Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

     Glass Sword is the second book in The Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard. This was a truly amazing book. I tried to find a way to write this review without too many spoilers but, with this being the second book in a series it was next to impossible so, beware if you have not read Glass Sword yet because, there is so much I have to say and there are spoilers galore! So without further ado:

The Plot:

     Glass Sword picks up immediately where Red Queen left off and is loaded with fast paced action right from the beginning. The whole time I was reading my heart was racing. There hardly seemed to be any time for the characters to catch their breath and relax for a minute before they were thrown into action again. This made the story go very quickly and I loved that this was a completely new adventure and plot line than the first story but, still maintained the same style and feel.
     I absolutely loved getting to meet all the Newbloods and seeing their amazing abilities. We even find out way later on that there is an entire country/kingdom of free Newbloods, where they are called Ardents. These people seem untrustworthy though and very singular minded. And holy crap, what a cliff hanger ending!

The Characters:

     Mare is just as much of a bad ass as ever. Within the first couple of chapters she takes down an entire plane and later on makes one fly. Not only that but, she starts getting better control of her powers and creates more lightning storms. I loved her relationship with her siblings as it reminded me a lot of my own. I did get slightly annoyed by her back and forth indecisiveness over how she feels about Cal, Kilorn, and even Maven but, I understand why it's there. She's resistant to be the leader but most everyone looks to her as such and by the end she has pretty much come to accept that role.

     I was very indifferent to Cal throughout this book. For some reason he just seemed either very flat to me or full on rage mode. I think a lot of that has to do with him dealing with his father's death and essentially being the outcast when he was supposed to be a ruler. Regardless, I didn't really seem to connect with him in this one. There's no doubt that he cares for Mare but, he also was very judgements of her and quick to get angry with her. During the rescue mission he was so angry at her that he left her to fend for herself. And while yes, he had his reasons for being angry, it was not the time or the place and he was acting like a stubborn toddler throwing temper tantrum.

     I really like how Kilorn changed during this book. He went from hating Cal to tolerating him to, though tentative it may be, being friends/allies with him. You can see that he is slowly maturing and he always has Mare's back. I was so angry towards the beginning when it seemed like he had betrayed Mare by locking her up in a cell with Cal. However, it turned out that it was all a ruse so that he and Farley could help break Cal out of the cell and so they could start rescuing Newbloods. At one point he tells Mare that he has feelings for her which confirms my theory that we're probably going to have some kind of love triangle going on. Hopefully, it doesn't end like The Hunger Games where they made Gale seem less likable towards the end in order to somehow better justify Katniss ending up with Peeta.

     I adored Shade and thought his ability to transport was so useful. I had a feeling from the very beginning that there may have been something going on with home and Farley and sure enough I was right. It was nice to see that people could still have a little bit of happiness in spite of all the death and war surrounding them. Of course my heart was ripped out and pulverized when Shade was killed while trying to save Mare. I got Dobby feels all over again. The silver lining of this though is that I'm 99.9% sure that Farley is pregnant. There were so many little hints here and there and I would be more surprised if she wasn't. Also.... Ding dong the witch is dead! The witch is dead!

     I know in most cases it's bad to be happy that someone is dead but, when it comes to Queen Elara, I literally shouted "Thank freakin' god!" Seriously, my dog was sleeping and woke up looking at me like I was crazy for talking to myself. In a sick twisted way I kinda wish we had seen her death, as I feel like she deserved the worst but, either way I'm so relieved she's gone.

     On a more positive note, I was so, so, SO happy when I found out that Julian was akl ive. There was always the hope but, I didn't believe it until they actually rescued him. I'm so glad because he is such a great mentor for Mare and he's sympathetic to Reds and Newbloods, which may be helpful down the road. I was also shocked when Ara Iral appeared and instead of stopping the rescue mission, she helped them get away and in the end died helping them. It was nice to see Silvers willing to fight for Reds and Newbloods.

     The Newbloods that were introduced were fantastic! From stubborn old Nix and lovable Nanny to the terrifying Cameron and Luther. Each one had a unique ability that would put any Silver to shame.

     The Lakelanders made me feel uneasy; the Colonel worst of all. He doesn't like Newbloods because he's afraid of them and their abilities. His main concern is the Scarlet Guard and Reds, not Newbloods, even though they are his people also.

     Maven only appeared in person a handful of times and very briefly when he did. Regardless of this, he still had the effect of making my skin crawl throughout the whole book. The machine he had that turned Mare's power against her was terrifying. And he took his psychoticness to a whole new level when he BRANDED Mare with an M on her collarbone, like she was his property. He's stepping up to sadism at this point. Don't even get me started on the collar at the end of the book. I hope he suffers a very painful death.

The Verdict:

     Ladies and gentlemen, we've officially found another series that is going to consume my life until I know how it ends. The Red Queen series will be right up there with Harry Potter as one of my favorites. Glass Sword was so much better than I even anticipated.

     At times, it was absolutely heartbreaking but, the best books are. Victoria Aveyard has a real gift for telling a great story and leaves you craving more. I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes this one.

Thanks for reading!

~The Little Book Queen