Glass Sword (Red Queen, 2)

Oh this book. I feel like that about sums up my feelings, but I guess I’ll explain a little more for those who haven’t read it yet. Glass Sword picks up right where Red Queen left off. And I mean right where it left off. This immediately got me back into the headspace I needed in order to remember what happened in the first book. Plus, it really helped that there was a ton of action right off the bat. Gotta love me some superpowered people doing superpowered-people things. The plot of this book was just as compelling as the first book except for a few small areas that I found to either drag on or just simply not go the way I wanted them to. I won’t explain further because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but there was some slow parts towards the middle-endish of the book. It was nothing that would ever make me want to put the book down, it was just a little whiny and repetitive. I understand Mare has a lot on her plate, but I think her inner monologue got in the way a bit in a few scenes. Despite this small complaint, Mare’s character did grow a lot throughout this book. She went from a scared girl running for her life to someone who is the complete opposite of that. However, I wasn’t sure I liked her character development towards the very end of the book. I guess I’ll know for sure by the time the sequel comes out, but for right now, I’m on the fence. As for my main squeeze Cal, he actually became a very fleshed out character and not simply “the love interest” within these pages. Yes, some of his character’s motivations remain a mystery, but for the most part, readers get to see an in-depth side to someone who was just an attractive enigma before. I love him! Err… it. I love it. Even though sometimes I disagreed with his decisions and favored Mare’s, or vice versa, I loved witnessing their arguments because each had good points. No one in this series has all of the correct answers and I think that’s what makes the story so compelling. I think some of the side characters like Shade, Farley, and Mare’s family, really helped bring this idea home. There was also more technology and more powers in Glass Sword which helped shape the world-building aspect. I did find it odd however, that some of the newer superpowered people didn’t know how to use their powers when they’d lived with them their whole lives. That seems like a minor plot hole to me… And also, that ending! I really don’t know how I feel about Mare’s situation at the very last page of the book. It kind of weirded me out. Hopefully that situation wraps up quickly in book #3. Also, just in case you didn’t see my wrap-up post from Aveyard’s signing event, book #3 is going to have dual POVs! I’m conflicted over this because I suspect Cal’s POV will be added. I really don’t want this to be like Allegiant’s Four, however, I’m excited to potentially see into Cal’s brain and know his feelings for Mare, if he is the new POV. All in all, this book is an action-packed, mind-numbingly good addition to a series I can’t wait to finish. Let’s just hope I make it to 2017 before I die of anticipation. 4.5/5 stars *Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Actual rating 4.5 stars. It wasn’t long after the release date that I began reading this follow up to Victoria Aveyards debut, and it had some big shoes to fill with all the hype surrounding this release; but did it meet my expectations? ‘Glass Sword’ has definitely surpassed ‘Red Queen’ in my opinion. More complexity. More characters. More supernatural. More action and character development. It impressed me on so many levels. Picking up the story not long after where ‘Red Queen’ concluded our protagonist, Mare and her (kind of) beau, Cal’s relationship for most of the novel was…. I want to say distracting… because of the nuances of their history and situation. And though it made good reading I’m not sure if I was completely sold on the pairing until after half way. Mare is not the type of girl who needs a man. And Cal certainly does not see her as a damsel in distress. They are warriors with equal gifts to use in their arsenal. A great team for the rebellion. There is distaste and attraction equally present for Mare, she is battling with what she thinks of Cal. War is a difficult time to form romance, it shows our nature at its ugliest and most basic. Cameron was a great addition to the cast – a realistic portrayal of a tween and not quite an antagonist. I really appreciated the dynamic he brought to the relationships and it was relieving to read a story which strains many of the typical tropes of characters in YA. Maven has transformed into someone else entirely and immerses himself fully into the role of the antagonist. This is where I was a little disappointed: I wanted to see some humanity or inner struggle with Maven. All the other characters were written so beautifully, where Maven tended towards a stereotype. Though the narrative style – easy to read – had occasional moments where a sentence felt clunky, and had me rereading the line several times to understand what was being conveyed. ‘Glass Sword’ is definitely high on my recommendations list and is helping me get into a fantasy mood after a past year heavy the contemporary titles. Plenty of surprises. Great character development. The ending was bloody brilliant! Bring on Red Queen #3 – no title yet and just an expected publication date as somewhere in 2017 – Argh! I’ll just have to fill up my time with some other great series :)

