Introduction
War Storm was written by Victoria Aveyard and published on May 15th, 2018, by Harper Collins publishing company as the fourth and final installment to the Red Queen series. I found this book to be the best of them all, and I would absolutely recommend it to people who are fans of fantasy with a hint of romance. For those who haven’t read this book yet, the Spoiler-Free Thoughts section is safe regarding this one, but events from previous books are mentioned to add context. For those who have completed this series, the Thoughts section is ready for discussion, which can take place in any comment section on the blog or social media.
If you want to explore more of Victoria Aveyard’s work, check out her website https://victoriaaveyard.com/ and follow her on social media @victoriaaveyard.
Plot
The war has come to a boiling point with three kingdoms in play, and everyone has their own agenda to attend to. With lines drawn in the sand, the Scarlet Guard makes one last push for equality between the Reds and Silvers.
Spoiler-Free Thoughts
I loved the immediate pickup and frankly, Mare’s entire character in this book. She stood by her morals and let them guide her decisions, even if it wasn’t necessarily what she wanted. It also forced her to take off the rose-tinted glasses she wore whenever looking at Cal, and watching her verbally spar with him was so entertaining. She still cares about him, loves him even, but they can’t be together unless they bridge the gap between them. As for Maven, his mother may have made him a villain, but those who truly loved him also humanized him, casting many shades of gray. All things considered, I was unsurprised by the end of his story.
I greatly enjoyed seeing Evangeline, Mare, and Cal all together in Scarlet Guard territory, each with their own agenda and playing their own series of mind games. Three allied kingdoms united only by a common goal. Evangeline herself was presented with a difficult choice; her past or her future, and who - if anyone - will follow her to whatever life she chooses.
Our third set of eyes put us right into the thick of not only Maven’s kingdom, but the Lakelanders’. I was hoping we would see more of Iris, and here she is. The Lakelander family bonds struck me as stronger than the others we’ve been shown, and their belief in gods was interesting as they are the only kingdom we’re shown with such beliefs. It never hurts to see each character through another new set of eyes too, especially Maven. While she held no affection for him, she also pitied him for what his mother made him into.
What I was not expecting was a fourth perspective to be introduced halfway through the book, and even more shocking was that it was Maven’s. Unsurprisingly, his mother haunts him, and her poison keeps him from feeling love or true fear, even though he understands the games being played against him and is brilliantly scheming against it. For all of his efforts, he can’t stand to just give up, even when it seems the war has been lost. His obsession with Mare runs as deep as ever, and I knew early on that at the end of the day this war was between the two of them, each representing a side, and he will always choose self preservation above all else.
The fifth and final surprise perspective was Cal’s. Just as in the first book, we can see that he truly does have a good heart, but that continues to be overtaken by the way he was raised. Just as Maven will do anything to see his efforts bear fruit, Cal cannot stand to see his father’s legacy undone. He wants to help, but he doesn’t have the Scarlet Guard’s willingness to upset the balance of things to make real change. He’s in a difficult position, and I’m grateful to Julian for helping him to see a way through it.
The character definition was a standout to me in this book, and it served the already interesting plot very well. For those reasons, I give this book a 9.5/10.
Thoughts
I absolutely think Mare made the right choice in leaving Cal, and I really enjoyed the avenue it opened up for her work with Farley. The two of them have come a long way in their relationship. Honestly, it removed that distraction too, so she could continue playing mind games with Evangeline and figuring out her relationships with the other Silvers. They clearly still care about her - at least Cal and Julian do - but they have chosen their sides. I do still wish she would take advice from Julian, as he is nothing but not wise and had shown himself to be trustworthy, but I understand her hesitance. I think that Mare and Cal’s decision to heal separately from one another was the right one. My personal headcanon is that they eventually find their way back to one another once Maven’s death doesn’t hang so heavy over their heads. Despite myself, I did like Jon as a character. I don’t blame him for the decisions he made, traitorous though they may have been, but I just found it hard to believe that he set everything of the past four books into motion on his own.
Evangeline’s character was made more clear in this installment. She doesn’t shame emotion, in fact she feels things very deeply, but she does shame the outward expression of emotion. She sees it as a weakness, and she was raised to value and respect strength, brutality, and loyalty. Her visit to Montfort was her first time seeing equality, happiness, and the freedom of choice offered to everyone. It was an eye opening experience for her, and her looming decision followed her for the rest of the book. In the end, when presented with a road back and a road ahead, she chose both.
Or course Iris’ plan would be to betray Maven, and of course he’s going to make that exceedingly difficult for her to do. As far as the war goes, I wasn’t surprised to see that Maven won Piedmont. They had the numbers and the element of surprise, and Mare can’t win every battle, but it’s interesting to see an enemy win in their own perspective. When the betrayal did come around, Maven played his cards beautifully, though of course that didn’t save him in the end. It did get the Lakelanders to retreat, albeit suddenly, which I understand, but I was expecting something less mundane than what we got from them.
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