Glass Sword (Signed) (Red Queen, #2)

by Victoria Aveyard

From the NEW YORK TIMES number one bestselling author of RED QUEEN. If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different. Mare's blood is red - the colour of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court wants to control. Pursued by the vengeful Silver king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join the rebellion. 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?

• ISBN10: 006245532X
• ISBN13: 9780062455321
• Publish Date: 9 February 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 27 October 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harper Teen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• Special: Signed

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Initial reaction:



Well... wow. That was honestly one of the most disappointing sequels I have ever read, ever. I would like to begin this review with a visual representation of my reading experience:



So, yeah. That basically sums it up. I began this book almost immediately after it was released. I read just under 200 pages before putting it down. Over the months I tried a few times to read more because, well, EVERYONE loves this book and I was determined to finish it! Finally in September I got the audiobook from the library and swore to see it through. I did. I'm going to try my damndest to write this review but I obviously don't remember much from the first half so bear with me.

Glass Sword picks up immediately after Red Queen, that much I do know. Almost this entire book consists of Mare, Cal, and Co. on the run from Maven and in search of New Bloods who also have super cool powers because of reasons. It. Is. Boring. They run a bit, they find a New Blood, they convince him or her to join them, Maven almost catches up. Rinse and repeat. Over and over and over. Glass Sword is all about repetition. A few exciting things do happen here and there, but they are so few and far between that this book just drags.

Honestly, I don't know what happened between Red Queen and this. Red Queen was not entirely original (I don't think anyone is arguing that at this point) but it was fun. It was an exciting first book and there was constantly new information being revealed to keep things moving along. I enjoyed it and the ending was such a huge twist that it pretty much made me forget the problems I had with the first 95%, but that didn't happen here. My biggest problem is that Red Queen Mare was tolerable and even enjoyable, while Glass Sword Mare is a totally different human.

"Only despair drowns out my rage."
- Mare Barrow

This quote perfectly sums up Glass Sword Mare. Literally all she does in this entire 444 page book is whine about how horrible her life is and, when she isn't doing that, she is constantly mad and bitching about everything and at everyone. She is rude, annoying, and thinks that she's God's gift to the planet. Her power gives her a major god-complex and makes her completely unbearable. There are very few characters that make me want to throw a book (or audio device) across the room, but Mare has done it. Put simply, I can't stand her.

The only thing I really liked about this book were some of the other characters. I enjoyed Cal and found him to be the sensible one throughout pretty much everything. Obviously I really liked Shade also and wish so much that there was more of the two of these characters to drown out Mare's incessant moaning. I also found Farley to be mostly tolerable. That's about the best I can say...

Not even the ending of Glass Sword could save it from itself. (I actually had to just think about it for awhile to remember what happened and I just finished this book.) Other reviewers have talked about what an amazing cliffhanger the ending was and how it came out of nowhere but I really didn't see it that way. It certainly hasn't inspired me to read the next book. I won't be continuing the Red Queen series (apparently it's 4 books now?), which is so disappointing after investing so much time in a series.

[Chelsea]

What I Loved

I can’t say there was a whole lot I loved about this book. I loved Cal and Shade but that was pretty much it for this one unfortunately.

What I Didn't Love

This could turn into a rant but I’m going to try really hard from letting that happen. I found there was a lot of things wrong with this book. I’m honestly surprised I picked it up after not liking the first one but I thin I was hoping it got better. I can easily tell you that this book suffers from second book syndrome pretty badly and was not better than the first one.

My biggest issue with this book was that it was unoriginal and very predictable. At least the ending of the first book surprised me. Did anyone see that coming? Maybe a few but not many. But this ending? Wow, we haven’t seen that before. (In case you couldn’t tell that last line was dripping with sarcasm.) We’ve seen that exact same thing happen again and again in YA books and especially in dystopia. I was so bored reading this that I’m actually surprised I finished it. Nothing happened, the plot was dry, and everything was predictable and it made me want to give up.

I found the characters to also be quite boring. Mare has no personality and only cares about saving “herr people”. She refuses to clue in that it’s not just her precious reds who need saving and her and Cal are often fighting about this. She’s under the impression that all silvers must be horrible when we all know that’s never the case. It drove me insane that she couldn’t get past her hatred of the silvers even though she’s no different from them. I hated that all she wanted to do was start another war when that’s what she was trying to prevent. Basically she contradicted herself ALL THE TIME and I couldn’t stand it.

