A review by the_prophecy_13
King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

The bad:

  • The bath scene. What. was that.
  • The pacing in the first 60% of the book is very drawn-out.
    It feels like Victoria was just giving Mare more trauma for the heck of it. I don't particularly like Mare, but I don't want her to be miserable constantly! Girlie got to be happy for, like, three chapters in the entire book
  • Speaking of Mare's trauma, it's not well done. I do like that she has some PTSD symptoms, but I wish the book delved deeper into them. I feel like some of the things she went through should have affected her a whole lot more than "she flinches when this person is nearby bc they hurt her :((("
  • Mare is inconsistent. She seems to flip-flop between personalities (fiery, stubborn, and proud; competent and friendly; paranoid and uncertain; vacant and hopeless), and I know some of that could be due to trauma, but I feel like she's just an inconsistent character overall. 
  • Also, Mare says "the shadow of the flame" again. Victoria. I am begging you to stop. Flames do not have shadows. I repeat, FLAMES DO NOT HAVE SHADOWS. PLEASE Google it. (I don't know why this bothers me so much, lol.)
  • Relating to the above, some of the writing was just... cringe. I don't care enough to go back through the book to find examples, but it sometimes felt like Victoria was trying too hard to be all edgy and poetic and deep. Girl, it's an average YA. Don't take yourself so seriously.
  • I didn't like Cameron's POV chapters. She's just annoying. It's bad enough seeing her through Mare's eyes.


The good: 

  • The ending (the last 100 pages or so) was quite good, as usual in this series, and kept me engaged.
    The final battle was very tense and felt realistic for the parties involved.
  • Evangeline, surprisingly, got very compelling all of a sudden.
    She's still not a good person, but I empathize more with her now that she's not just a bully. I'm hoping for more POV chapters.
  • Mare's dynamics with other characters were so much better than in previous books. Her and Cal have much better chemistry and interactions
    (though it's a shame they're only around each other for the last 40% or so of the book)
    . Mare and Farley are great as sorta sister-figures. Mare and Cameron get some sorely-needed bonding time (in, like, the last 10% of the book. Cameron was irritating for the first 90%). Mare and Kilorn are very sweet (well, y'know, as sweet as two bickering besties can be)
  • The politics, factions, etc were fairly well done, although I'd have to analyze in more detail to be sure lol
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