Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard 4 ✭

Title: Glass Sword

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales & Folklore

Publish Date: February 9, 2016

Pages: 464

Ages: Teen

Rating: ✭✭✭✭

I am very glad that I decided to continue the Red Queen series. The first book I felt was a little predictable, but it was also the intro to the characters and the world so I wanted to continue. 

When you start Glass Sword you have Mare and Cal being viewed by the country as an evil lying temptress and a murdering prince who killed his own father. All of this is done by the machinations of the Queen, Elara, who has used her whisper abilities to read everyone's minds and control others to her will. She had been hiding some of Mare's antics with the Red Guard to her own benefit to kill the king and exile the firstborn son. Elara is a mental master, and her son Maven is not just her puppet, but her willing accomplice. 

Mare has gone through so much change since the initial moments of Red Queen, it really is like she is stuck between who she was, is, and will be when necessary. The first book she was a thief who had no other skills, that her own family was completely disappointed with. Then they made her into the fake princess, who had to be cold-hearted around everyone. Then they go and kill anyone associated with her so that makes her lockdown. She needs to protect people but she isn't capable enough to do it alone. In Glass Sword that is one of her biggest conflicts with herself. She wants to care and worry about everyone, but she knows from the previous experiences that if she does she will be crushed and broken. So she makes herself emotionally distant from everyone around her. Her personal struggle is very important. You see her at her weakest, her strongest, and how far she is willing to go. 

Another thing is seeing the characters around her and how their opinions of her change. They praise her and raise her to a pedestal, only to then completely turn around and abhor what she has become. And for different side characters, it isn't even in the order. That makes you wonder who knows more than she does, who has also changed during this book, and who is true to Mare or not. I will be honest, I'm still not sure how the next book is going to turn out. Which is a nice change from the predictability of the first book. 

I am currently reading Cruel Crown which is two novellas that you can read additional. I've only started and I think that it is worth it. I got it for $5 and was happy about that. I'm looking to get King's Cage soon I hope. I'm sort of hooked on the cliffhanger of Glass sword at the moment. 

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