Author: Victoria Aveyard
Series: Red Queen #2
Genres: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: (e)ARC
Pages: 448
Publication: February 9th, 2016
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SYNOPSIS: The thrilling second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen trilogy follows Mare Barrow on her mission to defeat the traitorous Maven.
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness of her own heart.
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR RED QUEEN!
HANNAHCASSIE'S REVIEW
I really loved the Red Queen but I read it before I started reading a lot of YA so my exceptions changed very much since then.
THE WORLD: So in the first book the wold was very much fantasy world with people who have silver blood having powers and people with red blood just being usual servants. Now in this book this whole world took another turn and became just another dystopian world. I was really loving this book being fantasy but if the author changes it into a dystopian then I will treat with dystopian expectations. And trust me, they failed. I had no orientation where in the world action was taking place and the worst was by the borders because it was too much action and not enough explanation.
CHARACTERS: The main character Mare was rather likable in the Red Queen but in this book she becomes a whining monster. I mean honestly, I do not see the difference between her and Maven anymore. Oh no wait, Maven does not whine so much. Like seriously, half the book is Mare whining, humiliating others or just pure killing for fun. I now officially hate Mare. I get that Red Queen was a lot like Shadow and Bone and it continues copying it but seriously where Alina in Shadow and Bone is pure hearted and does not even kill the ones that killing her, Mare on the other hand kills everybody for sport. Cal is very good called by other characters...he is Mare's puppy. I know we all loved Cal in book one but in this book he is completely lost as a character and now is an item for Mare. Kilorn on the other hand I pity, he tries to help Mare as much as he can even tho he has no powers and you know what Mare says?
LOVE: Oh this was very funny, so because 99% of the book was Mare whining or saying how much better she is than others the love her basically was written in one sentence "from then on she always slept in his bedchamber"...I was like what when did this happened???
"Who is he to question my orders? He's no one. A fish boy with only good luck and my foolishness to protect him. Not like Shade, a teleporter, a newblood, a great man."And it is not just Kilorn that Mare thinks this way off. She is Mare Barrow, she is the Red Queen is basically written in every page. Disgusting character if you asked me.
LOVE: Oh this was very funny, so because 99% of the book was Mare whining or saying how much better she is than others the love her basically was written in one sentence "from then on she always slept in his bedchamber"...I was like what when did this happened???
PLUS: I like new powers but that was about all that I liked.
MINUS: The whole book was one big minus for me. I don't even know if I am going to continue with the series. It was not just second book syndrome, it was purely bad.
MINUS II: Where did good old dialogues go? This book is one big chunk of text about Mare feelings with occasional line of dialogue. What happened seriously?
OVERALL: 1.5 stars but yeah let's make it prettier and make it into 2.
MINUS: The whole book was one big minus for me. I don't even know if I am going to continue with the series. It was not just second book syndrome, it was purely bad.
MINUS II: Where did good old dialogues go? This book is one big chunk of text about Mare feelings with occasional line of dialogue. What happened seriously?
OVERALL: 1.5 stars but yeah let's make it prettier and make it into 2.
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LAURA'S REVIEW
After loving Red Queen I was really looking forward to it and my expectations were really high. I was expecting action, plot-twists, romance, etc and well... I got some of those. Some.
THE WORLD: We start right where Red Queen ended. However, in this book we get to see so many new places while Cal and Mare are with the Scarlet Guard. So many I don't even remember the names. Here is a map, I think you should have it near you while you read the book so that you can orient yourself:
CHARACTERS: As in the previous book we have the same characters: Mare, Cal, Farley, Shade, Kilorn, and Maven. Just their dynamics are shifted as Glass Sword focuses on Mare and Cal with the Scarlet Guard so obviously they share more time in the book, the least mentioned was Elara and Maven... they barely appear sporadically every now and then. We also get to know a lot of "new" Reds, you know with powers and stuff, and holy there are some interesting powers!
LOVE: This part is very confusing and kinda spoiler-ish. Mare is just being a total brat. It's not fair to Cal to be honest, he might have been raised to be a strong king and all that jazz but he has a huge heart. Mare, pull yourself together, don't go breaking his heart you idiot. And Mare, honey, get over freaking Maven. He's evil. End of story.
PLUS: Typical "second book syndrome". The very first chapters were interesting and the very last chapters were interesting as well but in the middle not so much... anyway I liked how it gave more protagonism to secondary characters like Farley and Shade. Honestly, they were more interesting than Mare partly because Mare is completely lost and bitching around all the time... towards the end she seems to find herself a bit more though. Another positive character was Cal. Now, he knows how to deal with his pain and he does it in a selfless way. He kept his cool and was a sweetheart when sometimes the other person didn't even deserve it... which made him vulnerable but yeah, I'll take his character as positive otherwise there wouldn't be pluses.
Also a positive thing was the ending! Yay and nay at the same time because it's a bit bittersweet but it brings emotions out of you. Omg the end...
Also a positive thing was the ending! Yay and nay at the same time because it's a bit bittersweet but it brings emotions out of you. Omg the end...
MINUS: As much as it pains me to say this because I loved Red Queen. This book is kind of forgettable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it but it focused a lot on war and tactics and recruiting new Reds... which might be absolutely necessary for the next books but it was just boring sometimes + Mare seriously got on my nerves. The characters actually have development, some for the better and some for the worse, but I couldn't connect with any of them! (Cal might be the exception) The story didn't make me feel anything.
OVERALL: Hmm. I give it 3.5 stars because I enjoyed it anyway despite the minuses (thus, by my own rules it bumps up to 4. We really need half-stars!). It was okay but not outstanding and half of me has hopes that the next book will be A game again. We've seen the "second book syndrome" a lot so I guess I just have to wait and read the 3rd book when it comes out.
What do you guys think about GLASS SWORD?
