Apologies for the very late review, I thought I had posted my review but it is only upon checking my netgalley account that I realised it never sent.

I really enjoyed this installment of the series, it had the same sense of adventure, pace and tension as the previous books and I was absolutely hooked from the first page

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this book. Darker, twisted and more exciting than the previous two instalments. I was empathising with characters I didn’t think I could ever understand, and I think that’s a difficult skill to master as an author. I’m definitely left intrigued to what will happen in the next instalment, and I hope there’s something different to make it stand out from other dystopian YA. On the other hand I’m reading this at 24 and I know that if I was reading this as still a teenager, I would be lapping up all this drama!

A typical young adult fantasy series for me. Just like 'The Hunger Games' 'Divergent' and 'Twilight' in that I enjoyed the fast paced book ones but noticed the faults, character irritations and repetitions by books 2 and 3. Perfect if you love that sort of thing but your mileage might vary.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Sadly, I ran out of time to read this book and I've changed from one iPad to another and now I can't read this arc - sorry! I always try to read every netgalley arc I'm very kindly sent but now I can't access this read.

I loved this book and in fact have loved the whole series so far. There was always something going on and loved how unpredictable the story was

Thank you to Orion for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I loved the first two books in this series so I just had to request a copy of the next instalment. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to read it. 

I just don't know where to start with this review, so much happened over the course of 500 odd pages it's difficult to write a concise review.

The story picks up straight after Glass Sword. It had been so long since I read it I had to give myself a little refresh and I found this great little website that I want to give a shout out too called Book Series Recap. It gave me a nice little summary of Glass Sword which allowed me to go into King's Cage poised with all the knowledge I needed. So if you ever need a series recap I would recommend seeing if these guys can help you out. 

Mare is currently stuck in a situation of her own making. She is trapped and she cannot leave. There are days when she is not sure if she can or should go on. Every day gets harder and harder. I enjoyed seeing more of Maven. It was quite interesting to see what his mother made him. How his mind works.

I loved that this book had different POV. It allowed you to learn what was going on in the different areas of the world. This made is so much more immersive. It was so interesting to see inside Evangeline's head. She was so different to how I expected. The way she portrays herself to the world is so different to what she actually thinks. Cameron was less interesting internally to have as a POV but it was good to keep up with what was going on with the Scarlet Guard. 

The beginning of this book is quite the slow burner but the last third of the book more than makes up for it. There is so much action at the end of the book you almost forget that the beginning was so slow paced. This book has lots of twists and turns. It is full of betrayal, new allegiances and the same old status quo. 

'A cell is still a cell no matter how you dress it up'

I was heartbroken with the ending of this book. I could see what was going to happen but I was still torn into a million pieces when it happened. The pain was so much I had to stop about 2 pages to the end. I just couldn't take it.

In a way I am glad I only just read this because I am not sure I could have waited over a year to see what happens next.  I am eagerly looking forward to clearing some time and sitting down with War Storm.

This book as a whole, is very different to the first 2 within the series, it has a much slower pace. Instead it focuses on character development, the side effects of imprisonment for Mare while also shows the struggles her friends and family are dealing with trying to rescue her.

I think the book focused too much on the imprisonment angle and rushed the last quarter of the book. It is a fine read overall where you get to fully understand Bare, Maven and Cal more in-depth but with the size of the book the author should of given the last quarter of the book more room to breathe instead of feeling like it was just squished in to give some quick action when it had some pinnacle sequences that are going to be vital in the coming future for everyone in Norta.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

This series, though not my favourite to begin with, has quickly become one that I enjoy reading. With each instalment, the action grows and a grows, and I don't know how we'll cope with the finale, if it keeps going this way. Mare has suffered and struggled, and now she's more at risk that ever. Following the explosive ending to Glass Sword, Mare is a prisoner of king Maven's, and he is doing whatever he can to use her to discredit the Red cause, and also to keep a shattering hold on his own power and control. Mare's ragtag group of Newbloods, along with Cal and the rest of the Red's are not letting her loss get them down. Obviously, they're planning on how to get her back, but they're also looking at the end goal, and that's the most important thing.

