasn't and so I was upset by the ending which is cliffhanger again. I just want to smack Cal up the side of his head. When is he going to stop letting everyone tell him what to do. Maybe when he becomes king?????? Now I have to wait for the next book and I want to hit something. SIGH!!!! Love better win out in this series or books will be flying against the wall. Just saying!

This book took me the longest to read, that was just because of life and daylight savings time. This is the best one so far. So many feels. Even if the other perspectives are a bit annoying and harder to get through, it still helped me see through the somewhat biased thought process of Mare. As well as appreciate the authors talents more.

SO SLOW. I absolutely loved the first 2 books so imagine my excitement to finally get my hands on the third book. I normally read fast (I read the first 2 books within a week) and I waited for the last 2 to come out so I wouldn’t have to wait in between. I thought maybe this book wasn’t great because it had been so long since reading the last book so I decided to go back through and figure out what I was missing. But NOPE. I’m extremely disappointed. I’ve had this book for 3 days and I have to put it down every 5 minutes because it can’t keep me entertained. The writing is phenomenal as usual but hopefully once I get past 200 pages it becomes more. Hopefully the last book makes up for this one.

This is by far my favorite in the Red Queen series so far. I loved every page and am ridiculously happy about everything that happened in this book!!!

So, the story literally starts at the exact moment Glass Sword left off on, and if you've read the second book, you know that it's a pretty monumental moment. I'm going to say that Mare is Maven's prisoner for the first 300 pages, which is like 60% of the book. I didn't think it would be that long, but I honestly have no complaints whatsoever. I'm fascinated by Maven, and we really get to see into his twisted mind and understand how he became that way. I guess I can see how some people could say it dragged on, but I am not one of those people, because I loved every aspect of those 300 pages!

During the time where Mare was with Maven, we get to see what's happening with the Scarlet Guard from Cameron's point of view. I had no idea whose point of views would be in this book; I just assumed it would be Cal's, but I am really glad that it was Cameron's during this time. We get to know more about her character and her ability, which is nice, but I really liked seeing how the Guard reacts to everything through her eyes. I especially liked her ambivalence toward Cal...

After Mare returns to the Guard, the alternative point of view is Evangeline, which shocked the hell out of me. I was not expecting that at all, but oh my gosh, I absolutely loved her chapters!! First of all, we get to see and understand way more about her families' abilities, which are freaking awesome! Also, I just loved seeing her point of view, which was so illuminating! Her relationship with her brother is so sweet! Plus, there were so many twists during her chapters that I did not see coming at all! I cannot wait to read more about her in the next book!

This book had some epic battles, both on the battlefield and in the politics, and I loved reading about them! There are so many sides and alliances in this book, with so many different players coming into play! I just have to say, I don't think Maven gets nearly enough credit for his strategies in politics and war. I mean, I thought some of his plays were brilliant, and I did not see them coming at all. So, bravo, boy king, bravo...

As for the rest of the characters... I loved Farley in this book!! It broke my heart when Shade died, and I really miss him, but I thought Farley was so wonderful with how she handled her pregnancy and later birth, with her new promotion, and with how she treated Mare. I also liked the glimpses we got of Kilorn and Julien, and I'm interested to see where his research takes him. As for new characters, shoutouts to Ella, Rafe, and Tyton!!! I can't wait to read more about them, and I loved how they dyed their hair to match their lightning!

So, I just have to mention Victoria Aveyard's obsession with foreshadowing. She totally foreshadows what's going to happen in every book. I didn't notice and can't remember if it was used in the first book, but hear me out. 1) She warned us Shade was going to die. The Guard faked his death, and Mare and her family thought he was dead in the first book. It was a ruse, but he did actually die in the second book. 2) The entire second book was alluding to Mare going back to Maven, which was exactly how it ended. 3) And now the ending to this book, with a certain broken promise... total foreshadowing. When I read the part where they made that promise, I knew the breaking of it was going to be the ending. Victoria Aveyard totally tells us in advance what's going to happen in her books!

So, I think it's pretty safe to say that I loved this book!!! I'm so glad that the series is a quartet instead of a trilogy because I honestly loved having Mare be Maven's prisoner all that time, and I think that this series's spacing is spot on. I also thought the ending of this book was spot on, and I loved the last line of the book!! I cannot, I repeat, CANNOT WAIT for the fourth book!!!!!

