Mare Barrow goes through her biggest character development yet. Mare is the one that knows him best and they use each other to survive a royal cage that, paradoxically, suffocates them both. But he is his mother's son, after all, and the legacy leaves behind both scars and advantages. He astounds through his cunningness and cleverness, many underestimating him. His mind is perpetually assaulted by paranoia and loneliness, continuously eating at his ghost of a soul. It's honestly so sad to watch his inability to change and to love normally. Maven's obsession with Mare is another side-effect. The what ifs of what he could have become without Elara's interference are a stark reminder that monsters are made, not born. Maven is a victim and you cannot help but feel pity for him.

He is a four-geared system that runs on hate, anger, fear and twisted love. What brought me emotionally to my knees was not the revelation that he really is a pawn through and through, even after his mother's death, but that he is aware of it and he accepts his damned fate, molding to the villain persona by his own accord. I stopped comparing Maven and The Darkling a long time ago and rightfully so - whereas with The Darkling I always felt an inkling of hope for redemption, with Maven there is only the clinical dissecting of his behavior and attitudes that give no room for such innocent naivety. Glass Sword ended with a jaw-dropping twist that meant the focus in this continuation will transfer to the dynamic between Mare and Maven. Organized chaos that was delicious to watch unfold. No longer a hide and seek playground, but a chessboard where powerful masterminds control kings and queens and princes and princesses and many, many pawns to fight for the ultimate trophy - the throne of Norta. If Red Queen was a game of charade and Glass Sword was a game changer, then King's Cage is a reincarnation of the two, manipulation and war and survival and politics woven into its essence, but on a whole other level. “Somewhere in the distance, somewhere in my bones, thunder rolls.”

Glass sword series