Review of 'King's Cage', by Victoria Aveyard

***Warning! There are spoilers for 'Red Queen' and 'Glass Sword' by Victoria Aveyard in this blog***

'Being a doll is an odd thing. I spend more time on the shelf than at play.'

In the third book of the 'Red Queen' series, Mare is a prisoner, her lightening gone, and her life in the hands of Maven. Forced to face her demons and become the face of a cause she has sworn to destroy, Mare wonders if anyone will ever be able to set her free. So, as Maven fights to keep control of his powerful court, and the Scarlet Guard prepare for war with the help of Cal, will Mare's resolve finally break, or will she be able overcome her worst nightmare?

I'm a sucker for YA fantasy and this series has not disappointed. 'King's Cage' was a brilliant third instalment and was easily my favourite in the series so far. The character development really climaxed and the tension was constantly at a high. Aveyard included massive plot progression and, through different voices, allowed her readers to delve into the minds of other characters

The main characters in this series are quite stereotypical at first glance, but the more you read and begin to unravel their psyche, this couldn't be further from the truth. Take Mare for example, another female super-powered heroine, a nobody from a poor town who's chance encounter with royalty changes her life. But Mare is more than her strong and unyielding spirit, possessed by most female protagonists, her flaws are what make her stand out. I love the way that right from the beginning of this series, Mare has been aware of her own personal flaws, shortcomings and mistakes, putting herself and those she loves in danger as a result of them. Her complicated relationships with both Maven and Cal are drastically different and unique from other character relationships in YA fiction. Through Mare, feeling love for two different people, and the toxicity of her love for Maven are beautifully explored.

Mare's self-pitying attitude, which was prevalent throughout 'Glass Sword', reduces in this book as she finally sorts through her complicated feelings for Maven. It seems that the old Mare is back, and the feisty thief we've missed no longer feels as though she is consumed by guilt and regret. She is whole once again and possessed by a vengeance.

Maven, how I've missed you! The character is a lot more present in this novel than in the sequel, and we finally get insight into the mind of the villain. Still as obsessed with Mare as ever, Aveyard gives us more clues as to what made Maven the way he is, as his game of cat and mouse with Mare is back on. Speaking of obsession, I'm obsessed with Maven's deluded mind and we get to see it right back at work as he tries to fight more than one war, and control his court along with his prisoner.

Cal's indecisiveness was really getting on my nerves and in the way of his relationship with Mare. Can he ever change what was ingrained into him since birth and will he ever fully commit to the Scarlet Guard? This novel finally gets to that answer and what an answer it was!

And hello Evangeline! Her role in this story just multiplied tenfold and I'm so glad it did. It's quite clear that she's scheming from the start, as she did in 'Red Queen', but Evangeline was the character I was most surprised by in terms of development. Stepping away from the 'mean girl' stereotype, she turns out to be more complicated than I ever though possible and so interesting in terms of motives and intentions.

Aveyard cleverly tackles the problem of her main characters splitting off on their own separate journeys by changing the first person voice from Mare. By doing this, it gave even more depth to these characters and enabled the reader to see Mare from another person's perspective, which was super interesting as the impression Mare leaves on other people in the story was not what I expected. Aveyard does devote most of her storytelling to Mare though, and sometimes left several chapters until we finally hear from another person again. This allows for surprise to still occur in the story and maintains the mystery as you don't know what other characters are up to for a long period of time. I really loved the other characters that we got to hear from. They added a whole other layer to the story and opened up new themes, making it more complex than ever going into the finale.

So far, the 'Red Queen' series has been a definite winner. The world that Aveyard has created, a mixture of fantasy and modern, lends itself to the story nicely and makes for an interesting read. The way that she writes is beautiful and full of interesting and clever metaphors and descriptions. And finally a map! They are great when plotting a character's journey and I loved the addition of one in this book. The ending of this novel truly had me on the edge of my seat and just when you think there can't be any more twists and turns, another one suddenly hits. I can't wait to read the finale, I have so many unanswered questions but I suppose the most important one for now is, should you read this book? The answer is a definite yes!