“I am a weapon made of flesh, a sword covered in skin. I was born to kill a king, to end a reign of terror before it can truly begin.”

Yes….

Yes…

Yes…

And no…

No, I don’t have a clue as to why this book steals my heart everytime I open it. Two reads down and I already want to pick it up again. Thank goodness it was a million times better than Red Queen.

Let’s start with the fact that Aveyard falls into a lot of traps. Her characters can be classified as chess piece personas at times, lacking the strength to stand on their own. Other times the characters have their own quarks and stand firmly on both feet. The story follows this path of getting Mare what she wants and making sure that Mare controls the story. Unlike the first book, you can’t see a lot of background things happening unless you count Maven which we know is doing everything to stop Mare.

But let me remind you, this is a first-person POV told from a 17-year-old with very little life experience. Think back to being a teenager… didn’t the world revolve around you? So, if you look at it that way, this story doesn’t seem to be too far off its mark. We’ve got a girl who can’t stop raving about how awesome her powers are because hey, she did just escape execution.

What makes Mare a strong protagonist in terms of writing, is her change from a strong heroine to one that is struggling with everything going on. A lot happens to her, and a lot happens because of her. It doesn’t help if she stays the good girl. I appreciate that we see this tearing of her conscious and the fight to try and not become the monster that lies beneath the surface.

“No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance.”

For me, Cal really started to develop his own character in this book. He’s no longer just the flame guy. The depth of emotion grows as we see him fight the emotions of his brother’s betrayal.

That’s about it. There are some side tangents - relationships grow, people are betrayed. Nothing is really in the forefront because Mare isn’t noticing them which means us as readers can’t either. Again check the point of view and that will make sense. This girl is dealing with PTSD, the betrayal of her life, and being swept up into a war that is anything but nice. I think I would be stuck in my head a crap ton too if it was me.

One item that works for me in the story is Aveyard’s ability to really express emotions. The whole time I feel my heart falling as Mare struggles with everything happening to her. I can see where the decisions come from, or the lack thereof. Where the first book hit a lull in the middle as the hero was learning to train, this book just keeps up the travel and action. Which leads me to believe that we are stuck halfway into the second act of the three-act plot.

“No one is born a monster. But I wish some people were. It would make it easier to hate them, to kill them, to forget their dead faces.”

One great example of Aveyard’s growth as a writer is her character’s struggles with Maven. When a character goes bad, a lot of times the reader just has to jump on the bandwagon and agree. There’s no struggle. Ok fine, the guy is bad, but when it’s someone close, the ability to just harden the heart immediately isn’t that easy. Aveyard takes the time to develop this side of the story.

Aveyard also knocks this book out of the park with prose. I got lost multiple times just falling into her word choices. Just see the quote below for a taste of what I’m talking about. We don’t just see Farley walking, but we catch a taste of the emotions that she is giving off. The feelings behind just her going from place to place.

“Her boots sound like hammer falls on the metal flooring, each one smacking of stubborn resolve.”

I really appreciated this book especially after the knife to heart that was Red Queen. It was nice to see why I fell in love with this series and why I feel the way I do. The emotional quality, something that I hold very high in ratings, is there and makes me motivated to try and portray the same thing in my book as well. People have different opinions and it just looks like I won’t be agreeing with anyone on this book. I can’t remember what my original rating for the book was, but whatever it was, I have now rated it at 5 stars.

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 54/100