This was so painfully slow and repetitive. I stopped reading and just skimmed to find out what happened, which was not much. I remembered the first in this series as fun, but this one was unreadable -- terrible prose, whiny main character, fixation on love and loss.

The book drug on in multiple spots. It gave narration from cameron's pov and she wasn't that pivotal to where she needed a story line. I read the third book thinking this would be a trilogy and the ending left it open to a fourth book. If there is a fourth book it was a mediocre bridge book. If this is the end then it was total garbage.

This one felt much better written than the last, but took the story to another level and I absolutely loved it. I could very easily see this as a movie or series, it had style elements that were very gripping, especially during the battle scenes. I especially love the evolution of abilities becoming more fine tuned, or more focused, and I like how honest the feelings can be, for the main character. I am excited about where this is going.

Another amazing book in the series. It leaves you wanting so much more. The book twists and turns with things you expect to happen and then things you could never have imagined. This book could be the best yet because each of the characters are finally coming together to play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses. Cannot wait for the next one and so sad that I do have to wait.

I loved the first two books and made it through each of them within a 24 hour period. This one took me 9 days! I get that she is trying to give us some insight into Mavin, but it was so dragged out. It was easy for me to close the book at the end of a chapter because not much was happening. Things finally started to pick up around page 300. When I finally ended a chapter that made me want to keep reading, it was followed by the epilogue.
I was so excited for this book, but in the end it just felt like filler. The few scenes that were important probably could have waited to be told in the next book which I still have high hopes for. Aveyard is an amazing author which is still evident in this book, the storytelling simply fell flat.

This is the third book in Victoria Aveyard's amazing series, Red Queen. Red Queen was exciting, Glass Sword was boring, but this book, no doubt, surpasses the two. In this book, Mare Barrow is prisoner to Maven Calore, a boy she thought she loved. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Guard is growing with each passing day.

My only complaint is that the material is now getting slightly inappropriate. The pages when Cal and Mare are making love on a field is too…inapprioprate for a young reader. Sure, they love each other, but they're acting as though they will never love each other again. And the ending is slightly flat, because I wanted to see more of Mare's new life being "free." That might sound boring, but true.

I also am a little disappointed that this series is only 4 books long. I don't want Mare's journey to end so soon because this series is amazing and inspired me to start my own book. And plus, the last book is only 400 pages long. I expected more, but it's fine.

This is an amazing series and I can't wait to see the new book (I probably am not the only one). I'm so excited to see how Mare's happy ending is and how her life will turn up to be. Thank you for another amazing book in this beautiful series. Looking forward to the next book.

I read this book around 2 weeks ago after reading the first and second books last February. I really enjoyed Red Queen and thought that Glass Sword was okay. Then, I completely forgot about the series until around the 17th of February, a week before I bought the book. I started reading it, and it was so boring. Like, so boring. It seemed like it was dragging on for too long. The first 250-300 pages of the 500ish page book were completely uninteresting. I almost stopped reading the book because it was severely lacking in action and plot. But don't worry--the rest of the book gets better. I think that the remainder of the book makes up for the slow beginning. And now I have to wait another year so I can finally find out what happens at the end and just be done with this series. Overall, I enjoyed reading the second half of the book. I really like the series, but I don't think that it was necessary to spread it out into four books.

I loved the first two books, but this book had so much stuff I felt was unneeded. Not to mention the ending, why does she trust the wrong people every time. The author made a huge show of mare taking the morning after pill but mare goes on to continue to hook up with cal. Is she taking it every time? I just felt that whole see was unneeded. That and if she wanted to make the chick a lesbian then make it less dumb by not having the chick be married to her brother it weird.

It starts off sooo slow but it picks up about a quarter of the way through. King's Cage is great. We learn more about Maven and his relationship with his mom, dad, and brother Cal. We also get more details on the world Victoria created. The book also comes with a map so you have a better understanding of where they are fighting/marching to. It was a good continuation of the story, and I cannot wait for the final installment.

P.S. Cal is probably the most frustrating person, ever.

I was so excited to finally read a teen book that was appropriate for a teen audience! However book 3 ended that for me! The author started weaving in junk that I could have done without! For example Morning after pill. Bummer I was hopeful for this series.

Perhaps the best in this quad YA dystopian series that crosses Game of Thrones with superheroes, the fighting scenes were action-packed, the romance flaming hot, and the villains wonderfully unpredictable and evil.

