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4.5 stars! This review will contain no spoilers for Glass Sword, but if you have not read book one, there will be spoilers for Red Queen!
Summary:
Glass Sword is the second book in the Red Queen trilogy by Victoria Aveyard. Mare is a mutation. She is Red and Silver and stronger than both. She bleeds like a commoner, but has an amazing ability to control lightening like a silver. And she just escaped death once again. The Scarlet Guard had saved her and they are taking her and Cal to safety, hopefully. All she can think about is overthrowing the King that wants to claim she’s a fake. Mare and Maven both know that she’s very much real and there are others. While trying to avoid the grasp of King Maven, Mare attempts to find those like her to keep them safe, to train them, to make an army of Reds to take down the Silver elite. Mare soon finds herself starting to change as she follows this path. She may soon become exactly like the person she is trying to bring down.
Thoughts:
4.5 stars! My heart has been shattered once again by an amazing novel. My eyes are rimmed red as I write this review fresh from finishing the the book. Glass Sword was a wild ride of emotions and death and betrayals (because what is a Red Queen book without betrayals). This sequel took a much darker turn in writing than I expected, but it was still the wonderful, fast-paced, suspenseful work of Victoria Aveyard that I've come to enjoy. Mare herself takes a darker turn and she grows so much and is still continuing to change in this trilogy. Cal as well, and so many other characters. I've learned not to trust my heart when reading these books because you really cannot predict what will happen next! There was surprise after surprise and I think that adds to what makes these books such quick reads. I really love the way the plot was organized, too. You get to see more of Norta, really expanding this world. Also getting to see the different types of Red abilities was amazing as they're all so varied and strong! PREPARE YOURSELF THOUGH for that ending. My heart is still racing after the last chapter and epilogue. I'm so so sad I do not have King's Cage in this exact moment. When I do have it though, I will devour that ending in a heartbeat.
*I read this book using Audible! The narrator, Amanda Dolan, did much better narrating this sequel. She has the perfect tone for this book and it made the reading experience even better!*
Plot:
First of all, let me say that this book was much more darker than the first book especially within the second half of the book and I really liked that about this sequel. Ave yard was not afraid to have more bad than good and really make her characters struggle. That's something I like in a book because it makes the ending so much more satisfying!
Glass Sword focuses more on the growth of Mare and the other characters while on the mission to find the new bloods. This book plays on not only the emotions of the characters, but on the reader’s. Mare is facing the consequences of her decisions and MANY of her decisions lead her down painful paths. You can feel everything that Mare is going through as if they were your own feelings, or at least I did. As she learns from each of those “mistakes” she becomes warped into a whole new person. A leader, a symbol. It was crazy to see how much she was changing, how much fear was turning changing her into a different person in this book.
This book is twist after twist after twist. My heart had gone through so many dramatic reveals of betrayals in just the first few chapters that I was pretty sure I read the rest of the book extremely wary of every. single. person. Do not trust your heart with this one.
The recruitment process was pretty exciting! Many missions went without a hitch, but those that didn’t. Those were given in full detail and those… We’re the saddest.
Romance takes a back seat for the most part. It’s there, but subtly, which is a nice change. The characters know the dangers at hand and are making them a priority. Mare and Cal know their feelings, but also know what’s important and that they can be crutches for each other. I so so so so want them to be together and happy, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen. Their relationship, if it will be one, is one I would consider to be a slow burning rollercoaster. I LOVE that they’re having difficulties and they’re being honest about they abilities to trust each other even though it hurts them. It’s REAL I tell you!
Lastly, the ending. Be prepared for your heart to hurt, be prepared for tears. I was actually spoiled for the ending of this book and I still was 100% blown away by what happened. I cannot even fathom what is going to happen in the next book. I've learned that you just can't predict things in this trilogy because something will always, always surprise you!
Some things I didn’t like:
I still want more world building. From my last review, I wanted to know about the war and why it’s happening. We get to meet some lake landers, but we still don’t get any background why Norta and them are fighting. However, we do get to see some new places like Tuck and Harbor Bay.
I’m not sure if this is just me, but sometimes while I was reading I would get confused about a passage, go back and reread it, then still be confused. It could be about their plans, a mission, the environment, depended on the scene, but I weirdly would find myself think “wait, what is going on?” during some parts.
The repetition of certain lines one too many times was going on again in this book. I know she wants to just put emphasis on certain lines, but it was too much for me at some point.
Characters:
Being that this is a single POV book, we get to see so much of how Mare’s though process has changed since Red Queen. She’s a lot more aware and ready for the betrayal.
Cal has a much slower character tranformation. He was most loved and now in Glass Sword he is, well, not. Not wanted by any sides. He changes because he has to in order to survive, but it’s difficult to tell whether it’s permanent.
Shade is the best. I do not know how any of the characters in this book would have survived without this man. I arguably think he could be my new favorite side character in this book. And if you have read this book, you know why I’m so sad. Love Shade!
Farley is one badass chick. She has no silver ability and can still keep up with the new bloods. I would not want to mess with her.
Kilorn is a stubborn boy. I like how he stands out as a character from everyone else because he can crack a joke in hard times and be serious when necessary.
Overall:
I liked this book as much as I like the first book and am so excited for King’s Cage! This book definitely hit me harder in the heart than book one though. Much darker, much more twisted and I love it all!
Thanks for reading! :)