Now I must be honest here, this is not my first time reading this book. I think it was like a year and a half ago and for some reason I couldn’t get into it. I did finish it but it was like eh, it was ok. Like nothing stood out for me and overall I think it confused me more than anything. But despite that I soldiered on. I bought Glass Sword when it came out. Then King’s Cage. But this time I really splurged. I bought the new Indigo Book Box that featured the fourth and final book in this series, War Storm. And this is what sparked my need to read this series again! There’s nothing better than actually having a complete series to read! No waiting a year between each (that is if you’re lucky and it is only a year). No annoying cliffhangers await me either because you know, I can just walk over to my shelves and pluck the next one off. Risky? Yes. Stupid because I didn’t have much success in liking the first one? Yes. But I did it anyway and here I am. Writing the first of four reviews for this series that I almost wrote off.
Now that you know everything let’s start. I had low expectations because it was my second time through but the story seemed to make more sense this time around. It’s like you need a general sense of what’s going on to fully understand the world Victoria Aveyard created because of its complexity. Aveyard’s world building knocked me back because it was a dystopian, kingdom mix and I find dystopians are a little hard to get into because I’m essentially relying so heavily on the author to explain their world because it’s based on imagination rather than reality (which is not to say that this writing is bad, its’ just not as simple). One thing that really got me was the different Silver houses and their coordinating colours and powers. It was really important to absorb when it was first mentioned because after that it’s all just names. It was assumed that you now knew everything about everyone. Their name. Their house. Their colour. And their power. And that was confusing! I’m still not sure if I have everything right! But I figure it’s a learn as you go type of thing and I’m sticking to that.
But again I continued on, I met Mare Molly Barrow, this feisty, down on her luck girl who wanted nothing more than to be seen as someone’s equal rather than be oppressed because she was a Red and they were a Silver, and she saw that. With Cal. The very night they met he knew that she was a red and he was a silver and yet he treated her like his equal, of course at the time he was disguised as a red and Mare thought he was, but the point that he knew the truth and acted the way he did speaks to his character. This is something that frustrated me later on when just like that Mare writes him off for doing what is expected of him. She’s quick to anger and she got angry at Cal a lot. She saw him as a liar that night when she found out the truth about him (even though he got her a job and let’s be real, getting a job is no easy feat) She got angry at him again when Farley was being interrogated at his command. It’s like that’s his job! He’s expected to carry out difficult situations such as interrogating potential threats. He didn’t like it! And she should have seen that! Because she got to know him and even kissed him! So there must have been feelings there, she must have seen some good. Time and again she sees Cal as her enemy despite his actions towards her. She sees him as the heir to the throne. The King’s son. In name and personality. She was blinded by her hot temper!
After saying that, I was glad to see that betrayal from Maven. He was too good to be true. He seemed fake to an extent. I think he overplayed his “shadow to the flame” act he played with Mare about him and his brother. But what made me more angry was how Mare didn’t see it! She wasn’t the type to see everyone for the good rather than bad, case in point with Cal. She was a skeptic. She was born a red, she knew how the world really worked and yet she got fooled by this 17-year-old with an evil queen of a mother? Like how didn’t she see that??? It still baffles me. She let her emotions blind her to what was right in her face! She bet on the wrong brother. Julian warned her. “Anyone can betray anyone.” He didn’t hide his dislike for Maven either but she didn’t want to see that.
Opening up the Bowl of Bones was brilliant! It speaks to the extent of their actions because it was a place reserved for Silvers who broke the law, at least that’s what I got from it as it hadn’t been used for a good decade. It made the whole thing epic. Branded the heir to the throne as a traitor and a king killer and Mare a trickster, who manipulated others to do her bidding. If I didn’t know that there were more books, I might have thought this was the end, but I knew these two couldn’t die because they would be essential if this story were to continue. But it didn’t make reading it any less nerve wracking! But I’m glad to say Mare redeemed herself a bit in the arena. She used her wit rather than her new found lightning (even though with Arven alive she kind of had no choice) but she was smart. A simple dodge allowed her to kill Arven, save Cal and escape even if it was only a brief one, she made it happen. And it was because she was a red. She thought like a red. Used her knowledge as a red to defeat the silvers.
Although much like The Hunger Games I am glad to say that I not only liked it more the second time and gained an appreciation for what I clearly lost the first time around but I’m also excited for what lies ahead for me in the next one, Glass Sword. Will Cal beat his reputation as the king killer and as a silver be allowed in the Scarlet Guard (great name by the way) And Will Mare catch up to King Maven and stop him from harming those like her? I want to see more of her and Shade because I think it will be interesting to see how they use their abilities, plus he is the brother that she’s close to, so that dynamic is going to be great to see especially now that she feels (with good reason) that she can’t trust anyone. That also goes for Kilorn! I don’t know, but I have a feeling that I’m really going to like his character and I hope to see more funny, witty banter between him and Mare!
All I know is that I am proud that Mare is no longer (at least hopefully not anymore) naïve. I want to see her rise, red as the dawn.
“Part of me doesn’t either. Part of me wishes I could submit to chains, to captivity and silence. But I have lived that life already, in the mud, in the shadows, in a cell, in a silk dress. I will never submit again. I will never stop fighting.”