“The person she loved is dead, stolen by someone else. Mine chose to walk away. Chose everything I hate over everything I am. I wonder which hurts more."

People complained that there wasn’t enough story around Mare and Aveyard listened. Instead of just sticking with the one POV, she added in two others.

I always struggle with POV changes in the middle of a series. Divergent messed the world up a little when Roth added in another POV. It was done so that she could kill off the main character in the end (and I’m really sorry if you haven't read that series yet). So, when Aveyard did it with King’s Cage, I started to cringe. But there is one more book and there is no way Aveyard would kill the protagonist that soon. The story is about Mare, not everyone surrounding her.

How do I feel about the change? I will agree that adding in Cameron was important. Mare was locked in some tower, and seeing how the Red Guard was fairing did need to be shown. It added a lot of conflict and helped to move the story forward. Seeing Cal in all of it solidified a few arcs that were taken later. Now did Cameron have a strong enough voice to stand alone, I’m not sure? I could feel her but it felt like a watered down version without enough development. I also think that since Aveyard added her in, she needed more time on the page. She was added as a convenience which I’m not sure was the best idea.

Which is super proven when Evangeline gets added in over a half of the way in. Wow was that a mind scramble. I’m definitely not going to agree with the choice. As a reader, it felt more akin to a stab in the back. Here I am accepting the promise that this new section is going to be told through the eyes of Cameron and Mare, and now you are throwing in a third person. Again, it’s all done to conveniently add suspense and drama to move the story forward. Could Aveyard have accomplished the same feat another way? This I’m not sure about. The drama here was good but the execution left much to be desired. Again, Evangeline was in only two chapters and felt like another water down version of herself.

Sadly, Aveyard lost a little of her style in this book. Her writing was just not the same well-constructed prose that was in Glass Sword. That doesn’t mean that the same level of emotion wasn’t present. I definitely felt it multiple times throughout the story. Especially at the end, which required a ton of hugs from my husband to make me feel better - though the ending was super predictable and a little too foreshadowed in my opinion. Truthfully, it felt like an overdone story arc.

Which is a great segway into the book overall. This is definitely the second part of act 2 in a three-act story. Essentially, everything hits the low of the low in this book. Perfect timing for the upswing and the good guys to finally win. Look at Star Wars Episode 3. They can’t kill the Death Star, all hope is lost, until the last moment when Luke can harness the force and win the day. King’s Cage is at the point where the Death Star is winning. Mare is about to have her meditative moment and will be ready to kick some ass in the next book.

“To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun.”

My last point is the first half of the book - which felt like a separate book from the second half. We have the part with Maven and the part without Maven. The Maven part was plain weird, and not in the oh goodness he’s weird and this is a kinky capture. I’m talking like weird in that nothing made sense at all. Aveyard kept explaining why Maven was treating Mare the way he was, but we never actually saw it. I wanted more interaction, more tug on the emotions as to why he feels the way he does about Mare. This was a struggle and I was relieved when it FINALLY ended. It was such a drag because the delivery wasn’t there.

I give the book 4 stars because of the first half. I couldn’t really do it. Aveyard did not pull off the hostage part very well. One point I thought she would have the moment we all needed but it fell so flat. Sadly, I must read another book before I can start the final installment. Oh, the horror. I need to see how this all pans out. If this other book must interrupt me then it better be good. Keep a look out for my thoughts on Furyborn next week.

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 54/100