February Wrap Up

Books I Read This Month:

Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt

The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman

A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

The Next Together by Lauren James

The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari*

By Your Side by Kasie West

King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab

This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills

Broken Sky by L. A. Weatherly

Frostblood by Elly Blake*

All links lead to Goodreads. Reviews to come for starred books! I read eleven books in February, so I'm actually a bit ahead of my Goodreads challenge, which is nice! I read a lot of cute contemps this month; I think By Your Side was probably my favourite (it's Kasie West, and it's a book about two people locked in a library, what's not to like?). The Next Together was really disappointing because it started off fairly good and then just went downhill [spoiler, highlight to read]I remember basically cracking up laughing because a character randomly finds out she's pregnant, expresses no feelings on the matter and then gives birth like, five pages later because the plot just skips ahead. It was hilariously bad[end of spoiler] so I think that was probably my worst read of the month.

Blog Posts:

Waiting on Wednesday #79

Review: The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

Review: King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

The Book of Dust

Review: A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab

Three Mini Reviews

TV Shows I Watched/Started:

Supergirl season 2 (currently airing on Sky1)

The Flash season 3 (currently airing Sky1)

Legends of Tomorrow season 2 (currently airing on Sky1)

Scorpion season 3 (currently airing on ITV2)

Brookyln Nine-Nine season 4 (E4)

Timeless (currently airing on E4)

Emerald City (currently airing on 5STAR)

The Magicians season 2 (currently airing on 5STAR)

Shadowhunters season 2 (weekly on Netflix)

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD season 4 (currently airing E4)

Legion (currently airing on FOX)

Riverdale (weekly on Netflix)

Legend Quest (Netflix)

I'm still watching Riverdale. Mostly for Jughead, who is by far the best character (I am already so tired of Archie and his drama). Brookyln Nine-Nine is now on a mid-season break and isn't back until April (nooo) and I've started Emerald City and it's very...weird? Like, really weird. I don't know whether I like it or not. Legion is probably my favourite show at the moment, it's so good and I never have any idea what's going to happen!

Timeless has sort of grown on me over the past few weeks; it's still full of plot holes and time paradoxes, but I don't know, I kind of like it anyway. And while I'm glad we're getting the second season of The Magicians in the UK, I am so annoyed that season 4 of The 100 probably won't air until April/May time. WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG? I read all the episode recaps because I have no willpower and need the spoilers. My biggest fear is that The 100 will be cancelled before Bellarke ever happens...

Films I Watched:

Tangled (for the billionth time)

Music I Listened to:

The Wicked soundtrack (For Good is still my favourite)

Bands from the early 2000s

Belle from Beauty and the Beast (preparing for the movie release - I am simultaneously excited and terrified)

StarKid musicals (especially Status Quo from Starship, and The Coolest Girl from A Very Potter Sequel - they have been stuck in my head!)

Kyle XY soundtrack (don't judge me okay, I am STILL upset that show was cancelled and ended on a cliffhanger)

Marceline singing the Mr Belvedere theme in Adventure Time (yep, that carried over from January, what can I say)

All those variations of All Star by Smashmouth, because I find them hilarious. My favourite is the one with Windows notifications...

Notable Events:

It's been quite a month. I mean, first of all, Philip Pullman just dropped on us that he's writing an ENTIRE NEW TRILOGY about Lyra. The first book is out in OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR. Were any of us expecting this?! I have been waiting for The Book of Dust for years, I thought at best it would be an encyclopaedia, but no, a WHOLE NEW TRILOGY. My blog post goes into more detail.

Next I found out there's going to be another book in the Alex Rider series and bigfhjdwv. I loved that series when I was younger. I was such a huge fan, I had NO IDEA there was going to be another book?! I only found at this month, and I am beyond excited. It's called Never Say Die and is out in June in the UK.

It was also my birthday this month, so among my presents were a few books (see below), and an Amazon gift card! I picked all the books myself; I was originally going to choose some different ones...but with the news about The Book of Dust, I decided it was high time I reread the His Dark Materials trilogy, so I chose a really beautiful gift bind up of all three books. I also couldn't resist Hamilton: The Revolution, especially since I'm actually going to see it soon!