I particularly love a book with a great magic system. This book in the series have always had that potential. However, it continues not to deliver on how awesome it could be. On the other hand, this is a wonderfully character driven book just like all the others that is fairly immersive and has great characters.

A great book love this story . it's a twisted love story between 2 brothers and the lightening girl, however the other characters makes this story with all the drama and the loved ones who died for their cause

A lot of new interesting plot and characters in this great book 3. Probably deserves 5 stars but it always drives me crazy when a first book tells the tale from one perspective and in future books, they change to a multiple character perspective. It makes it more difficult to follow.

Basically, everything else has been said.

Comes out Feb 7th! The trailer is oh-so stunning!

<b>Edit: 4-30-17</b>

4.5 oh-my-hurry-up-and-give-me-more stars!

Beautiful in its intricacy, yet deadly in its ending. Pllllleeeeeeaaassseeeeee! I need <b>more plot twists.</b>

Despite a few typos and the slow pace, I was reading along fine until page 389. I didn't read another page. That's when Farley gave the abortion pill, something akin to ru486, the morning-after pill, to Mare, and Mare didn't hesitate to take it. Nothing insidious about the scene? Perhaps not. But it isn't harmless either. Parents should know that the author Victoria Aveyard cunningly uses her art form to politically influence her thousands of young readers. Mare Barrow, the main character and hero of this book and it's predecessors, serves as a role model for thousands of children around the world. She is to be admired for her courage and wit. Kudos to Aveyard for creating a worthy character. But Aveyard needlessly made her pro-abortion. Why throw that in and ruin it? Because Aveyard couldn't resist the opportunity to use her celebrity for the advancement of her political views. She wants her young readers, especially young girls to see Mare take the pill and think that's what all courageous and wise women do. She has every right to put that in her book. Readers must respect that. But she hasn't the right to undermine the parenting choices of thousands. Most parents aren't aware of the scene, and so they aren't going to know of the subversion. They aren't going to know Aveyard is influencing their children. It is true that half of those parents will be pro-choice, dismissing the scene as harmless, or at least acceptable. But pro-life parents may appreciate the "choice" of whether or not their kids should read King's Cage. The ultimate goal of this review is to inform parents about the scene. Perhaps they will not mind it. Perhaps they will want to discuss the scene with their children, especially younger ones. Perhaps they will choose to avoid the book altogether.

I just finished reading this and loved it just as much as the first two books. The last half of the book is really fast paced and I couldn't put it down, the first half is good but not as fast going as the end. I hope the fourth book comes out super soon so I can see where Mare takes us next!!

I LOVED THIS BOOK. The beginning was heart wrenching because how alone Mare was and how smothered she was. Being at the whims of a psychopathy is no easy feat but she pushed through and learned a lot about her self in the process. I had a hard time relating to her in Glass Sword. I heart is breaking for her at the end though. HOLY MOLY does it hurt for her. I really hope there is a happy ending in this for her. Poor Cal is so lost in the sauce though. I finally makes a decision but then in the end is offered another one that from what has said was suppose to be impossible. All i can say is I can not wait for the next book. CAN NOT WAIT!

I am so happy there will be a 4th book because I was so sad when this book ended. If Mare does not get the happy ending she deserves I will be crushed. I really hope Victoria Aveyard some how brings mare and cal back.... I felt they really seemed to balance each other out.
For now, I will be anxiously awaiting the 4th book!

I loved this book so much. I have to admit a lot of parts were a bit slow paced but still so worth it! I loves cal and mare In this book? A lot of people didn't like the ending but no one likes a cliffhanger so that's expected. Everyone has a different way of seeing this book but you never know what you think until you read it yourself. So I personally think it's an amazing book so I definitely recommend you read it like now :) btw I just finished 5 minutes ago and I'm still processing it but I know I enjoyed reading it sooo much!

Awful...I enjoyed Red Queen from cover to cover. Glass Sword was not as well written, and King's Cage was horrid. The third book was a total let down. Not only did the character development regress, but also sexual bedroom both heterosexual and homosexual and language became distasteful for adolescent literature. I will not be adding this to my classroom library. Very saddened that this series was ruined...