A few other things I noticed:

The queen’s story was super anticlimatic. Something dramatic happens and nothing is done about it. Disappointing.
The plot was jumpy. The characters were always changing their minds and going from one thing to the next.
The only good thing about the first book was Maevan and we hardly got to see him in this one.
Besides that, the only other thing I can say is that I was disappointed that there was next to no romance. It was the one thing that could have hooked my into this story and it didn’t happen! Sure there were little hints here and there but no matter how much it was talked about, nothing happened.

Who I'd Recommend To

I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. Unless they’ve been living under a rock for the past 5-6 years and have never read a YA book before in their life. You might like it then. For those of us who do read YA consistently I’d suggest skipping this one because it’s the exact same as at least half the YA dystopia books out there.

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

I liked the Red Queen it ended up not being what I expected, so I knew I needed to read Glass Sword. And boy, did Glass Sword surprise me even more.

1. Started off action packed

Glass Sword started where it left off, it was action packed the whole way through. One thing after the other, you thought you would get respite from all that was going on but then next minute something else would happen. I loved it.

I loved that there was never a dull moment, the action wasn't always fighting or trying to survive, there were moments where Mare would make you wonder what she's going to do next, the suspense of those moments kept me reading.

2. Dark story and dark places

So much happened in this story, so many discoveries, so much death, so many decisions to be made. Mare had to take the brunt of it, she was well aware that everyone was terrified of her and she felt the loneliness and pushed everyone away.

A lot of things happened in this novel, I started to feel like Mare was heading straight to her grave, so I won't be surprised if the whole of this series ends up being even darker than this book. It actually started to feel like The Hunger Games, the romance was weird and didn't at all feel romantic, Mare was constantly feeling like the villain because she had no choice, and that ending was one slight cliff hanger. What happens next?!

I kind of wanted Mare to die because I felt like it would be the ultimate 'I told you so' to everyone she was trying to help. To the newbloods that just want to be normal, to the ones she loves for leaving her to do it alone and not understanding, to the reds that are terrified of her and have also ostracised her, and the silvers that kill so many people for their king. It really just made me angry!

3. I couldn't figure out how I felt about everything

I wasn't sure how I felt about anything in this novel. I felt sad after I finished reading it because it had been so dark and took me to places I didn't want to go. I wanted Mare to die because I wanted everyone around her to realise just what dark hole she felt like she was in, I wanted everyone to see that she was trying her best and the decisions she made were because she had no other choice, I wanted everyone to realise to save everyone not everyone could survive. That's how dark it got and how dark I felt as I read it.

I loved the action, I loved that the story was different, I loved the path it took; but I didn't love any of the characters, I didn't love all of the hate, I didn't love how alone everyone left the lightning girl. It was confusing and horrible but so good at the same time.

The ending was also pretty epic, the last line was a really damn great line. I can see there are two more books after this book, so I wonder where this story will go. Also I wonder how this story can go on for so long. So much happened in this book, so I'm sure a lot will happen in the next book and the one after. But I have no clue in which direction this story will be taken.

Have you read The Glass Sword? Did you like it? Did you not like it? How did you feel about how dark this book is? And that ending? Wow.

Always,
Jordon

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift

[Nessa Luna]

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune!

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the first book, so if you haven't read that book yet, you should probably not read this review!

Last year, I read Red Queen, the first book in a series about a girl who finds out she's special. She has a power that she's not supossed to have, because she has Red blood and only Silver bloods have powers. But here she is, Mare Barrow, red blood flowing through her veins, and the power to summon/feel electricity at her will. I was very intrigued in this book, especially because of the whole special powers theme, and because this book was a fantasy novel (with a fantasy world) but still so modern with cameras, trains and (obviously) electricity!

Glass Sword is the second book in the series, and I wasn't so sure if I wanted to read it, because I'd seen very mixed reviews on Goodreads. I decided to just pick it up after I saw it discounted and read it almost immediately after it arrived. I was - and still am - in a reading slump, so it took me a while to get into this book, but stars it was good.

The story takes off almost immediately where the first book left us - in the underground train on their way to the Red Guards secret hide-out. Mare has just found out her brother Shade is still alive and a newblood like her. We arrive at the hide-out, only to be swept away almost as quickly, because Maven knows where they are and is leveling the city just to find her. From then on, this book is a damn rollercoaster.

