I have been wondering of how to fittingly mark the ending of Aveyard’s Red Queen series, and to be honest, even when I began typing away my thoughts, I had no real idea of where it was going to go, but it seems like it will be as simple as a thank you to the author for creating a special series of books, while also imploring others to pick the books up and read them! (I apologise for the overly long and heavily commared (is that a word?!) opening sentence, it gets better, hopefully! ).

🔥⚡ The RED QUEEN Series Highlights // Why you should read the series! ⚡🔥

5 Reasons Why Red Queen Series is Amazing:

★ Victoria Aveyard is a master of world-building.

★ The action scenes are some of the best I have ever read.

★ A diverse and LGBT set of characters.

★ A love triangle that actually works well.

★ EXCELLENTLY written.

(Maven Calore. Credit: Kieu Dao @ Mykieu02)

A Selection of my Favourite Quotes

RED QUEEN QUOTES

★ “The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”

GLASS SWORD QUOTES

★ “We can’t choose who we love. I wish, more than anything, that we could.”

☆To rise. And rise alone.

★Anyone, anything, can betray anyone. Even your own heart.

KING’S CAGE QUOTES

★Not a god’s chosen, but a god’s cursed.

☆ “To stand in front of a person who is your whole world and be told you are not enough. You are not the choice. You are a shadow to the person who is your sun.”

★ “Those who know what it’s like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light.”

WAR STORM QUOTES

★ I sigh, shaking my head at his blindness. “The last person who loves you isn’t standing in this room. He’s out there. And you burned that bridge to ashes.”

☆She is so stubbornly alive, still burning like a candle fighting against rain.

★ I can’t still be in love with a king, when everything I’m doing is to destroy his throne. Destroy all notions of kings and queens and the kingdoms at the mercy of their will. But the love just won’t go away, and neither will the need.

(Mare Barrow. Credit: Loweana @Loowwww)

RED QUEEN BOOK TRAILER

Check the trailer out, as well as reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, or even mine!

Victoria Aveyard is lovely!

⚡👑🔥

She is also very active on Twitter, she actually liked my tweet promoting my War Storm review!! Her Twitter handle is @VictoriaAveyard.

* * * * * * * * * * MAJOR WAR STORM SPOILERS AHEAD * * * * * * * * * *

My thoughts on the endings for the three main characters…

Maven

His ending will undoubtedly divide fans’ opinions, but for me it was the ending that fitted his character. Obviously there are readers out there that wanted to see a private confrontation between Maven and Cal (me included), but it wasn’t crucial to me. However, judging by some reviews and Twitter reactions, some people did not like the way that Maven’s character was treated at the end of War Storm. Given that many people ‘shipped’ Maven-Mare, they wanted an ending for him that lived up to their love for him. Aveyard’s ending for him seen Maven and Mare come full circle in some regards- they find themselves in the Nortan capital, Archeon, where Mare confronts Maven at Whitefire Palace. When they first meet, it is in the palace, and there are many subsequent events that are meaningful for them both, so by having them come face to face in a climax, it is fitting that Aveyard has chosen a place that means much to them both.

Mare (and Cal)

Since the opening chapters of Red Queen, Mare has demonstrated that she is a stubborn and independent character, so her ending (and Cal’s) came as no surprise to me, and I am thankful that Aveyard didn’t go down the standard route of coupling everyone up like many others have been- looking at you Katniss and Peeta! Despite leading a rebellion and revolution, which comes with immense responsibility and pressure, everyone has to realise that she is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. There is no rush for her to get into a relationship with Cal (which will of course last a lifetime, as is the norm with every fictional bookish relationship), so this perfectly fitting ending was the ideal way to showcase how Mare has matured over 4 books. For so long, Cal has only had eyes for the throne (with a side-eye on Mare), and the end of King’s Cage proved that, and after spending the most part of War Storm intent on reclaiming his rightful entitlement, his belated decision to relinquish his desire to take the Nortan throne, makes it easier for Mare to effectively say “not right now”, for when Cal decides he wants them to be together now that they are on the same side. Mare makes the right choice for herself, in keeping with who she has grown into throughout the series, but the series is left with hope for a Mare-Cal relationship, which we may get to see in a future short story. This separation is meant to heal the fractures that exist within their turbulent relationship.

Thank you, Victoria Aveyard,

The Red Queen series has been one of immense enjoyment. The storylines have been told wonderfully well, and my attention has never wavered throughout the thousands of pages that have spanned the series.

Mare Barrow has been a protagonist that I have got behind, and it has been great to see how she has grown throughout the series, overcoming her various battles, battling her various demons, and falling and struggling with love. Too often I have read a book or series where the romance has been badly constructed, but the way you have created the love triangle was something that I enjoyed- something that rarely happens! My initial shipping of #TeamMaven were quickly overtaken by #TeamCal, and the fact that there were still many fans in both camps is a credit to the way you have written all 3 characters involved.

I’ve already mentioned my appreciation of the well thought out ending for Mare, but it leads on well to my next point of the excellent character development that has occurred in the series. She has become someone who is mature enough to see what she truly believes in, and her every choice is aimed towards that. She is passionate for the Scarlet Guard cause of Red-Silver-Newblood equality, and for the safety of her family. When given tempting choices, she always remains true to herself and her cause- an admirable quality, and one that a true hero must possess.

The story-telling and world-building is EXTRAORDINARY! I think I need a full blown map of the continent containing Norta, Lakelands and Montfort. There aren’t words that can do justice to the way the world is created, the descriptions of buildings, palaces, houses, aircraft, ships, etc, is second to none. I could visualise the landscape so well.

The story-telling? I’ve read the whole series and I’m now doing a thank you post, so it is clear that I loved the story-telling abilities that you possess. I don’t often re-read books, unless it is Harry Potter at Christmastime, but I can definitely see myself coming back to the series again, to experience the enthralling action!

I have already convinced one friend to pick up the series since I finished War Storm, and I will continue to fly the flag of the Red Queen series. I hope that I can visit you on your UK Book Tour, or any other tours you have for future books.

Rise, Red as the Dawn!

Richard | The Humpo Show

Next blog post will be a review of Solo: A Star Wars Story, on Thursday 7th June