Glass Sword (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: 1409159353
• ISBN13: 9781409159353
• Publish Date: 11 February 2016 (first published 9 February 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 June 2016
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Imprint: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

DNF @ 7%.


I LOVED Red Queen so I’m not sure what the deal is with me and Glass Sword. What the heck happened in my head that soured so quickly? Mare is just... bugging me. I don’t have the patience for it now - maybe another time.

All I know is that if I have to hear “lightning girl” one more time, I’m going to scream.

[catiebug]

I actually enjoyed this book a little bit more than the Red Queen. It started off a little slow, but once it picked up, I was loving it. It was fun to read about them going off to find the Newbloods and cool to see all the new abilities. We get to know all the characters so much more as well as getting to meet a ton of new ones.

Shade. That broke my heart. And it broke for Farley. She is pretty awesome and I felt so awful for her.

I was so confused by the whole thing with Queen Elara. When did that happen? I went back to see if I zoned out or something but nope. I thought that would be more climatic, but it was just there. It felt like pages were missing or something.

That ending was so intriguing and I'm so ready to dive into the next book to see where this goes and how Mare is going to get through this.

[Vicki]

3.5 stars

This was only so so for me. Still good but definitely not as good as the first book. Definitely a bit second book syndrome. Most of the book was just going from one place to the next to recruit newbloods. Didn't feel like that much happened. I also had trouble remembering all the new characters and what their special abilities were. Mare got to be annoying and the drama with Cal got real old real fast. I wanted to yell at her to get over herself. Also, I was devastated by Shade's death. After Cal, he was my favorite character. So sad.

[readingwithwrin]

“I am a weapon made of flesh, a sword covered in skin. I was born to kill a king, to end a reign of terror before it can truly begin.”

I did end up listening to the last half of Red Queen on Audiobook before I started this one, just to have a refresher about certain things.

       “But I can’t shake the feeling that, while they stand with me, there’s no one beside me. Even with an army at my back, I am still alone.”   

Mare, I liked during certain parts of this book in other parts especially towards the end I just kept thinking "No, why are you doing this?". She just changed so much and was obsessed with a certain person which I didn't really understand because they had hardly spent any time with one another. Besides that though, I did like learning more about her power and seeing how she could control it and really do with it.

“We can’t choose who we love. I wish, more than anything, that we could.”   

In this one, I really grew to love Cal. In the first one, I never trusted him because of obvious reasons but seeing him in this one, and the decisions he had to make, and what he had to do against 'his own people'. He's dealing with so much, and he's still trying to help others even though no one wants to trust him because of who he is.

The other side characters I absolutely loved were Shade, Cameron, and I'm on the fence about how I feel about Kilorn still.
Shade is just an amazing person in my mind, and I loved seeing him and his 'friends' interact.
Cameron is so so feisty and I can't wait to see what she is capable of once she has more control.
Kilorn I want to like I do, and on one hand, I do. He has no powers yet he still fights and is able to help out just as much as the others by causing a distraction. I'm not his biggest fan though, because of how he seems to be in love with Mare but didn't want to act on it till too late. In the first book, I knew they cared for each other, but I couldn't tell if it was just because they were both their or if they actually liked each other. Now it seems to have just been out of convenience. 

“Mare of the Stilts died the day she fell onto a lightning shield. Mareena, the lost Silver princess, died in the Bowl of Bones. And I don’t know what new person opened her eyes on the Undertrain. I only know what she has been and what she has lost, and the weight of it is almost crushing.”

The other side characters, I don't have any strong feelings about after this book. I liked some more than others. I, of course, want to know more about Farley, and I do have some suspicions on what could happen in the next book, but I'm not positive on them yet.

Overall I did really like this book. All the side characters and the development of the story really made this one for me. Like I said Mare is changing, and I'm not really sure what's going on with that and why exactly she is making certain choices. I am so glad I'm continuing on with this series and I can't wait to see (read) what happens in Kings Cage.

