Reviews with content warning for Violence - Kings Cage

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Kings Cage by Victoria Aveyard

52 reviews

bzliz's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The action sequences really shine here. They are so gripping and exciting but they are concentrated toward the end of the book. The beginning half is focused on Mare’s captivity and a lot of it is pretty boring. I know I’ve read this before but I didn’t remember any of it so I’d forgotten how much that portion drags. Some of those scenes do contain important tidbits that allow Mare to gain some insight but much of it feels like a way to pass the time.

The introduction of multiple POVs is a blessing and a curse. It gives readers a break from Mare’s doldrums and lets them glimpse what is going on with the Scarlet Guard and later with the Silver houses, however Cameron and Evangeline’s voices are almost identical to Mare’s. Victoria Aveyard is a competent writer but she did not do a good job distinguishing her narrators in this book.

I can see why a lot of people seem to give up on the series here but I am still excited to read the next book, which I don’t think I finished the first time I read this series.

Content Warnings

emilyamoreau's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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? Yes

4.0

Good continuation of the story, this one felt marginally slower paced than the previous 2 books, but it worked for the situations in this story. This book brought the introduction of multiple narrators which was a fun addition and helpful to the story!

Content Warnings

benefactory's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

lukapooka's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

the_prophecy_13's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

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 bad:

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

Content Warnings

sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

mbrogs2024's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

christygsp's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

The first half of this book could have been 25 pages instead of 250. It was entirely too long, and I was so close to calling it quits when read 200+ pages of a non plot same old same old. THEN, it started getting good. Honestly, I wish it had reached the halfway point way sooner, because that book would have been amazing. The second half was great but by the time I got there I was almost over the whole thing. It was quite long and the last book is even more so…
The powers are always fun to see play out. Characters were the same, and while some were good, others were tiresome.

Content Warnings

livaausma's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The beginning-middle was difficult to get through, as it was kind of repetitive. But middle to end was amazing!

Content Warnings

ladybug12793's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Cameron’s POVs were pointless. She was a hypocrite. At least there was some Cam/Mare redemption by the end. Wish the alternate POVs were either one of the princes or Farley. I also wish the chapters were shorter. I enjoyed this book nonetheless. Could’ve been 100 pages shorter. Felt like it dragged on in the beginning and like nothing much happened besides like two battles and the ending that we all saw coming. Heartbroken but looking forward to the next book.

Also certain readers complaining about Mare being traumatized by literally being tortured by silent stone everyday have absolutely no empathy. She was still imprisoned and tortured in multiple ways psychologically and physically but I guess since she had a nice bed then she shouldn’t complain?! Like chill people. Absolutely insane.

0 🌶️

Content Warnings

More...