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter | His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman | Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen | Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan | Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

I have yet to spend the gift card, but I have my eye on a few books...

And that is my month in a nutshell! I have no idea what March will bring, but I'm hoping to keep up the reading, and blog consistently! What are your bookish (and non-bookish) goals for next month?

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GIVEAWAY: Dawn of Spies & Day of Ice by Andrew Lane!

Hello everyone!

Today on my blog I have a wonderful giveaway for some amazing books! ADAPTIVE BOOKS is giving me a print copy of both books in the series for a giveaway! These books are an exciting YA re-imagining of the characters from the original Robinson Crusoe. 

The author, Andrew Lane has written some thirty-odd books, ranging from fiction to non-fiction and from science fiction novels based on popular TV series to adult crime novels. He has also written nearly 30  short stories which have been published in various magazines and anthologies. His best known work to date is the highly successful Young Sherlock Holmes series of YA novels, of which eight have currently been published.

To enter the giveaway check below for the form!

TITLE: Dawn of Spies: A Crusoe Adventure

AUTHOR: Andrew Lane

US RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2017 (Paperback at Barnes & Noble)

AGE RANGE: 12 - 17 Years

 Add on Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon / B&N

An exciting YA re-imagining of the characters from the original Robinson Crusoe.
 Rescued from a deserted Caribbean island, 17-year-old Robinson Crusoe and his female friend, Friday, find themselves in late 1600s London, a bustling city that proves as treacherous for them to navigate as the remote island they just left behind.
 Thanks to their honed survival skills, Crusoe and Friday are recruited by a young writer named Daniel Defoe to work as agents for Segment W, a covert spy group that reports directly to the Crown. 
Crusoe, Friday, and Defoe must rescue the Countess of Lichfield from a kidnapping plot. They discover that a mystical and mysterious organization known as the Circle of Thirteen is plotting to destroy Segment W and change the course of history through a royal kidnapping.
 With an illustrious cast of historical characters including King Charles II and Sir Isaac Newton, Dawn of Spies is the first installment of a series that thrusts a young Robinson Crusoe into a new world of espionage, intrigue, and peril.

TITLE: Day of Ice: A Crusoe Adventure

AUTHOR: Andrew Lane

US RELEASE DATE: February 21, 2017 (Hardcover at Barnes & Noble)

AGE RANGE: 12 - 17 Years

 Add on Goodreads

 Purchase: Amazon / B&N

Months after their rescue by the government agency Segment W, Robinson Crusoe and his friend Friday have proven their skills as secret agents. They’re now climbing the ranks of this exclusive group of spies who reports directly to the Crown. Suddenly, in the dead of winter, Friday is shocked to see her father, who once tried to kill her, walking the streets of London. She tries to elicit the help of Segment W, but they are preoccupied with the continued investigation into an organization that staged a kidnapping of the king’s daughter. What will she do? As Friday’s past comes back to haunt her, she, Crusoe, and Daniel Defoe must uncover the mystical Circle of XIII’s sinister plans to recruit new members into the society using dangerous and magical means. How does her father fit into all of this? Will they be able to escape unscathed?

Day of Ice is the second installment of a series that thrusts a young Robinson Crusoe into a new world of espionage, intrigue, and peril.

Open to US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Three Mini Reviews

The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone #2) by Lori M. Lee
Publisher: Skyscape
Released: March 10th 2015
My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

The walls of Ninurta keep its citizens safe.

Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever.

To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. And she fears her brother, Reev, is involved with the rebels. With the two people she cares about most on opposite sides of a brewing war, Kai will do whatever it takes to bring peace. But she’s lost her power to manipulate the threads of time, and she learns that a civil war might be the beginning of something far worse that will crumble not only Ninurta’s walls but also the entire city.

In this thrilling sequel to Gates of Thread and Stone, Kai must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to lose to protect the only family she’s ever known. (from Goodreads)

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and while this one was good, I didn’t like it quite as much. 