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

Previous Books:
Red Queen #1

[Berls]

3.5 stars
Started slow for me, especially considering how much I felt like I was hanging at the end of Red Queen. Once it got going though, I loved the plot and am excited to see how the army of new bloods will handle the MAJOR twist at the end... definitely a cliff hanger kind of series! I have to say, I'm not sure I like Mare right now, but I also don't think I'm supposed to. She's been going through so much and the development is strong - it's just not necessarily all positive. I love that this is one of those series where bad things happen and you never know how things will end. Just because someone is important doesn't mean they are safe... lots of twists and surprises to keep you on your toes.

[tellemonstar]

Review to come

[A Darker Shade of Rosie]

LIKED:
- As a whole, I enjoyed this sequel more than the first in the series.
- I really enjoyed meeting the newbloods and discovering the new powers they brought to the equation. And trying to constantly stay one step ahead of King Maven kept me on the edge - always afraid he would eventually catch up to them!
- I actually enjoyed Mare and Cal's semi-romance. I love Cal, and constantly felt sorry for him because he was the "fallen prince" with next to nothing and no one. He and Shade we're a couple of my favorite characters.

[blog & instagram & twitter]

[ladygrey]

Two stars seems mean, but I really didn't love this book. I also didn't hate it. It's too easy to think of the criticisms and not enough (or much of anything) I really enjoyed to offset them. Still, I didn't dislike reading it and will totally read the next one. So, like 2.75 stars would be fair.

Mostly, I don't like Mare very much. But, I dislike her in a completely different way then I normally dislike characters, so she has that going for her. I don't like how contradictory she is. One page she's reminding herself how she can never tryst Cal and two pages later she's arguing against Bree and Kilorn on why they can trust him. She's like that the while book - flipping between harsh judgements back and firth in every direction. And even worse, she reminds herself that Cal is a soldier and a general and isn't that such an awful thing... that she has become herself. Shes completely heartless and annoyingly controlling "for their own good" and ridiculously unable to let anyone else make any choices or know better than her. My favorite part of the book was Cal telling her how heartless and manipulative and stupid she is. And how she's more a killer than he is. Because it was all true and it felt good to hear it said out loud.

And, like the first book, her harsh judgements cast a very narrow minded view on a book I feel like is supposed to be about bringing down division. Mare is so focused on how the Reds have been oppressed, how the Silvers should be nice and fair and on the Red's side. She doesn't see, even when its pointed out to her again and again that she's as intolerant as the Silvers, more blinded by anger than a lot of the people around her. She seems to think because it's her anger it's ok, but doesn't everyone think that about themselves.

Cal doesn't have nearly enough to do. And Shade probably would have been a great, fun character but mostly he's only there when they need him. It's like Aveyard only uses him, the way Mare says shes uses everyone. But thats annoying too because she doesn't really "use" them to very good effect. She just doesn't really care about them very much. Kilorn has a little bit to do. But its like all the characters have no purpose, no life or point of view or anywhere to move other than around Mare.

And the plot seems unhinged. Like theres this purpose to it, but the moments that turn the plot often aren't about that at all. It feels rambley. Especially at 440 pages. A good deal of which is Mare repeating the same lines, the same lessons, to herself.

Oh, and sometimes the transitions are outright confusing. Like Mare wakes up after a horrible attack that should have required a great deal of effort and luck and intrigue to escape. Her waking is so normal and so removed from the scene I honestly was wondering which side if it was a dream. neither. Their escape from this horrible predicament was just so convenient as to be not worth mentioning. And then she's outside, having left Cal alone, fretting over how she's using him. And it was so abrupt I kept waiting for the part where she shocked him, or lied to him or left him to do something he'd disapprove of or... something. Not, "oh well thanks I guess I'll be going now and leave you alone. peace out." It was so weird.

I wanted more of Shade and more for him to do. I wanted Mare to have a heart in all this. I wanted so much more for Cal to be able to do. I wanted a more focused and interesting plot. And I wanted Maven. He may be her enemy, but he's an interesting character and this book isn't as interesting without him.

[Rinn]

I just don't get the obsession with this series.

[Cocktails and Books]

Dear Lord! So much happened and poor Mare continues to be ripped to emotional shreds. I'm glad I don't have to wait too long for the next book because given that ending I have a feeling Cal is going to prove to Mare exactly what she means to him and everyone else.