This is a great installment for a book series. Glass Sword really knocks it out of the park. It's a build up of war, internal and external, throwing punches, and getting messy with emotions. Now that all the set-up stuff is over with, this second book gets right into the thick of the plot, expanding upon the story arc introduced in the end of the last book, wherein Mare resolves to rescue the redbloods with silver abilities aka "newbloods" and continue working on the mission of the Scarlet Guard: overthrow the Silver hierarchy and make a change for the better for the reds. But this novel doesn't shy away from getting complex. War is complex, social movements are complex. There is sacrifice, there are people whose perspectives will never align with yours, there are things that haunt us, things that twist us, reasons to turn your back on people you love... The story has definitely shown an expansion of what we saw in Red Queen. Things seemed so direct in that book, but now the waters are murky. We see the worst in our characters, we see their true natures, we get met with obstacles and things that make the reader feel conflicted about their own stances if they'd be in this situation, what choices they would make. It's actually a really enjoyable read because the author wasn't afraid to make events or characters bad and messy and horrible. It feels realistic that there's a balance of things; there are victories, but oh, are there losses too. In fact, while this book was really great, it's also the kind of book I probably won't be rereading anytime soon (like, I'll probably reread it when book #4 comes out and then I'm not picking it up again for a while) because it appeals in a way that's heavy emotionally and makes it hard to just pick it up and experience it again. It doesn't have enough feel-good moments to make the heaviness bearable again and again. I enjoyed the writing, the character development, the plot projection... I'm excited for the next book! I've always been a sucker for obsessive villains who become fixated on a single person, so it'll be interesting to see how things unfold after that ending. Again, the romance wasn't very heavy, but I think those moments of connection between Cal and Mare were worthwhile, showing something very human in both of them. But like the last one, this book isn't nearly as concerned with romance as it is with the major plots. It's just a small touch here and there. I can't really pick any faults from it. I read it in one sitting and loved every minute. I recommend picking up the series! Though if you've avoided it this long, wait until 2018 when the last book it out since I'm sure book #3 will leave on a hell of an ending too.

Rating: 5 Stars So it has been some time since I read Red Queen. I dove right in. Mare and Cal are on the run with the Red Guard but being a silver, Cal is not treated with the best care. Mare is a red with silver abilities, the lightning girl. She thought she was an anomaly but finds there are others like her, new bloods. The king is dead at Cal’s hand. His hand forced by the Queen, using her ability against him to dispute him and put her traitors son Maven on the throne. He is not the man either of them thought him to be, just a puppet playing the part that would make them both care for him. Now Mare must fight but the cost is high and all of the treachery and betrayal have taken their toll and changed her. The action and intrigue of this series picks up at the first page and doesn't let you down. There is so much happening from escaping without dying and oh yeah convincing the people you're with Cal isn't just an evil silver but an ally. I loved throughout the book there is always more than one thing happening. The constant struggle between the reds and silvers and now new bloods, never knowing where one stands as we are constantly reminded that anyone can betray you at any time. Oh and the political issues of being on the run as Maven takes over as king. It's one hit after another and we just keep rolling with the momentum never slowing down. The pacing of the book keeps it moving along for sure. Still there is lots of character development with all out characters. There is no clear right and wrong anymore everything seems to be shades of grey. Mare, everyone really but her especially, has to deal with so much. Blaming herself. Wanting to save people like her, save everyone and fix the world into something better. She wasn't trained to be a leader, she never wanted to be one but despite everything people keep looking to her to