Book Review :: War Storm, by Victoria Aveyard

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard
ISBN: 9781409178804
Series: Red Queen #4
Also in this series: Glass Sword, Red Queen, Cruel Crown, King's Cage, Broken Throne
Published by Hachette NZ
on 15th May 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 662
Source: Hachette Publishing NZ
Find at Hachette NZ
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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 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?

Last updated on 14 April 2023

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What is War Storm by Victoria Aveyard about?

War Storm is the fourth and final book in Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, and it definitely wraps up a lot of things. In War Storm, Mare and the Scarlet Guard team up with now-King Tiberius Calore (aka Cal), and try to gather allies across the land to stand against Maven Calore, who has gone super nuts and is taking over everything and everyone.

Maven has secured an alliance with the Lakelanders in the north, while Mare, Cal, Evangeline and Kilorn head off to Montfort (the democratic nation in the west) to try and to persaude them to side with Norta and the True King.

“I am different from what my world demands I be. And I am not worse for it.”

As the two sides gather their forces, secondary alliances are made, secrets and lies are spread, family dynamics falter and change, friendships tear, and lovers reunite. It’s a seemingly never-ending fight to the death, with twists and turns and surprises around every corner. Silvers and Reds align with Newbloods and work together to defeat a common enemy, but is it all too much for Mare, the lighting girl from the Sticks? Who will end up on the throne of Norta? Who will get their way? And how much blood shed will there be before the end?

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My Thoughts on War Storm

When I first read Red Queen I really enjoyed it. Four stars, no doubt about it. The second book in the series was Glass Sword which was also epic, but when I got to King’s Cage I was a little disappointed in it. My star ratings slowly went down over the course of the series, but by War Storm it picked up a little. But just a little.

It look me over a week to read this book, and that’s not just because it was over 600 pages long. I really struggled to get into it at the beginning, and it probably didn’t help that I couldn’t quite remember what happened in the last book (that’s the trouble with reading a series as it’s released and not all at once when they’ve all been published). But eventually it began to pick up and I got into it a bit more.

“To rise. And rise alone.”

There were a lot of Points of View in the book.

As well as Mare’s, we got POVs from Evangeline and Iris, and also a few chapters each of Maven and Cal. I’ve always enjoyed Mare (though she has her moments, as all characters/people do), but I didn’t particularly like Iris’ chapters in War Storm. Iris is a Lakelander, so it was neat to have that perspective in there, but I didn’t really like her chapters very much.

Evangeline, however, I love. In King’s Cage she had a few of her own chapters, but here in War Storm it’s like she’s half the book. Ah, yes please. Her voice is much more sassy and self-assured than Mare’s, and her motives are pretty much purely for love, which is brilliant. Evangeline is a Silver but one who is beginning to lean toward a new way of doing things, taking step away from her controlling father, a change for her happiness and for the happiness of those she loves. Go Eve, you’re brilliant.

As far as final books go, it was pretty good. I do think a bunch of stuff could have been cut, and it seemed a little like too much happened throughout. It all led up to about three events which happen in succession but it takes a good two-thirds of the book to get us there. The ending – no spoilers, don’t worry – was good; I think it needed to end like it did, and I’m happy with that. So often you get to the end of a series and it’s just like ‘oh. what’ and that’s that. No more. But Aveyard found a good ending, so I thank her for that.

Overall, I’ve given War Storm 3.5 stars. I didn’t love it but I definitely enjoyed it.

Have you read War Storm? What did you think?

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I received this book for free from Hachette Publishing NZ in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.