War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen, #4
Published on May 15th 2018 by HarperTeen
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult
662 pages
Format: Kindle
Source: Purchased
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Shop it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3kmbLRw
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Victory comes at a price.

Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.

War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

Review

Red Queen is one of the few YA Fantasy series that I truly enjoyed when I was just starting in this genre years ago. For that, regardless of what I felt for the last two books of this series, it will still have a place in my heart.

War Storm is the longest book of this series, probably because it’s the last book, but thinking about how the previous book ended, I feel that it was necessary. For me, there’s still a lot of things that are far from ending yet, especially that the revolution wants to rebuild Norta with equality for both bloods (Red and Silver). That mission will definitely take a while, and I would hate to see it being rushed.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped. It has numerous battle scenes (unlike the King’s Cage), which is actually what I wanted, however, it didn’t feel the same as what I felt when I read the first 2 books of this series. I’m not sure what’s missing, it just felt a bit dull for me, even in its final battle. That final battle was supposed to be epic, but felt shorter and too easy for me 🙁

I guess the consolation that I’ve got is finally having to read Maven’s POV. I stopped caring for Cal after reading the previous book and focused my attention on Maven instead.

Characters:

Maven

I know it’s irrational, but I was desperately hoping that somehow, a miracle could happen and Maven would redeem himself. Show some sliver of goodness, of the person he could have been without his mother’s poisoning. But nope, Ms. Aveyard destroyed my hope for his character, huhuhu.

I’ve been waiting for Maven’s POV, and now that it’s here, it was unfortunately disappointing. It just felt incriminating. It may probably be because of my selfish wants though, but I just didn’t like how it ended on him. There wasn’t even a scene between just the two brothers. It was just sad.

Cal

I know I should stop caring about him and let him deal with his poor choice to the end. But heck, that still didn’t stop me from hating his character while reading this book. It was only during the first few chapters, but it was really hard to pursue this book because of that.

Don’t get me wrong, Cal is not a bad person. He is just rooted in his beliefs and is unable to embrace change. He did in the end though, but I don’t care anymore.

Mare

I liked her less compared when I was just starting with this series. But I really held a high respect for her in this book. Mare did exactly what I hoped she’d do. She chose the revolution.

Evangeline

I couldn’t care less of her character when I started this series. But in this and the previous book, I learned to really like her character. Like most, she was a product of her environment. But being able to read her POV gave me a greater appreciation of her and everything she’d been through.

Iris

Well, she’s the enemy so hating her is a given. In addition, I felt that her POVs this time sounded bland compared to the previous book.

The ending was not what I expected. In many ways, it could be a fitting end. But for me it feels like it wasn’t truly the end but instead marks a new beginning, especially for Norta. If it’s possible, I would definitely want to read a new book talking about Norta’s rebuilding.

Other books in this series:

• Book 0.1 – Queen Song
• Book 0.2 – Steel Scars
• Book 1 – Red Queen
• Book 2 – Glass Sword
• Book 3 – King’s Cage

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BOOK SHELF: FANTASY

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