Tuesday, February 14, 2017

#Tuesday Review - Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard #YALit #Fantasy @VictoriaAveyard @harperteen

Series: Red Queen # 2
Format: Hardcover, 444 pages
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy


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.
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?



Glass Sword, by author Victoria Aveyard, is the second installment in the Red Queen series. Glass Sword picks up right where Red Queen left off. Mare Barrow, aka lightning girl, is someone who has red blood and silver abilities. She has the power to control lightning which not only makes her a weapon, but it's something only the silver blooded are supposed to have. She is valuable, powerful, and to those looking to take down Maven and his mother, the ultimate tool to free the red bloods, and even some silver bloods who are tired of the status quo. 

One has to understand that after the events of Red Queen, there is going to be some emotional times, some slow times, some time where Mare and her allies travel to and fro, and some times where Mare will struggle to make the right decisions after the stunning betrayal by Maven who she thought was her friend. While there is enough action in the first third of this book to keep the reader focused on what comes next, it is the final third that will completely blow your minds. With Maven now a powerful adversary, Mare, Cal, her brother Shade, Farley and others have to put a group together to find the so called new bloods. 

Glass Sword is a wild ride that tests Mare's internal struggles as well as keeping her friends and family safe. Her abilities make her more than dangerous, it makes her curious about whether or not she is on the same path as Maven. Not an easy act to balance when things are clearly moving in a direction that Mare can't imagine. While Mare is able to collect a few powerful new bloods, and those new bloods are useful tools for the fight against Maven, Maven seems to know exactly where she is going next, and has all the answers for stalling Mare in her tracks.

I can't talk about that ending without cursing. Loudly. I am heart broken for the loss of a certain character. I am angry that Mare let her own issues blind her to what Maven was doing and then did what she does. I am not a fan of romances between characters who do the most vile thing possible, only to have the female character forget what she's fighting for. I dare say that I hope Mare doesn't end up with a case of Stockholm Syndrome and falls head over heels for Maven again. I can also say that I feel for Cal. He's definitely got the shaft and it will be interesting to see what path the author chooses to follow in the follow up sequels. I am also thinking that Aveyard is either an evil genius when it comes to Maven, or we are all in trouble.




1 comment:

  1. OOh nice! I still need to read this one! I held off because I heard it had a killer cliffhanger and I thought it better to wait. But I know what will happen. Sometime this year I will finally cave and read it then read King's Cage and then scream bloody murder when there's yet another cliffhanger! Lol! That's been happening way too much lately it seems! Glad to hear it was good though! Nice review!

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