Queen Song is about the Singer Queen, Coriane, who came before Elara. She meets Prince Tiberias and develops a friendship and eventually a romance with him. Coriane does not consider herself wise or powerful or beautiful, but Tiberias sees something in her that he loves and needs. When he chooses her as his bride, the people believe that she must have “sung” to him, using her persuasive powers to manipulate the Prince into loving her. But Coriane is not the manipulative kind, and rarely uses her powers on anyone, let alone the Prince. When Tiberias becomes king, and Coriane his queen, Elara uses her own mind powers to get into Coriane’s head, driving her mad. We watch the deterioration happen in her mind as Elara controls her to the point of death.

Steel Scars is parallel to the time frame of Red Queen, but instead of following Mare’s story, we follow Farley’s. We know Farley as the young captain of the Scarlet Guard, the group of Reds that resists the tyranny of the Silvers. This short story shows Farley as she tries to be a strong leader and prove herself to the Scarlet Guard. While she displays confidence and leadership throughout this series, we now see a more vulnerable side to her. I enjoyed seeing more of her relationship with Shade, Mare’s brother. In Steel Scars, Farley and Shade meet, become friends, and fall in love.

I am a fan of Red Queen, and I’m happy that Aveyard expanded on this world a bit more by giving us these two short stories.

Mild spoilers. 

Mare has narrowly escaped the clutches of the newly crowned King Maven. His treason has been carefully masked, portraying his brother, Cal, as the true traitor who murdered their father, with the help of Mare. Both Mare and Cal are on the run with the Scarlet Guard, the resistance group of Reds that defies the Silvers; Mare is a member of the group, Cal a prisoner.

Cal gradually finds himself working with the resistance group he had sought to take down, for now they have a common interest: to kill Maven. Cal proves himself useful, not only as a skilled soldier, but also as a pilot. But there is still division between them, particularly with Mare. Their attraction throughout the book is almost tangible, but their blood continues to separate them.

Mare’s mission now is to find “newbloods,” the Reds like herself, with powers like the Silvers. With the help of Farley (captain of the Scarlet Guard), Shade (her brother), Kilorn (her friend), and Cal, Mare tracks down these newbloods and tries to recruit them before Maven finds and kills them.

The pace of this book was slower than the last book. I liked it, but the series lost momentum from book one to book two.