The Glass Spare (Glass Spare, #1)

by Lauren DeStefano

Billie Fulford Brown (Narrator)

The first in a new fantasy duology, The Glass Spare is a gorgeously told tale of love, loss, and deadly power from Lauren DeStefano, the bestselling author of the Chemical Garden series. Perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Renee Ahdieh.

Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and only daughter of the king of the world's wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father-whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war-Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified-but as she tests its limits, she's drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, though, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with Wil's power.

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that's turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

• ISBN10: 1538457512
• ISBN13: 9781538457511
• Publish Date: 24 October 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Edition: Library Edition
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 9 hours and 39 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

This book seems like something I’d love. Princess who’s not what she seems? Check. Warring kingdoms? Check. Court politics? Check. Romance that’s really not romance? Check. Despite, all that I was left feeling underwhelmed. I did enjoy the technology aspects of this world. It wasn’t your typical fantasy world that takes place in the past with rudimentary technology. We have elements of that but then we also have electricity and cars and data goggles. It makes for a different type of fantasy world.

I love Wil’s relationship with her brothers. Far too often in YA books, sibling relationships aren’t great and are rather strained. Owen clearly loved his sister and was willing to do everything he could to help her. He had a lot of weight on his shoulders being the heir and yet yet still took the risks for his sister. He didn’t see her as the monster she saw. Gertie was delightful too. I love his inventions.

The story just left me wanting more. The kidnapping-to-show-how-bad-things-are trope really isn’t my favorite. I wish we could have spent more time in the kingdom to see how bad things are. It felt like it was too much telling and not enough showing.

The bottom line? Underwhelming and left me wanting more.

The Cursed Sea (book 2) came out this year. Does the story get better?

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[leahrosereads]

I wanted to like this more than I did.

This had so much promise - from a premise that I personally don't read often (a spin on the Midas story) to really decent writing, I was hoping I'd love it. But I didn't due to the one dimensional and forgettable characters, awkward world building, and an uncomfortable romance.

Let's ignore those negatives for now, though, because I don't want to be a negative nelly right away.

So the writing was good. It kept me interested in the story, even when I wasn't interested in the characters, which is pretty freaking hard to do if you ask me. It just had a nice pace and was incredibly fluid. Not overly floral but still explained what was happening on each page relatively well. I have to say relatively well, because when the world building happened, it was a bit of a mess, and even good writing couldn't save it.

I also really liked the premise of a person whose touch can hurt/kill. I've read one other YA book with this premise (Shatter Me) and despised it so much that I won't read anything else by that author. This one worked for me better, because even though these characters were also not done well, they at least had promise. I could see with some more work, that the characters in THE GLASS SPARE could be interesting. Not like whatsherface or the psychopath from that other book.

Now let's talk about why I didn't like this book, starting with the world building and setting in general. I guess I was under the impression that this was a fantasy book, but part of the world had newer technology (automobiles, telephones, electricity), while other parts didn't. It was weird, and I didn't really grasp the why for it. Because alchemy was king in the less developed areas? It was an awkward way to explain it to me and fell flat. If I'm just an idiot that didn't get it, please please let me know.

The other reason I didn't care for this book too much is that I genuinely forgot about the characters. For the life of me, I cannot remember all of Wil's siblings names, including the one that she was closest to (after the heir). And I feel like this is going to be an issue in book 2, because I think her siblings are going to be major players in it. That's where I'm anticipating the story going anyway.

And finally, the love interest/romance of this book. Just ugh! I get it(ish). I just didn't like it.


However even with everything I didn't like, since I enjoyed the premise and the writing, I will be continuing on at least with the second book to see if it gets better. I know it's hard for a second book in a series to top the first, but it doesn't have to do too much to top this one in my eyes.

[Cocktails and Books]

This one started out a little slow but the world building the author did soon ensnared me and I couldn't put the book down.

Wil was an interesting character. She at first seemed so different from her brothers, but as her journey continued I found myself seeing parts of Owen in her.

I loved how the author weaved different points of view into the story from several of the characters. The only drawback was the fact that some of those voices were missing towards the end of the story.

I look forward to finding out what happens when Wil has to journey back home to get her answers.

[tweetybugshouse]

This is a fantastic up and coming fantasy, it got word building that is introduced in little pieces as you peel back each layer of this steampunk/medieval story.  It's a kingdom with a castle, princes, gas lanterns, gears, machines, photographs, data goggles, trains, electric lights, cement mixers, gloomy stone hallways, telephones, alchemized bombs, and a whole other assortment of things that somehow totally worked together.  

You got a princess who not really sure she wants to be a princess as her family in their own term of endearment call her little monster.  She discovers she got this awful curse of being able to turn living into to precious stones.  As she banished from her kingdom is off on this fantastic adventure to try and find Pahn who is her only hope to cure herself of this curse.  Along the way she meets Loom who is in own way has been cursed as well but has no idea who Wil the banished princess is.  

This book did a great job of keeping the romance nice and light, killing off characters where you least expected it to happen, and keeping bits and pieces a secret tell just the right moment.  I have to say i am a fan and can not wait tell you guys check this out in October 2017.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

This is not a bad book. This is just a book that if you're well-versed in fantasy, it may seem as though you've already read it. That's basically how I felt, as though I knew what would happen, as though I'd just... seen it all before, somehow. I could predict the things that were going to happen pretty easily. Here is an example:



There are a few more, but spoilers, I guess. The book did have some redeeming qualities though. I did enjoy Wil's relationships with her brothers, and I kind of wished we'd gotten more of those. She had three brothers, and two of them- Owen and Gerdie- were cool and I wanted to have all the interactions with them. Then there was another brother, Baren, who was a real piece of crap. But at least he was entertaining me.



But then we leave all those people, run away, and meet new people. Who we lie to through omission. Have I mentioned before that I am so very over that trope? Cause I am. Honestly, I just found myself caring less and less as the book went on, and instead of me getting more invested, I think I became less so. Unfortunate, but such is life.

Will I Read the Next Book? Probably have to pass.

Bottom Line: Not a bad book, nor a poorly written one, just not particularly unique or captivating, either.

*Copy provided for review

**Quotes taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change

[Ashley]

Such a cool idea and there were some interesting characters, but I was kind of bored. :( It felt like a slow book and it just wasn't grabbing me for some reason. It took me 6 days to get through it, which is a lot for me.

Also I had some issues with the world building. Clearly a lot of thought went into everything, but I don't feel like it was conveyed very well. I had a hard time grasping it and really understanding what the world was all about. It's very unique but it felt like information was just thrown at me rather than neatly woven into the story. I saw it, but didn't really understand it, maybe.

There's also a pretty serious case of insta-love. I thought I was liking the romance, but then at the end the "I love you" bomb dropped. They barely even knew each other yet! Especially because the Wil hadn't told Loom a single thing about herself.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

*Review to come!*

Actual rating: 4.5 stars