Honestly, I kept comparing this book to X-Men. Which is not a bad thing really, but my mind just kept going back to X-Men while I was reading this book, and I don't think that's what the author wanted. The newbloods are basically mutants, because their blood has mutated so they get their powers. I do really love X-Men, and I've always been a fan of stories where people get powers, but yeah, I don't know. There is Mare, who can summon lightning and that reminded me a bit of Storm. There's the stoneskins (or whatever they were called) one of which made his entrance by running through a wall, which reminded me of Juggernaut (or Colossus or Luke Cage, though that one isn't a mutant). Nanny was basically Mystique because she could change into anyone and even take over their voices. Shade reminded me a bit of a combination of Nightcrawler and Quicksilver. So yeah.

I read a couple of spoiler-free reviews on Goodreads, and saw that people are still shipping Mare with Maven, after all he's done in this book, and I don't get it? After all the shit he's put her through, after all the people he's killed just to get her to come back to him. In this book, Mare often feels disgusted by Maven whenever she thinks of him or sees what he's done. When Nanny morphs into him to get into the prison, Mare nearly punches her even though she knows it's not really Maven. I think that shows how much she hates what Maven has become. Maven's behavious in this book was childish and Joffrey-like. Honestly. He kills people just to get Mare back to him? What the hell, no. I will never go down with this ship, never never never. I don't really ship Mare with Cal either, nor with Kilorn. And that last bit annoyed me too, because it's so old already. The best friend, the one she grew up with, turns out to be in love with her as well. Ugh, please stop.

Like the previous book, Glass Sword had a couple of twists, but I have to admit that, like the previous book, I saw (some of) them coming. I knew that Kilorn was going to confess his love for Mare, I knew that she would get locked up with Cal in that silent stone room and that Kilorn was going to do that. I knew Farley was pregnant before it was announced. Or well - Mare still doesn't even know it yet, so it's not official yet, but I already know she's going to find out in the next book. There was only one that I didn't see coming, and that was the ending. THAT ENDING HOLY SHIT WHAT. Anyway, I am a bit sad that I found the book so predictable, because the twists are good, but I just didn't experience the way other people did.

I don't have any comments on the characters, other than that I really enjoyed reading about all of them. I loved the newbloods, and I loved their powers. Mare went through a couple of changes in this book, which I understood. I mean you can't be chased by the king of your country, almost get killed multiple times, and then end up being the same person. What I did like was that this book wasn't centered around romance that much, which happens a lot in YA books. There was romance, but very subtle and not too in-your-face, which is exactly how I want my romance. There is just one thing I am a bit crossed about. Shade's death. I mean sure it was in the middle of battle and they lost a couple of others, but why Shade? Why?! Perhaps to make Mare's escape/being rescued in the next book a bit more difficult, but still WHY SHADE.

The one thing I would have loved having in this book, was a map. There is a map of the Red Queen world, but it just isn't in my books, which is such a shame, because I was terribly confused by all the new cities and towns they visited in this book, to find newbloods. Maybe it's just the editions that I have, and others do have a map, but I really wished that it'd been in every edition of the books.

In the end, I really enjoyed Glass Sword and I will certainly be reading the next book in the series. If you love X-Men and you love fantasy books that also have a hint of science fiction, you should definitely check out the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard!

My opinion on this book in one gif: 

[jeannamichel]

I am not happy with these turn of events. I didn't like it as much as I liked Red Queen but it was fantastic in its own right. THE FEELS!

In Red Queen, Mare became a Red pretend-princess in a sea of Silver. She is Red and Silver both, an in-between who beholds power but possesses red blood. It was nothing the palace has ever since before. In Glass Sword, Mare swaps her palace garb for trekking gear. She becomes a leader of a rebellion instead of a princess living a lie. She and the Red Guard fight together against their enemy. After discovering more people are both Red and Silver—different, just like Mare—Mare is out to find them. She gives them a choice: die or join. In the end, Mare realizes what she has become. She doesn’t even have a choice anymore.

I will try to make this review as spoiler-free as possible but, you know, sometimes I get so overwhelmed about so many awesome things and something slips (I will keep that to a minimum), but seriously, if you haven’t read Red Queen yet, what are you waiting for? Red Queen is the stepping stone to this wild ride.

Sequels are always hard to face. Readers go in with high expectations and usually, they leave disappointed. I admit I had high expectations going into Glass Sword. Also, I admit not all of those expectations were met. As a sequel, Glass Sword falls short. It is not a magnificent sequel and some parts dragged on. The plot was nothing spectacular and if I’m being totally honest (which I am), it was a bit repetitive. The mission of the plot was to secure several people from the list and recruit them. Think about what that means. As a plot, the act of going to a town, retrieving the person from the list, recruiting them, and then bringing them back to camp is not extremely exciting. Think about recruiting several people then. The act got a bit boring. I hate to say that because Red Queen was one of my favorite books of 2015 but it’s true. Glass Sword, as a sequel, fell short.
As a book, which doesn’t follow Red Queen (because the first was so good, it would have been a miracle to top it), Glass Sword does fantastic. Besides the plot being repetitive, the character development allows for some amazing swoon-worthy scenes.