lead. Watching her struggle with all of her issues throughout the book was grounding. There was one part in which case I was so glad I was parked when it happened because I just stared at my car display in shock. You go through the emotional ringer with these characters that's for sure. “If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.” One of my favorite parts was getting to meet all the new characters. Some good and some bad. I especially enjoyed our new bloods and learning all their new powers as some were so much fun to imagine. I enjoyed the difficult position each one was in and how real everything felt. Not everyone is saved all the time. This is a war and they are rebels and that means they are the underdog. Farley was by far a favorite for me, the accent the narrator did for her was spot on as well, I loved how she could be surrounded by people with special abilities and be severely out matched but still hold her own with her tricks and skills. There is some small pieces between Mare and Cal but given everything that has happened it is very small and sedate. They both are struggling with Maven. Yes he is a monster. He has done and continues to do horrible things to people. Still that is not the Maven they knew and loved and even knowing that their Maven was "real" is still a hard thing to reconcile with the monster that is out to get you. I love that they both are struggling with that and their places in this new war. They both have beliefs and hard wired instincts they have to work on with everything flipped around. I thought the reactions to it all was rather true to the characters and I enjoyed it. Overall I really enjoyed this story and am glad I don't have to wait long to start the next book and then even less time for the final book to come out. As much as I want to dive right in given that ending…and yes that ending hurt me…I also want to be fresh for the final book to come out. And I have a few other books I have to get to this month! I am caught up in this story and even waiting close to 2 years between reading without any catch up I fell right back into things with no problem because the author wrote such a unique and interesting world it was transfixed in my head!

I'd like to preface this review by saying that I truly loved Red Queen. I remember it being practically impossible to put down and the ending was wonderfully taunting. When I sat down to read Glass Sword, I had high expectations. Those expectations, sadly, were dashed around the book's climax. The first thing I would like to mention is that Glass Sword feels like a shell of a book when compared to Red Queen. There are many things that might contribute to this but the most pertinent problem I have is Mare herself. Mare was an enjoyable character in the first book. Her character more or less deteriorates in Glass Sword, which is really unfortunate. She sticks herself in a black hole of self pity and stays there. The entire book. I let my criticism of that slide for the first few chapters, hoping that Mare would eventually snap out of whatever strange self-absorbed funk she was in. Problem is, Mare never does escape the black hole. I felt sorry for her to begin with, before she started lashing out at characters in unreasonable ways. She separates herself from people because she can't trust anyone. The companions she meets, however clearly show her that they can— and should— be trusted. Mare's behavior toward Cal and Kilorn is especially hostile. (Which is the worst part, considering the two guys have always got her back) At some point I stopped sympathizing with her completely. Even sadder, Mare is aware of what she has become, and still she makes no effort to change herself. She is stuck pitying herself the entire book. The clutter of inner monologues does not do any justice to her already self-absorbed voice. Plot-wise the book feels stretched thin. Aveyard attempts to cover a good amount of ground in this book with Mare's search for "newbloods". The search takes them to many places. My general consensus is that there was an unfortunate problem of quantity > quality when it came to locations. While Aveyard does a good job of portraying her different locations and setting her scenes when she has them, the sheer clutter of so many places, especially in summary, makes the world feel oddly plain. Even when our ragtag team of heroes stays in a location long enough to merit a scene, it is never long enough to establish a comfortable sense of setting. Other than the book's "home base" no place is really fleshed out. This goes for the characters as well. Characters pop up as spontaneously as locations and most of them are given descriptions in the form of summary. We get no quirks, no traits other than what their abilities are, and this severely lessens the impact that these characters have when they are thrown into dangerous situations. The pacing of the book felt off. It started on a climax, then went into a plot slump as Aveyard went about setting up the pieces that would come into play