This book was simply fantastic. All of the main characters had excellent plot lines, and Mare's character development was unbelievable. She is treated worse than something you'd step in, and has her powers, her autonomy, her control, ripped from her, and still she's there, plotting her escape, and contingency after contingency, and doing anything she can to undermine Maven, and not let him get inside her head. Obviously, she's not strong all the time - she is human after all - but that lets us see the vulnerability, and make her more likeable, especially with how realistic the PTSD is shown to be.

Maven is an awful, nonredeemable character, and he deserves everything he gets. Unlike other 'evil' characters in other series, there's nothing about him that really gives you an element of pity. Everything his mother did to make and mould him in what he now is, has destroyed any 'human' part of his soul. His obsession of Mare - it's an obsession, there's no love there at all - causes even more hatred, because he feels like he's caring and protecting Mare in a way, when really, he's doing the exact opposite. Aveyard makes it clear that we're not getting any kind of Stockholm Syndrome here - he's evil, and that's that.

Like I said, the action is fantastic! There's so much realism in it, that the battle scenes somewhat turn into a little movie in your head, and there's no glossing over the sheer carnage and destruction which is caused by the war. There's death, there's blood, there's suffering, and it's done in a way not to reduce the importance of it, but to show that it's not something to be glorified, and the impact it can have on everyone involved.

I am dying to get my hands on book 4, and would recommend this series to anyone! I'm actually getting my mam to read them soon, after I met the author and she got interested in them :)

Words cannot express how this book made me feel. There were times when I was sad, scared, kind of angry, and then excited and sitting on the edge of my seat. Victoria Aveyard has delivered yet another fantastic piece of work.
I rather enjoyed the fact that chapters were written from different perspectives (three different characters, giving us a better insight to them and what was going on). I know that it has become a more common thing in books in recent years, but it can be hard to pull off. It works in King's Cage, it definitely works.
The only thing I am disappointed with is the wait to find out what happens next!
Overall I would recommend this book to those who enjoy some superhuman abilities, with a hint of politics and segregation thrown in. The Red Queen series is amazing and must be given a chance.

I’ve had some conflicted feelings about this series so far; the first couple of books seemed to be an amalgamation of a bunch of other popular dystopian YA novels, repackaged and resold. However, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up the sequels, so I’m probably not in any position to criticise – and if you want a story that will keep you turning the pages then this is a good place to go. I actually thought that King’s Cage was the best of the three, because it started to deviate a little from the expected storylines and gave some new perspectives on the storylines from other characters, but I still wasn’t totally blown away. I found the main characters hard to connect and sympathise with; I don’t care if characters are ‘likeable’ but when you know you’re supposed to be rooting for them, it can be tricky if you just don’t really care… Some of the fringe characters feel more interesting and fleshed out to me than Mare, the supposed heroine, and I find myself not caring about the love triangle she finds herself in – despite there being a lot of potential in it as a storyline. In fact, that’s what the whole book felt a bit like to me – wasted potential; there’s a lot of promise but despite my coming back for more each time, I leave a little disappointed.

The third instalment started off pretty slowly; Mare is a prisoner, paraded and used as a puppet for Maven's amusement. Mare is showing signs of PTSD and the longer she is prisoner, the more she seems to show Stockholm Syndrome, being glad to the smallest acts of kindness from Maven. I had forgotten how twisted Maven was, but peeking behind the mask and seeing his weaknesses made the black and white seem grey. It's not his fault that his mother was insane and messed with his head, but now that she's gone, it is entirely Maven's decision to continue acting like her puppet.

Like I said, the book started off slowly, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of plot, which is why it took me so long to read it. However, the character development, especially on Mare and Maven's side, was brilliant and terrifying. While Mare was with Maven in the palace, we had odd chapters from Cameron's perspective, to see what's happening back at camp, and then later on from Evangeline, which was utterly bizarre. Honestly, I couldn't remember Cameron at all, I had no idea who this person was, which ruined things for me a little bit, but the pieces came back together (albeit slowly).

I really enjoyed this, even though it felt so long. The villain dissection with Maven was quite spectacular, even made me feel sorry for him, and Mare went through a lot for the cause, which made up for the whining she was doing in the previous book. The last third made the book for me, the action finally picked up and although there's a long way to go, it felt like the Guard was actually getting somewhere in there fight against the Silvers. Plus, Cal and Mare reached a good point in their relationship, until the last second when someone (Cal) did something stupid, but we'll have to find out the repercussions of that in book four!

