Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Kings Cage by Victoria Aveyard

41 reviews

daniellebebe's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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bzliz's review against another edition

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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. 
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mackenzie4197's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 Glass Sword was dark and painful and when I wrote a review from that book I said I think the next one is going to be worse ... and I was right. The first part was especially painful. Then the ending was so much worse. I just really hope the next book is less painful. 
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tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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the_prophecy_13's review against another edition

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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
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sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

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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

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mbrogs2024's review against another edition

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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

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ravenauthor1013's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.25

The pace was a little slow for me, but great story development and the multiple POV adds a lot to the story 
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aammeess's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • 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

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micaelamariem's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • 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

This was such a let down from how much I enjoyed the rest of the series. The majority of the book is Mare being trapped in a room and just wallowing about it, which was incredibly boring. 
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 
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