A review by readwithde
King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. Having the characters split gave them some extra time for progression (both character and plot).

While I get why Mare would be kept prisoner for so long, I would have preferred more interactions with the court, if not with Maven.
Even bringing in Evangeline's POV chapters earlier would have helped that section fill out a bit more, even if it tipped her family's hand a bit.


Cameron was an interesting POV for the Scarlet Guard/red side of things, which again left much of the political machinations off the page, but at least gave the basics. Even Kilorn would have been a better choice, in my opinion. 

I feel like the final third of the book dragged a bit, at least up until the climax,
the second battle at Corvium.
It just felt like the pacing was off after
Mare was rescued by the Scarlet Guard.
I think there was too much build up in the beginning that didn't leave enough room for the three bigger battles.

Finally,
I know we should want Cal to choose Mare, but I don't think he's wrong to ask Mare to choose him instead. I'm hoping there is a way for compromise in the final book, but I'm happy that each of them are actually dealing with what they want instead of throwing away their convictions, training, or lives.


Overall, this was a strong sequel, and I was surprised by a few things; I'm very excited to read the final book and the short stories.
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