Hello
happy readers! So I finally finished the
final book in the Red Queen series War Storm by
Victoria Aveyard. Now you may remember
that I went to a signing for this book last month and got to meet so many
amazing people, including Beth Crowley who writes original music based on books
she read and this one for Freysand of ACOMAF is stuck in my head! Anywho at the event Victoria mentioned that
people seemed to be split down the middle about her final book they either love
it or hate it. I was a bit concerned by
that but now having read it I kind of get it.
I took a bit of time to process after finishing before I could sit down
and articulate my thoughts. But here
they are fully digested and ready to share, spoilers for the previous books in
the series. Reviews to previous
books: Red Queen, Glass Sword,
& King’s Cage.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
When we left off
things were not in a happy place. Not
like book two where Mare is taken captive bad but Cal just agreed to marry
Evangeline and basically just broke Mare's heart choosing a crown over
her. So not a happy place. Plus he messed up Evangeline's happiness
which thanks to book three I now want.
But on more important news Cal's decision to fight for the crown has caused
a hidden split with his Red allies as they don't plan to put another Silver in
charge of them again. But first they
must remove the current king and go from there meaning Mare must continue to
work with the boy who broke her heart.
Maven is a force but he is driven by an obsession deeper than any
realize as he and his brother have more in common than they realize. Allies that want to overthrow them. It is all out war involving Silvers and Reds
alike both on the same side and against one another. Who will win?
Who will make it out the other side alive? What will Norta end up?
So
this is a story of split war. I loved
that we got so many new POV's. As I mentioned
I was a bit leery of Evangeline getting a POV in the last book as I hated her
but then I went and grew to like her. I
didn't full on love her like some of my others as she was still kind of a witch
but I understood her so much better. I
even grew to want her to find a way to win, though only if she didn't mess with
any of my others! Which is huge progress
from the first two books. I looked
forward to her story and seeing what was happening. I felt bad for her and the whole love situation
she was in, seriously I almost cried at some parts. It was so messed up. She ended up being one of my favorites of the
series so huge kudos to the author for making that even possible! We also got a new POV in Iris, the Lakelander
princess / Maven's new wife. That was
very interesting to see how things are on her side, we got both the Lakelander perspective
as well as one so close to Maven seeing him with a new outside light. I liked getting to know more about the
Lakelanders as they have been background for the first few books with new
information constantly coming up.
She/they were also a villain different from Maven and seeing the pair
side by side was very interesting.
And
for other new surprising POV's that don't happen much and start late we do get
a couple chapters from Maven himself! I
nearly swerved when the audiobook chapter stated "Maven" as the POV
like what when did this happen??? The
chapters while brief and limited are very enlightening. His mind, warped as it has been from
childhood is a very captivating place to me.
I can understand why the chapters are placed sparingly as too much from
him would have taken away from him.
Small glimpses was a treat and more than enough to see just what has
been hinted at. On the flip side we also
get to see a few chapters from Cal's POV which I enjoyed though as much as I enjoyed
him, I didn't find them as fascinating as Mavens. They didn't offer as much new insight for
me. I understood his reasons well enough
as he is an open type of person who shares and is readable. I already knew his reasons and motivations he
was easier to read. Still it was nice to
have his own thoughts of his mother and brother that was a nice balm to the crazy
going on.
Of
course we have Mare as the main POV. I
have some slightly mixed feelings on her.
I did feel at times she could be a bit wishy washy but she made a choice
and she stuck with it. She never
wavered. She hoped for a difference and
took time for her when possible but she didn't waver in the overall
choice. I respect that. She had some bad choices throughout the books
sure but I think she held firm on the important parts. I was with her in this, even as she struggled
with her broken heart, her PTSD, and more she kept pushing forward. That is impressive no matter what anyone
says. I enjoyed as she got to know more
Newbloods like herself. Knowing she
wasn't the only one was a sweet moment not only in solidarity but in that they
can teach her more of herself. 
There
are so many side characters who really came to life in this story. Some stepped into new lights like
Jullian. We got to see more of
Evangeline's family which again is crazy and Cal's granny. We also got to see more from the Premiere and
the world he lives in and wants to help spread.
The world we want! The time spent
there was beautifully written and impacted so much. And of course General Farley was up front and
center because she has come a long way since we first met her and she has
struggled through so much on her own. I
really wished we had a few chapters from her.
Some of the others we spent so much time with in previous books were
less focused in this one like Cameron and Kilorn to name a few.
Overall
the story was well done for me. There
was action and intrigue as we expect and lots of political espionage happening
in all corners. The character building
and even world building as we tear down one part. It had a lot going for it in this book and
series overall. The end had parts I expected
and parts that shocked me. I was unsure
how I felt at first having finished it just in shock of it all but it makes
sense. It won't be a perfect happily
ever after for anyone there was just a massive war both internal and external
so lots happening there. That can't be
solved or wrapped up in a little bow. It
gave the open ending we needed to believe it was possible. Some relationships were broken but some have
the possibility of rebuilding just like the world and I love that. I love the parallels there. At first I wanted a quick instant fix but
then I realized that wouldn’t have fit with the epic journey we had just
finished. So I am very satisfied with the
ending. Even if I wanted more as soon as
I finished!
Until
next time…
