The Glass Spare (Glass Spare, #1)

by Lauren DeStefano

[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.