Full Book Review of Red Queen Book 3 King’s Cage
Check out my full review of King’s Cage, the third book in the Red Queen series. This is the third book in the fantasy series by Victoria Aveyard, and the one before the final installment.
Here’s a short synopsis of the book:
“In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series, rebellion is rising and allegiances will be tested on every side.
Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.
As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.
When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.“
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Full Book Review Without Spoilers
King’s Cage is probably my least favorite book of the four in the series, but it was still an enjoyable enough read that I wanted to go on to the last book. This book is obviously a bridge to provide us with the background information and set-up we need for the final book. So this one felt a little boring compared the previous books, but, in the end, necessary for the whole series.
Coming off the ending of Glass Sword, I was excited to get right into this book because of the big cliffhanger we were left on. But even from the beginning, the book felt slow. I had a hard time getting through the book, especially the first half, without putting it down for breaks a lot.
The book lacks the action scenes we got in the previous books, so it feels like not a lot happens. One of the positives though is that we learn about the larger world. Aveyard finally gives the level of world building I was looking for in the first two books.
Another huge positive for this book is that we get the story from different points of view. And the characters telling the story are not the ones I would have expected, so that made it more interesting. It was a welcome change for me.
Characters
Like the last book, we get to meet a lot of new characters in this book. And we get to hear from additional POVs which does make the story more engaging and helps the pace of the book. I liked hearing about the newcomers, and the changes happening in some of our favorite characters like Cal, Farley, and Kilorn.
One of the things I didn’t like about the book was Mare’s POV because her attitude is still difficult to hear about, like in the last book. There is some character development for her towards the end, but most of the book she gets on my nerves.
Plot
While the plot does seem slow, we learn a lot of new information that contributes to the overall plot of the series. The whole book is prepping for the final book in the series. And I’m glad the plot now includes the outside world and the major political players we only heard whispers about before.
Writing
The writing style of this book is very similar to the first two, except without all the action. The pacing feels much slower until you get towards the end of the book.
Full Book Review With Spoilers
You’ve been warned that from here on out there will be spoilers.
I would still say this was an enjoyable read, but I had more complaints about this book than any other in the series. I think you have to look at this book as a part in the series rather than on its own. The book still has a lot of positives, especially if you liked the first two, so just keep reading!
Even though Cal betrays Mare at the end with his decision to be king (possibly), this wasn’t a compelling cliffhanger like the first two books had. I like Cal and the relationship in this book, but it still didn’t feel like a big enough deal. Because of this, I didn’t immediately jump to start to the next book.
While I don’t love that it’s just setting up for the last book, I get that we need this information for a fuller world and plot. I know a lot of people complain about this book just being a filler book, but sometimes that’s what a series needs to get all the information in.
The book does provide quite a bit of political intrigue with Cal’s grandmother, the Samos family, Lakeland and Montfort. There’s a lot of mind games going on because of this, so, if you don’t mind less action, you may like this one a lot more.
Pros of the Book
One of the biggest pros of this book for me was hearing the story from multiple points of view. And that those points of view were from very different characters, especially hearing things from Evangeline’s side. I didn’t want to like her at all, but I definitely do understand her better now.
Another positive of the book was the last one-third of the book when the plot and pacing finally picked up. This is when the main action happens, and we get to see substantial events taking place. The ending was enough to make me read the next book.
Additionally, I really liked hearing about Maven’s part in the story. Hearing about his past and what his mother did to him makes the events of all the books even more compelling.
Cons of the Book
One of my biggest complaints as I’ve mentioned before is how slow the book is up until the last one-third or one-fourth of the book. I understand that we needed the information dump along with plenty of political planning, but there could have been more action. All the major events happen near the end of the book.
And even though we do get more world building, I thought there could have been even more explaining of the other kingdoms in the story. Maybe this is something that comes into the story in the next book.
Conclusion
Overall, if you like the first two in the series, you’ll like this one enough to get to the last book in the series. On its own, it’s slow to read and the worst of the series for me. But while there’s not a lot of action, you do learn a lot more about the larger world and politics at play during the series.
You can find the book here.
I have a full summary of the book here if you need a refresher on any of the main points.
If you need a refresher on the first two books of the series, I have a review and summary of Red Queen as well as a review and summary of Glass Sword.
Rating- 3 Out of 5 Stars
This book was still enjoyable enough to give it three stars. Probably because I’m already attached to the characters and the overall story at this point in the series, I liked the book and want to read the next one.
Here’s how I rate all my books: My Rating System
Who Would Enjoy Reading?
If you enjoyed any of the other dystopian, fantasy novels like Hunger Games or Divergent, you’ll like this one, too. I’m a sucker for these fantasy tropes, so I really enjoyed the book. You would also like it if you like fantasy with political subplots or fantasy with a strong-willed female main character.
It is geared toward young adult/ older teenagers rather than full on adult fantasy. And while there is a romance going on in Red Queen, it’s not like the romantasy books on social media (there’s no spice and only a few romantic scenes) if that’s what you’re looking for.
What to Read After
My book recommendations for after this book are similar to ones I recommended after the first two books in the series if you read my review for those. The same points apply, so I’ll give you some of my favorite fantasy with the same vibes as this series as a whole.
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
If you’ve read the books in order up until this point, the next book to read is obviously the fourth book (and final!) of the series. War Storm is the concluding book of the series, and you can find it here.
I have a full review and summary of War Storm.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
This is another one of the series I’m currently reading because the third book isn’t out as of yet. But it’s got a lot of the same positive similarities as the Red Queen series.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Another more recent book, but finished series, is One Dark Window which is part of a duology. This one is also about a unexpected girl who holds the key to societies problems. But be warned that this book does contain some more mature themes.
