Hello, happy Wednesday! Today I’m going to be reviewing War Storm the final novel in Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series.

August 3, 2015:

So it wasn’t until I started to read that I found out that this is a trilogy series. I don’t mind, because this novel was good. I don’t know if it was the podcast I was listening to while reading this, but I wanted to cry half way through. This novel was definitely emotional, and I don’t normally cry for novels, so it was strange for me ha!

April 5, 2017:

This series is still going, and apparently I started out loving it, well my love for this series went out the door with the newest instalment King’s Cage.

August 8, 2018

Okay, the last novel wasn’t as bad as the past few have been. I still don’t think it was the best series ever, but I’m glad I stuck around to read the last book.

 

Red Queen by: Victoria Aveyard: The first novel in the Red Queen trilogy. The world in which Mare Barrow lives is split; some have red blood, and some have sliver. The Slivers are the ones who have higher standards and their supernatural abilities make them Godlike. Mare is Red blood, living in a lower class, close to poverty. When one of her best friend’s gets conscripted to the army, she tries everything in her power to stop it. Along the way she finds herself at the royal palace where she finds she has more powers then she ever thought. This makes her stand out, but there are others like her who have both red and sliver bloods. The palace can’t have this so they are set to die, but Mare rebels causing a war, where she trusts the wrong people. The novel is fast-paced, and a little heartbreaking. The betrayals that happen put tremendous weight on the characters and how they will act for the rest of the novel. It’s a huge plot arch, as if the plot wasn’t already arched when the main character is different. The novel leaves the reader just wanting more; the plot developments are well constructed, and the characters are never who you think they’re going to be, which really puts a twist on things. Overall, this novel was really well written, and it’s exciting to know that there will be more to the story because the Slivers can’t get away with everything.

Glass Sword by: Victoria Aveyard: The second novel in the Red Queen series. Now that Mare Barrow has escaped from the ruler Maven, her ex-lover, she’s learning new things. Those things happen to be that she isn’t the only one of her kind, as she originally had thought. Now knowing this she is on the hunt to find the others, and help save them from Maven. The novel was highly intense for the majority of the novel, especially near the end. The plot was well thought out, and it was executed very well. A society where people are segregated by blood colour is a pretty crafty idea. The pacing was done just right, and the writing was effective, clever, and not over done. The characters were simple, yet dynamic and that is what also really moved the story along. All in all, this was a great installment to an already outstanding series.

King’s Cage by: Victoria Aveyard: Mare is imprisoned by her ex-lover, Maven, while he turns their world around for the worst. Taking on his mother’s evil plans for domination, this just makes more people hate him, especially Mare. In this novel everyone is getting ready for war. Feelings are involved all around, but even through them all, characters find themselves putting them aside to try and fight the good fight. This novel, the whole plot just moved very slow; it didn’t need to be as long as it was because it was all set up for what is to come in the following novel. The author tried to splash in some action scenes within all the setting up, or recap chapters. The characters were basic, and didn’t really feel like they did much to develop from the last novel. Evangeline was a very well written, and solid character; the reader wished there were more chapters with her point of view, even Mare was likeable in Evangeline’s chapters. Mare in her own chapters didn’t do anything for the reader. This novel was definitely a middle novel, where small things happen that will affect future events, but otherwise nothing really jumped out at the reader.

Cruel Crown by: Victoria Aveyard: This novella gives readers of Aveyard’s Red Queen series a perspective of two women who are on fighting sides. We see Queen Coriane and all of her secrets, plus we see Diana Farley and her adventures into starting rebellions. The plots were alright; Diana’s was definitely more exciting and had a lot more going on, whereas Coriane’s was more about the secrets and deception, and was filled with more dialogue. The writing was good, Aveyard kept things entertaining by keeping the characters moving and being active. This was a glimpse into the past and how things got to the way they currently are. It was definitely something interesting, and worth reading if already a reader of the series.

War Storm by: Victoria Aveyard: The end is near; it’s Mare and her red blooded guards with the help of Cal and his silver blooded allies ready to attack their common enemy; Maven. This is a tough call for Mare as she has history with both men, but in the end she must choose; help Cal even though he broke her heart, or Maven who has proven he’s got hidden agendas. This final novel was good in all the right spots; it left the reader feeling satisfied and it ended well. The plot was engaging and action packed that made things really move along. The only downside was that it didn’t feel like it needed to be as long as it was; some parts felt like they dragged more than others and that brought things down a bit. The use of multiple points of view was enhancing, and gave the reader a look and see into what all the characters were thinking. Aveyard’s characters were pleasant, well rounded and made the story easy to read. There were moments throughout where the reader thought the characters were a little annoying, but for the most part they were enjoyable. This series ended on a good note, which is good because the middle novels were kinda falling apart, but this made it all worth it.