02 Jun Book Review: War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Victoria Aveyard wraps up her Red Queen series with War Storm, a dense and emotionally charged finale that plunges readers into a world of political intrigue, shifting alliances, and the personal costs of war. This final installment pulls no punches—it’s longer, more complicated, and more politically saturated than its predecessors, and for better or worse, it asks the reader to go all in.

The Red Queen Series (main series)

• Red Queen (2015)
• Glass Sword (2016)
• King’s Cage (2017)
• War Storm (2018)
• Broken Throne (2019)

What’s it about?

War Storm begins in the immediate fallout of King’s Cage. Cal has made his choice: he will take the throne of Norta, rejecting Mare’s call for a republic in favor of restoring the Silver monarchy—with himself as king. Mare is shattered, not just emotionally but politically. She had hoped Cal’s love for her and for justice might outweigh his royal instincts, but instead, she finds herself once again on the opposite side of a political line. Their romantic connection dissolves under the weight of diverging ideologies.

The book opens with Mare joining the Scarlet Guard and Montfort—the free nation of Reds and newbloods—as they solidify their alliance. The Scarlet Guard’s leader, Davidson, is calculating and steady, and he becomes an important contrast to Cal’s wavering ideals. While Mare still cares for Cal, her loyalty now lies with the revolution. She is done waiting for others to change the world. She’s ready to burn the old systems down.

Maven, meanwhile, continues to descend further into emotional instability. Haunted by the absence of Elara’s mind control and desperate for Mare’s approval even as he schemes against her, Maven becomes more unpredictable. His arc is both tragic and terrifying—he’s a villain forged by the manipulation of others, but he still makes his own monstrous choices. As Norta spirals into civil war, Maven forges an uneasy alliance with the Lakelands through a political marriage to Queen Iris.

Iris herself becomes a central player in this final book. Through her POV chapters, we see a queen who is not just a pawn in her father’s game but a deeply strategic actor with her own agenda. The Lakelands aren’t merely supporting Maven—they have ambitions of their own, and Iris is the bridge between cold calculation and personal loyalty to her drowned god and people.

The war unfolds across regions: Norta, Piedmont, the Lakelands, and Montfort all embroiled in brutal, shifting battle lines. Aveyard takes her time detailing the political and military strategies that lead up to each major conflict. These aren’t quick battles—they’re sieges, betrayals, infiltration missions. There’s an intense, extended sequence at Harbor Bay, where the Scarlet Guard attempts to overthrow Maven’s control, and another where Cal, now crowned king, must defend his claim from enemies on all sides, even as his own soldiers question his motives.

Throughout all this, Evangeline has one of the most compelling arcs in the book. Her loyalty to her family, particularly her cruel father Volo, has always been transactional. Now, as she sees what continuing down this path will cost her—freedom, Elane, her future—she begins to turn. Her chapters offer a rare Silver perspective that isn’t soaked in power-lust but in weariness and self-preservation. Her eventual defection is one of the most emotionally satisfying beats in the book.

Mare’s personal journey continues alongside the war. She becomes a leader not just in battle but in ideology. Gone is the girl who was unsure of her voice. In her place is a strategist, a negotiator, and a symbol of revolution. She carries the weight of every death she’s witnessed, every choice she’s made, and ultimately understands that peace will never be clean or easy.

The final act builds toward a full-scale confrontation between Cal and Maven, not just as rival kings but as broken brothers. Their last fight is intimate and brutal—two men shaped by the same legacy, trying to destroy each other and themselves. Mare, present for the final showdown, is forced to reckon with the complicated, twisted love she once felt for Maven, and the unresolved wounds between her and Cal.

The conclusion isn’t a neat bow. There are sacrifices. There are systems left unbroken, and others still in their infancy. Norta doesn’t become a utopia overnight, and Mare doesn’t get her happily-ever-after. But there is a beginning—a shaky but real chance at a new future, one that Mare and others like her can build from the ashes.

What This Chick Thinks

Character Depth Across the Board

Mare was never a flat protagonist, but War Storm gives her a truly satisfying arc. She’s angry, principled, worn out, and real. Cal’s internal tug-of-war between the crown and the cause makes him more frustrating than romantic this time around, but that feels intentional—and appropriate. Evangeline, honestly, almost steals the show. Her POV brings in that high-Silver world of tradition and ambition but filters it through someone deeply aware of its poison. Iris’s chapters are politically sharp and emotionally cold in a way that works beautifully.

Big Themes and Gritty Politics

This book is not about a single battle—it’s about systems. Aveyard makes you watch every council meeting, every debate about alliances, every moral compromise. It’s slower and more strategic, but it never feels unnecessary. If the earlier books were about power being misused, this one is about how incredibly hard it is to replace the old system with something better.

Not Quite a Love Story

This isn’t a romance book, even though the relationships matter. Mare and Cal’s tension runs deep, but their ideological divide remains mostly unresolved. The ending isn’t swoony—it’s bittersweet. And that made me like it more. It doesn’t force a fairytale onto a war story.

Final Thoughts

War Storm is a long, deliberate, emotionally layered conclusion to a series that started off flashy and YA-fantasy-light but evolved into something much grittier. It doesn’t tie everything up, and it doesn’t try to. What it does is honor the growth of its characters and ask readers to think harder about what freedom really means. It’s not always easy to read, but it feels right.

Rating: 8/10

Try it if you like:

• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – A tale of resistance and resilience set in a brutal empire.
• The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski – A story of strategic warfare and forbidden love between captor and captive.
• The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – A dense, political dystopia led by a powerful young woman battling systems far bigger than herself.