Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Title: Glass Sword

Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date:  February 9th, 2016

Pages: 444
Genre: YA Fantasy 

Series:  Red Queen #2
Source:  Audio

 

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

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 that has grown in her soul.

I recently re-read Red Queen because I never finished the series. The newest one is about the be released and I wanted to get the series read.  I remember liking the first book but really remembered nothing about the book. So I re-read the book, still loved it, and continued straight into this one. I think I should have read a couple books in between. I liked this book but it wasn't or didn't wow me as much as the first and I am not sure if it is because they are totally different parts of the story and I was expecting it to be like the first, or I needed a break between the books. Anyways I did enjoy it. Not as much as the first but enough to keep going int his series. 

Mare is back with the rebellion and Cal is their prisoner. They are both taken underground and given a show of what the place is what they are about and who is in charge. This doesn't sit well with Mare. She feels she needs to go another route than the big boss is going and she sets off to do her own thing with Cal and Kilorn. They set out to find other red bloods who have abilities like Mare. They need to find them before Maeven finds them first and kills them. After some are found, there is training and lots of action and then in the end trouble. 

There are some things I really loved about this book. The story progression. The development with Mare and with Cal as characters. The cool abilities of others they find. The training and the action scenes. Some of the scenes were pretty cool and nail-biting. This author does not shy away from trouble and death. 

I liked the little bit of romance that may be brewing between Cal and Mare. I really liked the friendship and trust they have formed. I really loved Cal's character in this book. He is turning into quite the hero. I enjoyed seeing how evil Maeven really is. 

Mare had quite a bit of development too. Even though I didn't like her choices most of the time and her attitude at times was too doom and gloom at times. But she has been through a lot, and I kind of felt for her and understood her. I think in the end she will make a great leader but it may take her a bit longer to get there. She has the best intentions at heart, she is just way emotional and doesn't always think logically. However, instead of bugging me, I understood and was okay with this. As long as she grows from it and I see it happening. 

What I didn't like so much. The story didn't progress as much as I felt it should have in this book. This book pretty much felt like a filler and I was bored some throughout the book. Much of the time in between the action sequences, there was a whole lot of nothing going on. So I think either it should have been combined with another book with less from this book involved... or just had more added to this book. 

The ending. Another dang cliffhanger and one I didn't like at all! I mean come on. Luckily the next book is out but I think I will wait a little bit longer, closer to the release date of the 4th book. 

Felt like a filler but enough interest to keep me excited for the next book. 

I'm a screenwriter/YA author who likes books and lists. This site is the nexus of my universe.

My book RED QUEEN will be published Winter 2015 from HarperTeen at HarperCollins. I'm repped by the incomparable Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.

The genres I'm into include YA, Fantasy, Historical, Adventure, Apocalyptic - if people are dying, I'm buying.