for the climax of her novel. It all feels like some epic build up of pieces on a chessboard, but by the time the climax hits, most of the book's stamina is lost. To make matters worse, the climax was not mildly disappointing. It was VERY disappointing. Everything about it felt rushed and halfhearted. Cardboard character cutouts suffered without me truly caring because I had already forgotten who they were. Important death scenes were skimmed, not even deigned to be important enough for a full scene. It felt like a mad rush to the finish line and by the time I was there, I was burnt out for the wrong reasons. That being said, I cannot give Glass Sword anything less than a three star because I was still compelled to finish the book. For all of my criticisms of the novel, the second installment still manages to keep the intrigue of its initial concept. Glass Sword pales in comparison to Red Queen and it certainly doesn't live up to my expectations— but it was still an enjoyable read. Even if I found myself often disagreeing with Mare and wringing my hands at her inner monologues, I found myself sympathizing and appreciating other characters. Cal and Kilorn both had interesting character arcs. Unlike Mare, they actually CHANGE. Unfortunately outside of the two boys many of the other characters still read rather plainly. Shade had potential, as did the rest of Mare's family, but that potential is quickly thwarted by Mare herself when she refuses to get close to anyone. Her suspicions, which encompass even her brother, are so suffocating that they stop her from getting to KNOW ANYONE. The ending to Glass Sword, the final sprint across the finish line, is another haphazard dash. I have incredibly mixed feelings about the cliffhanger ending but am just curious enough that I know I will inevitably pick up the third book. I am hoping that the drastic change at the end of the book forces Mare to change yet again, hopefully for the better this time. And I hope that this time, we see more scene work and less summary, especially for our villain. My favorite villains are the ones that can be sympathized with, but I find myself sympathizing with Maven not because of his circumstances but because he really gets no screen time. (Poor guy was written mostly in summary) Chances are I might be rooting for Maven come the next book, since he certainly seems to have more potential as a character than Mare right now. I would like nothing more than to be proven wrong come the next installment!

This book, in my opinion, is MUCH better as a whole compared to Red Queen. Victoria's writing style is much more comprehensive with less missing gaps in expanding characters and scenery description (although she still needs work in this area). It appears to me that the editors wanted to stretch this idea out over 4 books rather than making it a 2 book series by condensing books 1 and 2 and books 3 and 4. If you pay close attention, her style of writing changes near the end of Red Queen and matches the majority of Glass Sword up until the last chapter. Indicating to me at least, that these were once joined but separated by her editor, which wasn't a good call in my opinion. The "ending on a cliff hanger" isn't really achieved in this book with the epilogue ruining my want to read the next one. Epilogues are not always needed! Take a page out of Martin's book and make the reader hate you and beg for more. Make us really feel that life isn't fair, especially when you end your last chapter with a much better cliffhanger. There's so much more I'd like to say just about the writing and portrayal of the characters in this series in general. But I don't want to ruin everything for everyone by including bits of the story here since the series this far has been entertaining to read. But what I will say is more for the author than th reader. The reader gets the fact that you want to make a more up to date female heroine that is complicated and flawed in order to make her more relatable but it's hard to relate when her thoughts are written in a way that isn't believable. Hormones should really play more into what Mare does. Sometimes what she thinks or chooses to do doesn't make sense and the jumpy transitions between her thoughts and actions doesn't help either. Connecting stream of consciousness and what she sees and what her surroundings are like would greatly help the story and the reader. More description of everything is really needed in this series. It really kills everything for me. More side character development and descriptions of the world around the characters are desperately needed. The fact that Aveyard was writing screen plays before shows in her writing, especially when it comes to the lack of imagry, but it's no excuse to have jolty segues and poor imagery. Check out the Wind Singer series if you want a very good story written masterfully by the screen writer Nicholson. Aveyard should really take some notes from him because everything he does in that series is the result of mastering both crafts.

