King's Cage

Where to start? I loved Red Queen, didn't care for Glass Sword at all, and just as I began King's Cage, which I thought was the final book, I found out there will be a book 4. And now I know why Glass Sword was so bad. Obviously she was asked to drag her 3 book series into 4 books. Kings Cage is much better than Glass Sword, but they would have been better as one great book, with all the filler taken out. So much of Glass Sword was filler and didn’t advance the story or make it better. But I digress, this is a review of King’s Cage. After finishing the book, I am honestly sad. I am trying to think about how Book 4 is going to go and at this point, I have no idea. I am hoping for some kind of happy ending for Mare, but after this book, I’m not sure that’s in the cards for her, and again, that makes me sad. The really good thing about this book is I like Mare again. I didn’t like her much after Glass Sword, but now I really care about her again. As far as our other leads, it's hard to like Maven, yes, he can be charming, but he's a psychopath, and even when we start to understand the reason, what was done to him, it doesn’t matter, he’s still evil. Cal can't make up his mind to save his life. It’s frustrating. How can you be in love with someone who’s people are being persecuted and wronged, but still manage to sympathize with the persecutors? To me he's almost worse than Maven, who at least is honest about the monster he is. With Cal, because he’s a good person, you expect him to do the right thing, and he doesn’t always do it. Evangeline...what can I say about her...she's still a bitch, but I like her now, which is something I never thought I'd say. And then there's Mare. My heart breaks for all the suffering she has to endure. Can we please give this girl a happy ending in Book 4? She’s so strong, even when they weaken her, she keeps mentally strong, and later she turns into a real fighter, and I am rooting for her all the way, she deserves a win. There are a few interesting new characters that will probably play a larger role in Book 4. I didn’t like the author’s choice to use Cameron as a point of view, I had to go back to Glass Sword to remember who she was. I would have preferred point of views from Cal, or Farley instead of her. The book was entertaining, if a little too long in some areas, it held my attention the entire way through, picking up and getting better as it went along. And that ending. The author took us to the top of the cliff, and left us there hanging. If a book ends on such a cliffhanger, we shouldn’t have to wait longer than 6 months for the next one. Really. Can that be a rule? All, in all, this book redeemed the series for me. Mare is back, more like the Mare from Red Queen, but stronger, and that’s a good thing.

*SPOILERS*I really enjoyed Red Queen and couldn't put it down. Glass Sword was great as well, despite being a lot slower during the second half. I really wanted to love King's Cage, since I have already invested so much in the series and in the Mare-Cal relationship. Unfortunately, many parts of King's Cage just completely fell flat and bogged the whole story down.I felt no connection whatsoever to the chapters told from Cameron's perspective. I didn't care for her in Glass Sword, and liked her even less in this. I get that the author was giving us a peek into what the Red Guard was up to while Mare was being held prisoner, but I think Cal or Kilorn's perspectives would have carried more weight or interest. Evangeline's chapters were more interesting, but even they were not necessary and just felt like filler. With the exception of Mare's one failed escape attempt, the first 300 pages were almost painfully slow. The story didn't start to get exciting until Maven's wedding and Mare's rescue.The last chapter and the epilogue seemed to erase all the character development that Cal made throughout the series. I have loved him since the moment he came into Mare's life and called her a thief, and he progressively got even better throughout King's Cage UNTIL that annoying ending painted him as a liar (since he had previously said he loved and wanted Mare more than ANYTHING). It doesn't make sense to me. He has risked his life how many times to save her, and then doesn't choose her when offered his crown/Evangeline vs Mare? I have a sinking feeling the 4th book is going to end with Mare either dead or alone, like so many book series seem to be doing these days. I especially feel this way because in Glass Sword, Jon mentioned that he foresaw Mare alone. I will be reading reviews on Amazon for spoilers after the 4th book is released next year because if she or Cal die, or don't end up together, I will not bother buying the book or wasting any more of my time on this series.