I have really enjoyed this series so far, but I must admit that this third book didn’t exactly start with a bang. Having said that, I did enjoy the in-depth look we received into all the characters, even if I did feel the first half was really drawn out.

This third book picks up straight from where the previous book ended. Mare is now Mavens prisoner, and with her will broken and lightning powers leashed she soon finds herself the new king’s puppet. Thankfully Cal - the exiled Prince turned rebel - will do anything to see Mare set free, no matter the lives cost.

Now with brother fighting brother, and the powerful new-bloods battling the God-like silvers, Mare’s country is being destroyed from all sides…

I’m still pumped on all the action and thrilling revelations that came with this book’s ending. Enough so that I’ve almost, almost forgotten how little I actually liked the beginning. For me the problem was that Mare is super withdrawn and depressed (although considering she spends months locked in a room unable to use her powers it’s understandable) but not exactly fun to read.

However what did redeem it for me was the in-depth look we got at Maven’s backstory. Although still the villain, he is easy to pity for his childhood and we get a glimpse at the boy he could have been had his mother not turned him into a monster. Mare’s pity and soft spot for Maven is finally relatable. However I the first half of the book was so long winded that I was going a little crazy waiting for something to happen.

The action, when it came though, was definitely worth waiting for. The latter half of the book unleashed all the intrigue, explosion and first-book-goodness that I was waiting for. I actually thought it all became very Game of Thrones like, what with the backstabbing, new alliances and additional characters, not to mention a couple of new POVs woven into the flow.

As for the romance, for the most part I liked it. Mare and Cal’s relationship has always been deep and meaningful, yet they both remain quite selfish people. This in particular came across really well in this book, and I’m super curious to see what will be in store for them next.

All in all, this is a good read but I thought it was a little filler like. I probably would have liked it more if the beginning had been at least one hundred pages shorter - however I’m still excited to read the final book in the series which will release next year. Overall, I would give King’s Cage 3 stars!

'Allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl's spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?'

I recently finished King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard, the next stunning instalment to her 'Red Queen' series. First of all, I loved 'Red Queen'. I thought it was beautifully written, felt realistic and I liked the characters we were introduced to. The second novel, 'Glass Sword', was good, however it left us on a MASSIVE cliffhanger, that tore out my heart, walked all over it and then tore it out again. Then we had to wait for the third novel. Glass Sword was a game-changer. So for that reason, I can't say Glass Sword was my favourite, in comparison to how much I enjoyed 'Red Queen'.

'King's Cage' gives us so many stunning and sad lines from the books thus far. I feel like the two main characters are really fully developed now and we know their true personalities. Victoria Aveyard weaves the fine line of bittersweet and it is truly a work of art in it's own right.

King's Cage, makes us stop and come to the realisation that this isn't a playground game anymore. It is a fully-fledged situation. Kings and Queens and pawns all involved for the throne of Norta. 'King's Cage' certainly brought the drama.

I stopped analysing Maven, and in a way expecting a 'redemption' of sorts of a change in character, because in 'King's Cage', he just accepts his own fate and whatever that brings. He is fully aware of it now. This in itself was heart-breaking and raw. You do pity him and love him at the same time! He is a victim after all. Furthermore, the secondary characters still felt very much fully developed and fleshed out. Julian, Sara and Farley are just the friends that everyone wants. Likewise, the characters are all so well developed and feel so real, the world-building is also phenomenal. Such as Norta, the prose was stunning.

Ah the ending. The ending will leave you feeling some type of way. As mentioned before I am terrible at predicting BIG things that will happen in novels, and King's Cage was no different. I.had.no.idea. As this review is spoiler free, I won't say what, but just be prepared. We leave King's Cage at a point of no return, the novel(s) now will either carry on in one way or a completely different direction, I don't think it will be the same again however. I'm certain the last book will mean a beloved characters death.

In conclusion, King's Cage is a thrilling blend of romance, politics and action. With a mix of fantasy and dystopia, be prepared to read and be awed. Filled with characters that you'll adore and world's you will want to see, I would highly recommend this series.

Oh My God. I seriously cannot see how this can be ending!! This book adds to the Red Queen series and makes it a whole lot more tense and exciting!! The next one is automatically put to the top of my to read list when published!! This book makes you choose a side, choose a brother and to choose good or bad. Fantastic reading!!

I was so excited to read this book and I was not disappointed. For some reason I thought that this was the final book in the series. So imagine my delight when I found out there are more to follow.