As usual, Victoria Aveyard hits it out the park with her gorgeous, strong writing. I mentioned my deep love for her writing in my Red Queen review. But I can say it again. For the excitement lacking in the plot, she definitely makes up for in her unbelievable writing.

Not to mention (okay, let’s mention it), Aveyard throws readers into a giant feels-boat by the end of the novel. No matter what you feel about the plot, in general, by the end of the novel, Aveyard is already setting up the beginning of the next book. The ending scene is not a cliffhanger, so much as it is a heart-wrencher. Why, Victoria Aveyard; I thought you liked us? In all serious-ness, readers will definitely have trouble waiting for the sequel. Aveyard forces you to love these characters with her superb writing and gorgeous development and then… well, then I can’t tell you because I promised no spoilers.

Overall, Glass Sword is a good addition to Victoria Aveyard’s series. It doesn’t top Red Queen but it certainly pulls at readers’ heartstrings. Despite its repetitive plot, Aveyard moves the story forward with beautiful character development and hard-to-put-down writing. The ending will not only leave you wanting more, but it will leave you shattered. This sequel to Red Queen will have you crossing off the days until the next in the series.

Rating 2016: 5 stars

Rating 2020: 4 stars
I still love this book, but nothing happens at all. Sure, I care enough about the characters and I don’t mind a character driven book, but I cannot deny that this book suffers from the middle book syndrome.

[Kelly]

3.5 Stars
I absolutely adored Red Queen, a wonderful mix of fantasy and dystopian elements from some of our favourite young adult series. While Red Queen was uplifting and at times, brutal, Glass Sword is a much calmer read, the focus being on developing it's characters and relationships while edging towards what seems to be the next civil war.

Mare is still coming to terms with the deception she experienced at the hands of Maven, a point that readers are constantly reminded of. She feels betrayed, but longs for the quiet and reserved young man she believed Maven to be, a gentle fighter who believed in the rights for all.

The biggest difference between Red Queen and Glass Sword besides the shift from fantasy to dystopian, is Mare Barrow herself. She was fierce in Red Queen but is incredibly self doubting and seemingly feeds on her lack of self worth and guilt. She's now killed, but also has the deaths of others who aligned themselves with her on her hands and spends her quiet moments of reflection torn between bringing the Newbloods into battle or protecting them from Maven's Silver army.

If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.

She just felt... Hollow. Her inner thoughts were contradictory and seemingly didn't want the responsibility of being the Lightning Girl, but also relished in her title of power. Prince Cal is a character that I need more from. He was so overshadowed by Mare's catchphrases and indecisiveness that he felt like little more than a background character, rather than her potential love interest. I feel his character deserved much more development, especially seeing his life has been ruined by Lightning Girl entering his world.

And Maven?



Sadly he's mysteriously absent as is Queen Elara. Both characters make brief, cameo appearances which sadly is why I felt disappointed by Glass Sword. I love a well written villain, especially after audiences see the character transformation from good to... Not so good. The storyline needed to focus less on Mare's self pity and more on the kingdom who were hunting her and the Newbloods. Dual points of view may have ensured Glass Sword to be more widely praised by the reading community. It needed a point of difference and personally, I needed a break from Mare who seemed to be masquerading as Katniss Everdeen.

Some know what I am, and they have written it across the posters for all to see. Red Queen. The lightning girl. She lives. Rise, red as dawn. Rise. Rise. Rise.

I love the series, even though I wasn't as engaged with Glass Sword as I had expected. Apart from Mare, I loved the introduction of new and wonderfully sassy and moody characters none more so than Cameron. Her ability far outweighs Mare's ability to create and control electricity and she's lived to escape her confines under King Maven. She not only refuses to abide by Mare's rules but she challenges the Lightning Girl, merely a breath away from being able to take her life. I adored her, but there is more to Cameron beyond her abrasive facade and I can't wait to discover who she truly is.

As much as I enjoyed Glass Sword, I couldn't help but feel it was stretched a little too thin. Be prepared for character soul searching, an uprising, indecision and absolute heartbreak. The crescendo has me excited for book three in the series, let's just hope Mare gets her shit together in time.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2016/03/glass-sword-red-as-dawn.html

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews

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.