Kai was struggling with several things in this book; after the end of book one, she was feeling guilty and unsure of herself. There was also the fact that she couldn’t seem to use her powers, which was highly concerning. I so wanted her to tell someone but she wouldn’t and I was worrying the whole time what this would mean for. As the book went on, Kai became more assertive and I appreciated her character development.

Avan wasn’t in this book as much as, and when he was, he was very different (as to be expected after the end of book one). I wanted him to get his memories back so much, and even though I knew there would be a love triangle in this book (the typical “the first guy isn’t here so let’s give this other guy a chance”) I couldn't get behind it because I still remembered how Avan was in book one and couldn’t properly root for the other love interest (even though he was actually really nice).

I loved that we got to find out more about the world in this book, and explored different places. The writing was really engaging and I liked reading about the new characters that were introduced.

The ending was another huge cliffhanger and I have no idea if we’re getting a book three, so I am left with many, many questions. I really am hoping for another book, because I’ve enjoyed this series overall and would like to see how it all ends!

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The Inquisition (Summoner #2) by Taran Matharu
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Released: May 5th 2016
My Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

On trial for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must face the Inquisition who will decide his future - the process is gruelling, lead by those who will do anything to see him suffer and haunted by ghosts from the past with clues to Fletcher's tragic origins.

But Fletcher has little time to dwell on these new revelations when the king announces a deadly challenge to the graduating students at Vocans. One that involves entering Orc territory to complete a risky mission. With loyal demons by their sides, commoners and nobles, dwarves and elves must overcome barriers of class and race and work together to triumph. The reward: a fortune in gold, the safety of an empire and PEACE.

With the entire empire watching, Fletcher has much to prove, but there are those out to get him and it soon becomes clear that there's a traitor in their midst, trying to thwart the mission and create unrest within the Empire.

With everything stacked against him, Fletcher must use everything in his power to fight his way to victory. (from Goodreads)

This is another book that, while still good, I didn’t enjoy as much as the first in the series. I did really like seeing all the characters again and jumping back into the world, and it was great to learn more about the magic system, which is one of the main reasons these books are so appealing. At the same time, however I had a few issues. Mostly I was left a little confused at how some things occurred and I questioned the reason behind certain events [spoiler, highlight to view] I couldn’t get behind making Fletcher a noble, wasn’t the point that he didn’t have to be? To me, it kind of undermined the message of the last book, though that is of course just my opinion[end of spoiler]. I also wanted to spend more time at Vocans, but I could understand why this didn’t happen and there was a lot of other exciting stuff going on that made up for it. One thing I really would have liked to have seen was how Fletcher recovered; he spent a year locked up in a cell, isolated from the rest of the world, and yet he seemed to get over it pretty quickly. I wish we could have had more insight into his thoughts. I did like this book overall, though, the plot was interesting, and Fletcher was a compelling main character that you couldn’t help but root for. I will definitely be reading the next book, and look forward to finding out what will happen next!

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The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's

Released: March 24th 2016

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Find it on Goodreads

10 parts 12 hours 1 minute

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn’t forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him.

At least, that’s what he thinks.

In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they’ve done to her.

But no one gets what they want just by wishing.

As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win? (from Goodreads)

The Winner’s Kiss was a really satisfying conclusion to the series, and I am very much looking forward to whatever Marie Rutkoski writes next.

If we were to compare the Kestrel and Arin from this book to the Kestrel and Arin in book one, the differences would obvious. The character development for these two has been excellent; in this book, they were older and wiser. They had both been through so much, and had both changed in different ways. Kestrel’s final confrontation with the emperor was one example of how she had grown. She had always had a brilliant mind but this just showed what she willing to do now that she wouldn’t have done before. Arin played an important role as well, he was less reckless, and I really enjoyed getting to know him more in this book. Their relationship was never going to be smooth sailing, but I liked that it wasn’t easy, that they had to work hard for it, and I actually really appreciated that we got a happily ever after, because these characters deserved to be happy! I would have been devastated if it ended any other way.