*this review is full of spoilers and rated PG-13* Okay so.......Nothing significant happens until literally 10 hours into the book. Then the storyline kicks in. Before that, for the first 10 hours, you get to hear the same routines that Mare and Cameron go through on a daily basis... not very exciting for 10 whole hours! And even then, Cameron doesn't have anything remotely interesting or important to say so you are just wasting your time listening to Cameron so you can hear what Mare has to say. Angeline's point of view happens in this book though, so that's cool, but she only has about three short chapters. The rest switches between mostly Mare and then Cameron. Next pet peeve: How can I stand to read these books with constant sentences like this? I don't know. Can she not think of other ways to re-word a sentence? I don't know. If my head explodes from all the repetition, I'm not sure. Do I cringe inside every time a sentence like this is used? I believe so. Dear Victoria Aveyard: please stop using question sentences like these. I don't think I can read another book if you keep doing it. I love your story and all of your writing except the question sentences! I cringe inside every time I hear one, and they literally happen every 10 minutes. It just used to be Mare who spoke in question sentences but now Cameron and Angeline use them too and it takes away from the uniqueness of their character. Not everyone speaks using constant question sentences! Please stop using them. Okay back to the storyline review- Mare and Cal FINALLY do the dirty and it is SO LAME and literally very dirty...like they literally have sex in the mud and get really dirty. That didn't bug me though, it was kind cute...what did bug me though is that it was very anti climactic and very quick. The scene is maybe 2 minutes long and they do it quickly in the bushes while out on their morning jog. Mare makes a comment afterwards how they'd only been gone for 30 min.... like REALLY! Their first time!!?? They jog a couple miles, do it, then jog back. That means they had like 5, maybe 10 minutes to do it. If this was their 10th time I would understand but their first??? So not cool...so not special.... so not hot at all...Come on! We've been waiting for three books for this and this is what you give us?! Quickie sex in the mud??? The lesbian love between Angeline and her mistress was portrayed hotter than Cal and Mares was... so if you like that sort of thing then you probably won't be bugged that Mare and Cals love affairs suck. Oh yeah, and the worst of all- the ending.....is THE VERY SAME ENDING AS THE FIRST BOOK (kinda)! Cal chooses the crown over Mare, breaks her heart, and everyone is still fighting. That's it. Nothing was resolved in the whole book! It actually progressed backwards to where everyone was at in the first book- except that silvers are now fighting against each other but big woop. I wasn't remotely surprised about anything that happened in this book. Mavin is still alive, Cal and Mare are fighting again, the silvers are divided and the Scarlet Guard is still fighting... etc. This whole book could have been written as a short story and it definitely could have been included in a final book with an ending. This book is just a place filler/money maker for the next book; she should have finished the series with 3 books and called it good. Thanks for wasting my time and money, because of course now I have to spend more time and money on the next book just so I can see what should have been written in this book. I LOVED the first two books- easy 5 stars for both but this one was such a let down (the performance was great though- good job voice actors). I'm just going to pretend like this book never happened and excitedly wait for the final book. How I will ever be able to stand the wait? I don't know.....

This book is terrible. The pace is too slow for my liking. Mare is boring. Maven is flat. Cal is meh-ish.
The plot is very much like X-Men as in Glass Sword, every character steps out of that comic without changing.
Is there something in this series that was truly created by the author ?

The King's Cage leaves you wanting more and making you scream for the next book. Just excellent writing, story line, and characters!!! You so need to hurry up and release the next book now!! Lol. A very obsessive series!!

If I'm being honest, I was disappointed in Glass Sword. It simply didn't live up to Red Queen. King's Cage did. It had much more action and character development. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the series.

I have no idea why the first half of the book is even there. I thought Glass Sword was leagues better than Red Queen, so I expected King's Cage to follow that trend. But it's like taking two steps forward and three back. If I wasn't already invested in the series from the other books, I don't think I would've bothered to finish reading this one.

Extremely unfortunate to wrap up a mediocre series by reading the author's Q&A. I read fantasy to ESCAPE (including politics) not see the author glorify the mocking and condemnation of our nation. Keep it on your twitter feed aka your personal space not in print to be brought into my private household. Neutrality in business. You do not have to be a conservative to appreciate honor and respect.

What a read! The character of Mare, being much too whiny for my tastes, didn't make the read easy. However, it was so well written that I was unable to put it down!! The King's Cage was fraught with political scandal, psychological manipulation, and well written characters. I still haven't gotten over how angry I am about the end of the book, but that won't stop me from picking up the next one.