A riveting sequel! Glass Sword is a fantastic, heart pounding sequel with plenty of action, heartbreak and betrayal. Picking up right where Red Queen left off, Glass Sword thrust readers right back into the heart of the action, and the shock of betrayal both Mare and Cal share. With it's slower pace storyline, which is perfect for this book, Aveyard makes it incredibly easy to connect with the characters, and feel the range of the emotions they do. This book doesn't lack suspense, danger, and the constantly wondering of who's side certain characters are on. I loved the not knowing, though once motives are revealed, everything makes sense. I really liked the character journey Mare goes on. She's strong, ruthless, but not without compassion. The recent events and all that's going on in this book have changed her. She's broken, and yet more determined than ever to stop the King, Maven. His betrayal is still hard to swallow. Thankfully for Mare, she's got her brother, Cal, and her close friends to help her in her mission to save those just like her. Together, they can pose a united front and take down the King, though it won't be easy. In the end, it will Mare who will have to stand alone in a sense, in this fight against the King. I admire her willingness to be self sacrificing and save those she loves. This sequel was awesome. It contains the character journey I had excepted it would, though not to the gut wrenching degree I got. Victoria Aveyard, what have you done to me!?! This book is one heck of an emotional roller coaster, and I couldn't stop reading it until I finished the book. There are so many new challenges that the characters face, shocking plot twists, new characters, and plenty of heart pounding moments that either broke my heart or had me swooning. This book is a package of raw emotion, and what Aveyard does with Mare's story is awesome! There's so much more to her journey that I first thought there would be. I love the friendships, and romance in this story. With all that's happening, it brings light and hope to an otherwise darkened world. Can we just talk about the betrayals for a moment. I love that it was really hard to figure out who could be trusted. When it came down to it, no really could. That is part of what made this story so addicting. I had to know who was playing who, and what was really going on. Mare's brother's advice was right, "Trust no one." Speaking of characters, I have to hand it to Maven. I have completely underestimated his character. His character is something else entirely. His quest to break Mare, and his brother is one that is definitely part of the danger , and suspense of this book. I'm just not sure if what he's doing is out of spite, passion or vengeance. Maybe it's all three. What an amazing sequel! There's no shortage of awesome in this book! It's everything I had hoped it would be. Thank you Aveyard for breaking my heart, and making me wait another year to find out what's going to happen next! I need the next book! This sequel is definitely worth picking up!

OMG, this book is just amazing!! It took me a while to finally get to it after it came out even though we purchased it right after it was released. It was just sitting on my shelf until I finally decided to pick it up and read it. So I got Red Queen when it first came out and read it right away - you can read my Red Queen review here - so when Glass Sword came out I immediately re-read Red Queen but held off to read Glass Sword until a couple days ago I was like you know what I'm going to just read this baby right now. I finished it in 2 days and felt so many emotions at once that it put me into a book slump. I felt that no other book will ever be as good as this one. Okay now on to the actual review! I absolutely loved this book, it was definitely better that the first book. I loved the character development of Mare throughout the book. To me, the book was about Mare finding out who she can trust and who was really there for her because we all know that the ending of the first book left Mare thinking she can't trust anyone, not even herself. So for Mare not being able to trust anyone or even herself caused her to make bad decisions throughout the book and it without a doubt has many consequences. Now Cal in this book had me on the edge of my seat because we don't really get a solid answer from him. For example, is he with the Scarlet Guard or with the Silver's. I was just scared that at some point in the book Cal was going to betray Mare and the Scarlet Guard, it made me extremely anxious! Now on to Maven. Maven is just an odd character for me in this book. In the first book I absolutely loved him but in this one, he kept giving me mixed feelings. During some points in the book he seemed like he was being controlled by Queen Elara and still wanted Mare but then other times he was just downright cruel to her and made me a little uneasy about his character. So in Glass Sword, you are introduced to a couple new characters who are known as "Newbloods" which you will find out about that when you read Glass Sword. One of my favorite Newbloods would definitely have to be Cameron. I love Cameron so much! Oh and we can't forget about Shade and Farley! I quickly had an attachment with Shade in this book because in the first one we spent almost the whole entire book thinking he was dead and at the end found out he was alive so I had a quick attachment with his character. I also love how gentle and brotherly he is with Mare it's just so cute and also how much he worries about her and always checks in to see if she's safe or doing fine. He was indeed one of my new favorite characters. Lastly, we have Captain Farley! Farley has always been one of my favorites because of her strong character and how independent she is. In this book, she definitely shows more of her independence and lack of dependence on others. She is just a powerful and fierce character and I love her. I mostly love every single one of these characters in the series! To find out about where Mare's story goes next be sure to read Glass Sword!! Victoria Aveyard did an amazing job with the character development in the second book. She brought the characters more to life to the point where I can envision them. I can't wait to receive the ARC (I was the winner at the b-fest teen festival so I get to receive ARC's for a year!) to King's Cage which will be the third installment of the series.