Georgia Kostopoulou

I have finally decided to move forward with the “Red Queen” series and got myself the audiobook of “King’s Cage”. I had no difficulty to delve back into the story, as everything came to mind pretty easily. I remembered the story of the previous two books very well and that first scene of this book is amazing!

“Now I’m in a king’s cage. But so is he. My chains are Silent Stone. His is the crown.”
― Victoria Aveyard, King’s Cage

Mare Barrow, the lightning girl, is now a prisoner of a boy king. A boy she liked and thought to be her friend once. This time, this era is now gone. She knows they cannot be friends, not when he keeps her captive. Not when he has her as his prisoner at display. Not when he uses her in order to disarm the Scarlet Guard and leer the newbloods to his side. Not because he believes they disserve something more, but because he wants to win this war. Mare knows she’s nothing more than an instrument and she is going to use it in her favor as soon as she finds the way to do it and as soon as she is free from the Silent Stone.

“As you enter, you pray to leave. As you leave, you pray to never return.”
― Victoria Aveyard, King’s Cage

While Mare is spending her days imprisoned, the newbloods she recruited herself and a few more, as well as the Reds have not forgotten their cause. The train and they expand and the organize their next movements. They have suffered. They have lost loved ones, but they are not going to give up on their cause. They have Cal on their side, the exile prince and a trained warrior, one that can give them insights of his brother’s army. But they need more and they do all they can to get it. They are going to defeat Maven Calore, if it’s the last thing they do.

“Those who know what it’s like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light.”
― Victoria Aveyard, King’s Cage

In this third installment of the series, things get more serious. The imprisonment and torture Mare goes through, makes Maven’s intentions pretty clear. He must solidify his throne no matter what. He is the King. He decides what he is going to do. He accepts challenges but he is not going to fall into traps as long as he can avoid them and keep Mare away for most of the danger. He is the boy that fell in love with the wrong girl. A girl that loves his brother. But he still tries. He still has high hopes. He needs hope in his life.

“The crown is in the heart, and the heart do not change”
― Victoria Aveyard, King’s Cage

I enjoyed thoroughly all the action that took place so much in the Scarlet Guard camp, as well as the actual fight scenes. From the training scenes to the actual fight scenes, they were all magnificent. We see strategy rooms, generals and soldiers and we feel how it is to be part of that army. We also see how alliances forge and how fragile the balances are in such a war. If only they believed they were all equal, this war would have ended years ago. But, that’s another discussion.

The ending though, is something to expect… Power is alluring. Power is what keeps the wheel running. Power is what people are fighting for, even though they may say it is for freedom. They need the power to make their own decisions but they also envy the power to make decisions for others, especially those they are fighting against. And that’s all I’m going to say, as I don’t want to make any spoilers.

“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.”
― Victoria Aveyard, King’s Cage