There are some great things about this series - strong female heroine, interesting world building - but the overblown prose gets to be too much. The author clearly loves the word "smirk". Characters are constantly smirking. I don't think the author truly understands the definition of "smirk", and it's those types of editing issues that drive me crazy with this series.

I loved King's Cage probably as much as I loved the first book. The story definitely picks up the pace from a slow Glass Sword. I didn't particularly care for POV chapters from Cameron because I don't care much for her character, but I was pleasantly surprised to get some chapters from Evangeline's POV. I'm more than excited for the fourth book, I just hope that it's the finale. I really want to see a conclusion here (and hopefully a happy ending for Mare and Cal, or honestly, I'll be pretty pissed).

this goes out to Victoria Aveyard, and kindle store.

Can you please lower the price or lend me the book for one week because I only have $5.29 left and I've been waiting a month hoping that the price would lower so I've reread Red Queen, and Glass sword twice already.and I'm only 15 so I cant get another gift card so if it is posible you could lower the price I would be so grateful , and I dont care if it takes another month Im just so excited for it. Thank you

This book is amazing! you got to know the characters more and understand their point of view. I can not wait for the 4th book and the movie they are making. I would suggest this book to anyone I know because you get so involved with the characters you almost feel like you are there with them. I can also picture clearly what the characters look like and how the scenes look. Overall , I would defiantly read this book because you will love it.

I had high hopes that the pacing and story would be better than book 2. I feel it is poor editing that lets the story ramble around this much. In a perfect world I would have book 2 and 3 reworked as one fast moving story. I am a Y/A librarian, and I'm really not interested in pushing this book. Bummer.

Okay let's ignore the other bad comments shall we? I don't know if they read the same book as me but I can definitely say it's not bad as they make it out to be. While there are some things that I wish were different or made a little more sense, overall it was still a good story and a good instalment in the series.

I am so disappointed in this book. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, but not this one... let me tell you why:

1. The pace - oh my word, this books drags on and on and on. The audiobook is over 17 hours long.
2. The language - though not filled with profanity, I was surprised when the f-bomb was dropped, and that was only the beginning. The first two books weren't like that.
3. The sexual innuendo - two homosexual relationships, Mare and Cal going at it in the mud, and much more.
4. The violence - very graphic descriptions of people being maimed and killed, quite gruesome
5. This was supposed to be the final book in the series, and now there will be a fourth?

I actually never finished this book, and I NEVER do that - especially with a series. I got about 90% through and gave up. And before you think I'm a prude to complain about the sex stuff, remember that this book is categorized for TEENS. I read teen books primarily so I know what to recommend for my kids to read, and I cannot in good conscience recommend this.

It really feels like the author was persuaded to drag this series out as long as possible to make as much money as possible. Such a disappointment for a series that had so much potential in the beginning.

It honestly was a pretty good book overall. There was a few moments during it that I felt kind of dragged on, but besides that I liked this book a lot! The author is definitely telling a one of a kind story, and I feel like that's why I continue to come back for each one.

I loved the first two books, the 3rd started off so slow and it really bothered me how much she dragged mare's capture out. I didn't like the different characters pov. (I would however like to read a book about Evangeline). Not as much action as I was hoping for but this is a good 3rd installment to red Queen. I can't wait for the 4th book.

First half wasn't as expected. It lacked movement. Second half was dreamy- held the same happy-go-lucky feeling of the first book, which I have sorely missed. Overall, better than the second, not a candle to the first. Worried how the next installment will be, yet anxiously waiting for it to arrive...

Reading the first 80% of this book was painful. The largest collection of moaning and whining I have ever read. At least it's the largest of something because other than some decent analogies and metaphors it has nothing else.

The red queen is a phenomenal book and has an incredibly detailed plot. The glass sword was equally brilliant however i had high hopes fir this book. If you started the series obviously finish it! Just dont expect it to be as good the first two books.

I really enjoyed The Red Queen. Wasn't a fan of the second book. I felt like Kings Cage redeemed the series for me. Fast pace, great plot, the main characters were less winney and made more choices. I look forward to reading the next book!

The book was really lacking in more places than one, and I kept on saying, "And then?" when something, like the hostages rescue, happened. At every big revelation, it just switches to another POV, like a commertial break.

I loved the books and I hope you make a fourth book but I agree with some of the other reviews that it dragged on in places and picked up in others. I wish you the best of luck in writing the fourth book!