There were some intense twists in this book and I think I finished the whole thing in one day because I was desperate to find out what would happen. The writing was as compelling as ever and while I’m sad this series is over, I am now eagerly awaiting Marie Rutkoski's next book.

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E.C. Myers' thrilling YA Novel "AGAINST ALL SILENCE" just released!

AGAINST ALL SILENCE, the action-packed sequel to The Silence of Six, was released in hardcover wide on February 21st (yesterday) and I'm here today to share about the release for this entertaining, edge-of-your-seat story. It’s a fun read that combines thriller with computer hacking knowledge. Think of it like a little Mr. Robot of the YA world. Author E.C. Myers follows up the first part of the series with this thrilling sequel which will tell the next part of Max’s story including some recurring characters from its predecessor.  

TITLE: Against all Silence

AUTHOR: E.C. Myers

FORMAT: Hardcover

RELEASE DATE:  February 21, 2017

After being a key figure in the exposing of government corruption, Max Stein has spent a quiet semester abroad in Paris, studying, staying off the Internet, and looking for his long-lost mother. But just as he is about to fly back to the United States for the holidays, trouble manages to find him once again. Max receives a call from Penny, his on-again-off-again girlfriend who is part of the expert hacking duo DoubleThink.

She wants him to meet with Ada Kiesler, a high-profile whistleblower hiding out at a foreign embassy in Berlin. Max has no interest in getting drawn into another corporate conspiracy. But when airport security suddenly detains him on suspicion of cyberterrorism, he has little choice but to get involved. Soon Max and Penny are tangling with a new group of shadowy figures who are determined to control how the world shares its information. And some figures from Max’s past resurface, including his own mother, whose life has mirrored his own in more ways than he’d realized. In this action-packed follow up to The Silence of Six, Max and his hacker friends must fight to expose a corrupt corporation that has been systematically taking control of the Internet.

Purchase at Amazon / B&N / TBD / Indiebound 

More information on AGAINST ALL SILENCE can be found at this site -

 http://www.adaptivestudios.com/portfolio/silence-of-six-series/

Find E.C. at: 

Website / Twitter / Goodreads 

E.C. Myers is also the author of the Andre Norton Award–winning Fair Coin and Quantum Coin, young adult science fiction novels published by Pyr.

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Review: A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab

A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) by V. E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
Released: 21st February 2017
My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

The battle between four magical Londons comes to a head in this stunning finale to the New York Times bestselling Shades of Magic trilogy by rising star V. E. Schwab

London's fall and kingdoms rise while darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire—and the fraught balance of magic blossoms into dangerous territory while heroes and foes struggle alike. The direct sequel to A Gathering of Shadows, and the final book in the Shades of Magic epic fantasy series, A Conjuring of Light sees Schwab reach a thrilling culmination concerning the fate of beloved protagonists—and old enemies. (from Goodreads)

This was such a satisfying ending to this trilogy. And that is high praise indeed coming from me, since I have a habit of disliking the third books in trilogies. Not this time though. The story was as exciting as ever, the magic was just as wonderful and oh, the characters! Possibly my favourite part of these books. I am really sad to see this series end.

This book started right after the end of book two (which was cliffhangery as hell, if you remember). We were put straight back into the action right from the start, which I really enjoyed. We also learnt a lot of interesting things in this book. This was especially true of Alucard and Holland, who had previously been very mysterious characters. I don’t know how, but Victoria Schwab managed to get me to feel sorry for Holland. After everything he’d done, I still felt bad for him. We also found out a lot more about the King and Queen (Rhy’s parents), which I actually liked, because I had never been a fan of them in the previous books, so it was interesting to see why they acted the way they did.

We also discovered what happened between Rhy and Alucard. I think Alucard’s POV was one of my favourites. I loved seeing his true feelings for Rhy, but I also liked finding out about his magic and how it worked. He knew things even Kell didn’t know and it explained a lot about his actions in the previous book, when he agreed to take Lila aboard his ship. I really enjoyed reading about him – and I was rooting for him in his attempt to get Rhy to forgive him, because really, who could not like Alucard? (Apart from Kell, obviously.)

