As much as I am fascinated by the gorgeous cover, I am not much fascinated by the story behind it. What in the world was that?! What a pleasure reading Red Queen has been. But this here? A long story but nothing you could connect with.


War Storm
by Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen Series #4
Publisher Harper Teen on May 15, 2018
Genre Fantasy
Pages 657
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
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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 demolish 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 little lightning girl be forever silenced?
Story
Mare is desperate. Cal has chosen his throne and crown over her. He wants her to be by his side, but not as his queen but as his mistress. But Mare can´t forget what she had to do and how much she had suffered while under Maven´s brutal reign. She still wants her people to be free. But that freedom seems far away and not only her love is at stake.

Style
I don´t know if it means anything, but I had to read the last chapter of King´s Cage again, while I started reading War Storm. I needed to go back into the story to understand the first chapter of the fourth book at all. The scenes in War Storm told me things I couldn´t remember or combine with the figures or setting, so re-reading a bit was in order. Something I usually don´t need to do. And THAT tells me a lot. Although the story continues seamlessly where part 3 left off. Good, the author hasn´t changed her style, or at least not much. But else? The only thing that made me laugh out loud was a scene where a man talks with Mare during dinner and that in a way that showed that being a queen isn´t everything. It was hilarious!

But in the end, I was disappointed. Despite the fact that I had some trouble reading this novel from start to end, I couldn´t see what the point was. Sure, the book starts with some great action and scenes, I say only dinner scene, but the rest? A long listing of fights, dialogues I had the impression that I´ve read them before and strategic war things I was not at all interested in. And the end couldn´t satisfy me either. That seemed so constructed.

Characters
Good, the author shows again a big variety of emotions, thinking, and what every figure wants, but the way how she turned that into a story was sometimes a bit overwhelming. Sure, Mare has changed. Who would not after all she´s been through? She still fights for what she believes in, for what she wants for her people, and yet I was missing something. 


Conclusion
Either my expectations were way too high or I thought that after the great start Red Queen has had, the greatness would continue until the end. Didn´t happen. For my taste, the novel is way too long and so confusing at times, that I barely managed to keep reading. Sad, but that was not the ending I had hoped the Red Queen series would get. But the cover is a real beauty.



Happy reading







Victoria Aveyard
Victoria Aveyard ©Stephanie Girard of Stephanie Girard Photography




Victoria Aveyard was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a small town known only for the worst traffic rotary in the continental United States. She moved to Los Angeles to earn a BFA in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. She currently splits her time between the East and West coasts. As an author and screenwriter, she uses her career as an excuse to read too many books and watch too many movies. 

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