Crazy hurtful but a bit boring ( )

Representation: N/A?
Trigger warnings: Physical assault and injury, murder, blood depiction, military violence and war themes
Score: Six points out of ten.
This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Man, this book wasn't it. I hoped that after reading (and enjoying) Red Queen and also reading (and not enjoying) Glass Sword, King's Cage would be a step up to make me enjoy the series again. Alas, that didn't work out as the author never resolved the issues from the last book and instead it turned out to be another tedious read. It starts (or rather continues) with the main character Mare Barrow, or Mare for short. After the events of the second instalment in the series (which I barely remember) Mare is in 'prison.' Just kidding, it's not a prison, but how come Mare calls it that way? If that's a prison it's one of the most luxurious ones I've ever seen and it looks more like a penthouse or luxury hotel suite than a gaol. I spent the first 400 pages or so seeing Mare in 'prison' which quickly got boring as she spent her time there whining all day about how her powers are gone and her partner betrayed her. At least the final 100 pages were better since Mare got out of 'prison,' saw a battle between Norta and the Lakelands, and that ends the book. It's unlikely that I'll read book #4, but I might. ( )

What a boring ass mess.

A lot of gritting/clenched teeth, mouth corners quirking/twitching, characters being the only ones who can see through someone else's mask/demeanor/words, and characters having to "fight the urge to" do something. The writing got lazier the further you go in this series. And I'm done.

King's Cage is one of the few times I think multiple POV hurt rather than enhanced a story. Sure, we were allowed to follow the Scarlet Guard after Mare did her stupid thing. But why Cameron? Why not Cal or Kilorn since they've been involved since the very beginning? Choosing a secondary character (no offense, Cam) felt weird.

Don't even get me started on the epilogue drama. ( )

Here's the thing. I liked this book, I really did. it was nice to find out more about maven, evangeline, and the other countries besides norta. I just didn't care for Cameron or her POV so a found myself dragging through a lot of the book. Still, I did enjoy it. the story line was sound and the characters were great. I would recommend this book and series. 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

Oh, the many many things to say about this book...but it will also be a bit hard to say a lot of them without spoilers because some of it is plot based. I actually like the ending and kind of saw it coming. I like it because I think, as I said, it was just bound to happen and has been threatening to happen all along and has been a major tension point. If it hadn't of happened it would have been much too anticlimactic after all that build up. And just to clarify, I am strictly talking about the very last scene of the book.

I am Interested in the ideas shown in this book in particular about how much of people is shaped from how they were raised to be and how difficult it can be to navigate that field of how much of yourself comes from which people or what circumstances. There were a couple other themes throughout the book I thought were cool, like, as indicated by the title, the differences between freedom and captivity and how sometimes even when you think you are living your life your own way, you come to find yourself still in a cage in the sense that you aren't free to control your image/actions while others are manipulating you for their own gain.

Something that doesn't make much sense to me across the series is why Mare seems so utterly convinced that the Scarlett Guard is the answer to the issue and backs their cause like it is the dearest thing to her. I know she wants change-- and has plenty of reason to want it --but to replace those prejudiced people in power with other people prejudiced against THOSE people doesn't make much sense as being an answer or being true justice for everyone. I would think that reds and silvers having equal representation in their country would be the option that would end the cycle going back and forth between reds in power with silvers being mistreated or silvers in power with reds being mistreated. I'm not going to go all political or whatever, I'm just saying that from what is presented of this world that seems like it could make things a lot better. But who knows, there is another book, maybe it has been working that way the whole time. Or maybe there is some other answer which will shock everyone and make them all ashamed of feeling superior, red or silver or whoever.

As far as characters go, I am at both ends of the spectrum. I am actually not very fond of Mare, which can get pretty annoying considering she is the main character. I feel like her character just isn't very complex or developed and it's like most of the time her character is just used as a narrative voice more than having actual character. She seems too reactive and singularly driven and the single thing that drives her could flip flop in an instant. I can understand a character not being able to make up their mind (I am in that boat a lot myself) but, when the main character just goes back and forth thinking one way and then another it can get kind of confusing as to what they actually think at all. That being said, I LOVE Maven's character. And no, not in the "I love the bad boy character type" kind of way. I love Maven's character because I feel like he is very developed and very complex and I am eager to learn every piece of new information about him because there is so much to learn and his character seems so much more human to me. His parts are all my favorite parts. Do I LIKE him? Not really. Do I think he and Mare need to be together? Not really. But I love his characterization. And it's so good that I even have to keep doubting myself over whether or not it's really true that I don't like him. I mean I don't. But...maybe, I can understand him. And that's more than I can do with Mare haha.

Don't get me started on Cal. Don't like him. True, he may not be as bad as his half brother, but again-- Maven gets all the best characterization. I feel like I barely even know who Cal is. He almost feels like a stock character to me. But there are times when I think, well maybe he is pretty good since he did that but then he just ends up feeling sketchy and overall I can't get a good enough image of his character.

I loved the Evangeline chapters in this installment, her character is a bit more complex like Maven's and I feel like her character has a much stronger voice with much more solid beliefs and thoughts. Cameron's were also interesting and seeing how she feels about her powers though I didn't enjoy them quit as much as Evangeline's but maybe that's just because Cameron is younger and seems more angsty and I'm just in the wrong age group to really identify with that anymore.

I also noticed there are several parts where the wording is kind of weird and particularly that the same words get used repeatedly a lot which distracted from the story to a certain extent. BUT, I still give this one 4 stars because of the good character development in those like Maven and Evangeline, because of the intriguing themes, because I am still excited to read the next book, and because I do feel like Victoria Aveyard is good at plot twists and that there are many more to come (and I love twisting plots). ( )