This is a series that somehow manages to stand out from the rest of this genre. This is a book full of twisted words and fragmented kingdoms. We got to find out more about the boy on the throne. For me this felt more like a background story. I felt more understanding of Maven - the boy king who's unsure of who he is. Which part of him is real and which has been shaped.

I loved the fact that we got other's point of view. Including Cameron, and Evangeline. Especially exciting was reading what Evangeline had to say, why she was doing what she was doing. It made her more likeable. And for me I wanted to get to know her more.

I felt a lot more connection between the characters, especially Mare - whose actions and selfishness before had previously frustrated me. And between the characters there is a sense of solidarity and of unity that before was lacking. There is now a sense of purpose. A mission that needs to be completed.

It was slower, more calm, there was a feeling of the calm before the storm, before calamity breaks out. The ending was climatic and thrilling. But I feel that there is still chaos to come.

This is a brilliant book and made me so excited to read the next book. I really want to know how it will all end. There are now so many threads to this story that it is impossible to decide how it will all end.

King's Cage is in intense, thrilling and utterly absorbing. It is impossible to put down and will leave you begging for more.

So, I loved Red Queen but found Glass Sword to be a bit out there, and I have to admit that King's Cage dragged. I feel like this is the one instance where it would've worked better as a trilogy! Seriously, this book is over 500 pages and it moves sooo slowly, and not in a good way. But I'm invested in the series, and considering there's only one more to go, I'm going to soldier on and read it when it comes out next year.

On the plus side, if you liked Mockingjay then you'll like the trajectory of the Red Queen series. Mare is for sure struggling with some kind of PTSD and the deaths of those around her really affect how she behaves and they way she expresses her feelings. It's got that gritty realistic dystopian vibe, that I think a lot of people will appreciate.

I think my main problem was that I just got lost in the names and the places. It's been a year since I read Glass Sword and I struggled to remember who was on which side and who the new character's were. One of my favourite things about A Traitor to the Throne by Alywn Hamilton, was that she included a cast of characters in the beginning so it was easier to situate ourselves in the sequel. King's Cage could definitely have done with that. I might just have to go on Recaptains next time to make are I know what's going on before I get started on he finale.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't remember there being different POVs in the other two books. I guess there just wasn't enough happening to Mare that we needed to occupy someone else's mind across the country to get a better sense of what was going on. Evangeline also got chapters towards the end and that was fun, and something I hope keep up in the final book, because she's one of the more complex characters. I guess I just found Mare's POV to be a bit dry in general, I don't know.

This is also the WAR book with a huge focus on the rebellion and who's occupying which area and who's going to come out on top with powers. Then we get a training montage section towards the end of the book, and honestly, things felt jumbled. I don't think there was a big of an emotional connection to the characters as with the other books, and where Glass Sword really explored the New Bloods, I felt like that thread was abandoned here.

So, without spoiling anything, King's Cage was drawn out way too much, but I think it was just trying to focus on the political and injustice elements of the world and you definitely get a sense of this if you read the acknowledgment which shows Aveyard to be very politically engaged herself!

This series gets better with each book. This book is where the war between red and silver really begins. It was interesting to see the different perspectives in the book, to see the fight from three different sides, the things that Mare could find out from her place as Maven's captive, the red guard's actions from the point of view of Cameron and the political breakdown of Maven's rule from the point of view of Evangeline, who I'm starting to adore.

What I liked most though was the way that Maven and Mare's relationship was treated. Obviously the love triangle between Mare, Cal and Maven has been evident from book one and I was worried that they would make him one of those character who is evil but still has the character's heart. But with Maven, the love is all one way. Mare despises him and reacts to his attempts at affection with revulsion and fear, in the way that she should after everything he's done. It's refreshing to see that even though there's some explanation for why he is the way he is, it's not a way to dismiss everything he's done and make him a viable love interest again.

But of course Mare still has feelings for him. Not for Maven the king, but for the boy she thought she knew. The boy who was being controlled by his mother. The confusion in Mare was really interesting to see, the way she wanted to see the boy she remembered while still reminding herself constantly that he isn't that boy, that he's done a lot of harm even without his mother to force him to.

This series is doing some really interesting things and I can't wait for the next book!