Speaking of Kell, and Lila, there was finally a Kell and Lila! I had been waiting for this since book one. These two, they just…understood each other. Even if they didn’t always agree, they knew each other too well to try and talk the other out of what they wanted to do. I do wish we had seen a bit more of Kell teaching Lila magic, because while she was incredibly strong, she was still mostly untrained and lacked the control she needed. However, I really loved seeing Lila use her magic and the unique strategies she would come up with. It was what made her so dangerous – no-one really ever knew what she was going to do. Kell, though, was still my favourite character. He’d been through so much, and while he always took it in his stride, I just wanted him to be happy!

Plot-wise, I was pretty much hooked the entire time. There were a few slow parts – I have to say Osaron’s point of view was not my favourite – but overall, I was kept very engaged throughout. Osaron was a strange villain, no-one had ever really seen anything like him before in any of the four Londons, and he was so powerful it was difficult to see any way of defeating him. All the plans they came up with to combat him were clever, but were really only holding him off temporarily. Seeing Kell, Lila, Holland and Alucard having to work together was one of the reasons I really loved this book. They had to get over their grudges, and it was not an easy thing (especially for Lila). One thing that I do wish we had learnt more about was Kell’s origins - I’d been wanting to know more about him since the first book. I did also think a lot of the chapters ended on very dramatic last lines. Apart from that though, I was very impressed with this book.

Overall, this series has been a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend it to any fantasy fan. A Conjuring of Light was a great finale, and I am honestly going to miss these characters so much. I look forward to whatever Victoria Schwab writes next!

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The Book of Dust

I have been trying to write this post all day. I don't know how to express my feelings. THE BOOK OF DUST. AFTER ALL THIS TIME. I had given up hope. I honestly thought we were never getting it, and even if we were, I thought it would be an encyclopaedia or something, with a few short stories. NOT A WHOLE NEW COMPANION TRILOGY.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, yesterday (or technically, midnight today, but I saw it before I went to sleep), it was announced that Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, would be releasing a new companion trilogy about Lyra. In October. Of THIS YEAR. I direct you to this article for more information.

WAS ANYONE EXPECTING THIS?! The few people who knew must have had so much trouble keeping their mouths shut - I know I would have been singing from the rooftops. 13/14 year old Liz ADORED the His Dark Materials trilogy. There are some books that just change you as a person, and this series did that for me. I think I cried for like, a whole day after finishing The Amber Spyglass. I vividly remember my young teen self writing in my diary about it (those were the days).

I was so shocked when I heard this news that originally, I didn't believe it. Then when all the newspapers started releasing their articles, it finally hit me that after all these years of waiting, The Book of Dust was actually a thing. A thing that we could read. About LYRA. And some new characters - but LYRA.

The first book in the trilogy (the one releasing in October) is set ten years before Northern Lights. I have to admit, I am not super enthused about this (I want to read about adult Lyra so much, but we don't get to see her 'til book two), but I am putting my trust in Philip Pullman. More info on the books here.

So essentially, this rambling wreck of a post is just me saying I'm really, really excited for this new trilogy. But also terrified, because what if these new books ruin everything? What if my childhood is destroyed? I'm scared. I do not want this to be Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In any case, I sense a reread of the original trilogy coming on (though I really don't want to cry for ten hours again after The Amber Spyglass...)

Will and Lyra forever.

(I wonder what the real cover will look like?)

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Review: King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

King's Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Orion
Released: February 9th 2017
My Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother's web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.

As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare's heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.

When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down. (from Goodreads)

I finished this book over the weekend, and all I can say is that I wish I read it slower, because the wait for the next book is going to be painful.

