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the_prophecy_13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
- The bath scene. What. was that.
- The pacing in the first 60% of the book is very drawn-out.
It feels like Victoria was just giving Mare more trauma for the heck of it. I don't particularly like Mare, but I don't want her to be miserable constantly! Girlie got to be happy for, like, three chapters in the entire book Speaking of Mare's trauma, it's not well done. I do like that she has some PTSD symptoms, but I wish the book delved deeper into them. I feel like some of the things she went through should have affected her a whole lot more than "she flinches when this person is nearby bc they hurt her :(((" - Mare is inconsistent. She seems to flip-flop between personalities (fiery, stubborn, and proud; competent and friendly; paranoid and uncertain; vacant and hopeless), and I know some of that could be due to trauma, but I feel like she's just an inconsistent character overall.
- Also, Mare says "the shadow of the flame" again. Victoria. I am begging you to stop. Flames do not have shadows. I repeat, FLAMES DO NOT HAVE SHADOWS. PLEASE Google it. (I don't know why this bothers me so much, lol.)
- Relating to the above, some of the writing was just... cringe. I don't care enough to go back through the book to find examples, but it sometimes felt like Victoria was trying too hard to be all edgy and poetic and deep. Girl, it's an average YA. Don't take yourself so seriously.
- I didn't like Cameron's POV chapters. She's just annoying. It's bad enough seeing her through Mare's eyes.
The good:
- The ending (the last 100 pages or so) was quite good, as usual in this series, and kept me engaged.
The final battle was very tense and felt realistic for the parties involved. - Evangeline, surprisingly, got very compelling all of a sudden.
She's still not a good person, but I empathize more with her now that she's not just a bully. I'm hoping for more POV chapters. - Mare's dynamics with other characters were so much better than in previous books. Her and Cal have much better chemistry and interactions
(though it's a shame they're only around each other for the last 40% or so of the book) . Mare and Farley are great as sorta sister-figures. Mare and Cameron get some sorely-needed bonding time (in, like, the last 10% of the book. Cameron was irritating for the first 90%). Mare and Kilorn are very sweet (well, y'know, as sweet as two bickering besties can be) - The politics, factions, etc were fairly well done, although I'd have to analyze in more detail to be sure lol
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
sweetchocolatez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Pregnancy
Minor: Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol
mbrogs2024's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
christygsp's review against another edition
3.0
The powers are always fun to see play out. Characters were the same, and while some were good, others were tiresome.
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
aammeess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
micaelamariem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t think her torture was as dramatic as it should’ve been.
The twist towards the middle and end was interesting but it needed more. As it stands, this book did not need to be 500 pages.
Also wtf was that weird bathroom scene
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mhcraft's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Score: Six points out of ten.
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.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Full trigger warnings: Physical assault and injury, murder, blood depiction, military violence and war themeswrappingpaper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I did however enjoy the multiple povs to get a break from constant Mare and an insight into other characters.
In general I feel like this book could’ve told the same story in a lot less pages so I’m slightly worried for War Storm bc imo as these books get bulkier the pace slows down.
Overall I still enjoyed this book, still gonna finish the series (at some point) , just didn’t enjoy it that much compared to the first books. I have hopes it’ll pick up again tho.
I still recommend this series to people who are into dystopian ya fantasy politics all that stuff.
A lot of gore, murder and mentions of trauma/ptsd tho so don’t read if you’re sensitive to that 👍
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
julienicole1106's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content