Originally I wasn’t sure whether I was going to continue this series but I’m glad I did! This was the best book in the series so far!
The first third of the book was a little slow, but even so I enjoyed it and found the writing interesting. The pace picked up a lot as the book continued and there was a lot more action with some very impressive fight scenes. It was also interesting to have more than one point of view.
If anyone else is sceptical about continuing this series I’d recommend reading this book 🙂

I think by and large it's just me but while I quite enjoy this series, I genuinely can't fathom the popularity it has enjoyed. I suppose Aveyard just lucked into writing into a gap in the market? Anyway this is an improvement on the first two books but still it's quite derivative - a mash up of better YA SFF books - so really only and ok read. Part of the issue for me is that at times I find the writing very clumsy. Also I just don't care about Mare. She's annoying and then she's just a lightly padded vehicle for the story. Somehow this series makes all the right noises but still doesn't capture me. Having said that, it does address issues of racism and capitalism and entutlement, and it's always a plus to have another good female MC.

Another enjoyable installment in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I found it a little bit wordy in places but the character development and world building are incredible and it builds to a truly epic conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat.

I can’t wait for the fourth and final book in the series.

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for earlier books in the series

This is a series that seems to divide opinion and it’s one I came to quite late, only reading the first two books towards the end of last year. There are a lot of similarities to other popular YA sci fi/fantasy series but I absolutely loved Red Queen and while Glass Sword may not have been quite as good, it made King’s Cage one of my most anticipated reads of 2017.

The story begins almost exactly where Glass Sword ended with Mare the prisoner of Maven and the rebels regrouping and trying to figure out their next move. I have to confess I’d kind of forgotten what happened in the previous book but the author subtly worked reminders into the first few chapters so I was up to speed in no time.

For me the first half of the book was probably the best part of the story. There are some truly epic scenes and lots of action towards the end of the book, but it was the first half with its focus on the relationship between Mare and Maven that truly fascinated me.

As a prisoner Mare is powerless (literally), weak, ill and at the mercy of Maven and his court. In the previous book she was starting to become arrogant, cold, selfish and in some ways as bad as those she was fighting which while interesting to read made her difficult to like. Losing her power and having a lot of time on her hands results in her questioning the rightness of everything she’s done and teaches her a little humility, making her that much more likeable and relateable. It’s not a sudden switch but a gradual and realistic development. It feels like she grows up in a lot of ways and while she remains determined and fiery she becomes a lot calmer and better at hiding her emotions. Something she needs to do if she’s to survive Maven.

Maven is possibly one of the best villains I’ve come across. I don’t really understand Mare’s attraction to him but he is fascinating to read and steals every scene he’s in. I can’t work out if he’s insane, an evil genius or a lost and confused little boy. There’s definitely something very vulnerable about him at times which does make it difficult to hate him no matter what he does and he does some truly despicable things.

The interactions between him and Mare make for some truly gripping reading as it’s impossible to tell what he’ll do or how he’ll react and Mare just has to push him all of the time, seeking out weaknesses she can exploit. Added to which there is a lot of political maneuvering going on within the court as others try to usurp Maven and alliances with other territories become unstable. It’s fascinating to read as Maven is left fighting wars on several fronts and we discover he really is his mother’s creation and has her ability to manipulate those around him.

Like the previous books the story is told primarily from Mare’s perspective but in King’s Cage Aveyard also brings in some new narrators with chapters from Cameron’s and Evangeline’s point of view. I thought these added a lot to the story and I particularly loved Cameron’s voice. She’s the stroppy, disrespectful teenager with probably the greatest (most destructive) power of everyone but her chapters added some much needed light relief and gave a different perspective on Mare and the rebels. I actually kind of wish more had been from her pov.

Evangeline I’m still not keen on but at least her chapters gave me a better understanding of why she is the way she is and maybe generated the teeny tiniest bit of sympathy towards her. Honestly her parents are terrifying.

King’s Cage is much bigger in length and scale than the previous two books and this had both benefits and drawbacks. We get to learn a whole lot more about the world outside the kingdom we know and there are quite a few new and interesting characters introduced. However I did feel that the story was a little on the long side and overly wordy. Certain sections dragged a little and I found myself losing concentration. The world building by Aveyard is incredible and there are some truly epic scenes but I think it would have benefited from being a little tighter and faster paced.

Overall, I would definitely say I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next book. I just hope it picks up the pace.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. As always all views are my own.