King’s Cage started off with Mare as Maven’s captive. What really got me about this portion of the book, where Mare was still unsure about what was going to happen to her, is that that she seemed to have a sliver of hope that there were certain things Maven wouldn’t do. After all the terrible things he had done in the last book, she was kind of subconsciously still holding out that maybe when it came to her, things would be different (and I think Cal thought the same, as pointed out by Cameron). And while certainly she could have been treated much much worse, Maven was still happy to chain her up and deeply mess with her mind and parade her around, despite the fact that he apparently loved her. Mare started to realise that she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. She had to beat Maven at his own game – the game he played with her in Red Queen. I had to commend Mare for some of the things she made herself do or say in this book, because it must have been so hard to do what she did when she hated every second of it.

Maven was severely messed up. In this book, we got to see the real extent of the damage Elara’s powers did to him, and while I really didn’t want to feel sorry for him (he was, after all, a murderer), it was very difficult not to feel disgusted at how Elara had basically restructured his entire personality by chopping and changing his mind as she pleased. The things she did were horrific. And while I don’t think this excused Maven’s behaviour, it did make him a more complex character. It was impossible not to think of the person he might have been without Elara’s influence. I found the political aspects of this book really interesting, especially since Maven’s obsession with Mare was clouding his judgment and certain parties were taking advantage of that for their own purposes. Most of the Silvers really had no remorse when it came to their treatment of Reds and the entire time I was trying to figure out just exactly how everything was going to work out.

Evangeline started to grow on me in this book. She still had no regard for the lives of the Reds, but from what we saw of her in King’s Cage, I think that could change in the next book. She didn’t want to marry Maven, but she couldn’t marry the person she actually loved, Elane. She was essentially a subject of her father’s will, and had to do whatever he wanted. In that sense, she didn’t have much freedom. I generally enjoyed the chapters from her point of view, though there were a few parts that seemed a bit forced since her POV only cropped up in the latter half of the book. Cameron also grew on me in this book. I wasn’t the hugest fan of all of her chapters, but I like that she was blunt and to the point. It was a stark contrast to Cal, and I appreciated her honestly, and determination in regard to finding her brother.

Cal…what to say? He was clearly desperate to get Mare back. He loved her and would have done anything for her, and I suppose that was a strength. But for all of Maven’s many flaws, he was right about Cal in one of his early conversations with Mare in this book. Cal was somewhat weak-willed. He was always on the fence – in Red Queen, he couldn't say that he actually wanted anything to change because he was too afraid of the consequences, and he was the same in King’s Cage. He may have been strong and an excellent fighter, but decision-making, and understanding what needed to be done – these were areas where he was severely lacking. I think this will really cost him in the next book. More so than already. I’m hoping that his character will change in this sense, but I’m also wondering if it’s maybe too late at this point, which leaves some very interesting questions about what will happen between him and Mare.

Plot-wise, there were so many revelations in this book. I found Glass Sword slightly predictable, but King's Cage kept surprising me. The pacing was slow in a few parts, but I think some of the really good scenes made up for this. Maven didn't seem as sure of himself in this book, and I think Mare handled him the best she could and learnt a lot of useful information. Farley was pretty awesome in this book, being her usual self even while pregnant, and I liked getting to see the Scarlet Guard and finally learning more about their true plans. Mare’s family and Kilorn weren’t very prominent in this book, and neither was Julian – I hope we get to see more of them in book four. I also think the fact that [minor spoiler, highlight to read]loads of lightning users turned up in this book was a bit strange – I thought it was a really rare, unheard of power? How come no Silvers possessed it but a whole bunch of newbloods did? And on that point, I wonder if they will find a whisper newblood...[end of spoiler]. I have to say though, while there is usually a book in a series like this where the main couple is separated for most of it, I actually didn’t mind it too much in this book, which is surprising for me, because that is one of my least favourite tropes. I think I was okay with it here because we got to see Mare in a lot of interesting situations, so I wasn’t just constantly waiting for her to meet back up with Cal.

The ending needs its own separate paragraph because kjhigjkwb. I don’t even know what I expected, there was foreshadowing and everything. What the hell is going to happen in book four?

Overall, I really enjoyed King’s Cage and am looking forward to completing the series with the next book (though I can’t believe we have to wait a whole year…).

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