Thank you to Orion for accepting my request via Netgalley. I was halfway through the first book when I knew that I was going to need the second so I popped on there and luck would have it I got approved pretty quickly.

This book starts pretty much where the first one ended so if you haven't read it please don't read on because I don't want to spoil it for you, you can however read my review for the first book here.

So Mare is in a pretty dire situation at the beginning of this book. She's just been captured by Maven and tbh I didn't have a clue how she was going to get out of this one.

After their escape Mare and Cal spend the rest of the book secretly trying to find all the new bloods in Norta. They however are not the only ones looking for them. Maven leaves them so truly horrible scenes to find at some of the new bloods houses.

There was some really great characters that were introduced in this book. Nanny was my favourite.

The ending of this book had me wishing for the next book. It was quite shocking. I am really looking forward to the next book.





 

[Stephanie]

Am I the only one that felt that nothing really happened? I mean like stuff happened, but like not a lot for a 400+ page book? Character development felt a little lacking, and really I just need more Maven being a jerk and Cal being broody.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

I requested Glass Sword right after finishing Red Queen because the book was just THAT GOOD. I couldn't wait. And I absolutely flew through Glass Sword as well because it certainly didn't disappoint.

I'll start with the negatives first because I like to get those out of the way. And, really, there's only one major point that I want to bring up. Cal and Mare is obviously a relationship that has been building up since Red Queen, and in Glass Sword it made a bit more progress. I was okay with that. I don't OTP them, but they'll do as a ship. But what I didn't like was the fact that Mare kept repeating the fact that Cal was oh-so-bad for her and she "can't let him go". She said this so many times, and it was annoyingly redundant and repetitive. I was unimpressed. Like, I ship it, but you're in the middle of a war and there's no need to keep telling me what you should do but can't at the most inopportune moments.

Another slightly more minor thing I didn't like was how Mare completely blacked out during a fight scene, and all we got to see was the aftermath. Like, the action wasn't described to the reader and next thing we know people are dead and Mare is leaving the area. I would have liked it to have been described, because one of the deaths was a HUGE one and I felt like it should have been the main focus of the scene.

Anyway, MARE IS WONDERFUL AND I LOVE HER. She's going through a hell of a lot in this book. She's been manipulated and abused - both emotionally and mentally - and in Glass Sword she is feeling the effects. I love how she is a different person to how she was in Red Queen but is still true to herself. She's having so many conflicting feelings and thoughts and emotions because of how she's been - and is being - treated. She's just a girl, and she's having to grow up and lead this army and win this war. And people are judging the fuck out of her for it but she's continuing anyway and wanting to do what she thinks is best. Clarke Griffin, anyone? I made that connection earlier and nearly fell off my chair because characters and people alike judge Clarke for every decision she makes, even though sometimes there's no other choice. As Queen Clarke has said before, sometimes there aren't any good decisions. You have to work with what you've got. I LOVE MARE BARROW AND SHE IS MY RED QUEEN.

I also love that the superpowers are amped up in this book. In Red Queen we got to know the various houses and powers of the Silvers, and now we're seeing different ones when it comes to the newbloods. The newbloods are dangerous and badass and the Silvers should be very afraid. In Glass Sword, Mare and the others are trying to save newbloods from Maven. We meet so many new and interesting characters. My particular favourites are Ada and Cameron, of course.

We also see more of Mare's family in Glass Sword, particularly Shade. WHO I LOVE. He's the sweetest. I hope we get to know Mare's other brothers more in the sequel and the final book, because I think the whole Barrow family is interesting. We don't know much about either Bree or Tramy because Mare has always been closest to Shade, so I want to know more about the both of them.

The ending turns this fight into a whole different ball game. I was shocked at what happened at the very end (with the cage), even though I really shouldn't have been. And the whole kneeling thing made me SO MAD. SO MAD. I DID NOT SURVIVE SPARTACUS TO EXPERIENCE THIS. I also really liked how the world is expanding and we're getting to know more about other countries and territories. There is so much to explore within this world and I want to know everything.

I've seen many complaints about how this series isn't the most original one out there, and I have to agree. But in this case, unoriginal doesn't necessarily mean bad. I have developed a bond with the characters and I am so deep into this pit that I'm not sure I can wait until next year for the next book. Unoriginal doesn't matter to me at this point, because this book has everything that I want. With superpowers, thrilling action sequences, upsetting moments, and amazing character development, the only thing Glass Sword is really missing is an OTP. But that can come later.