Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard Spoiler-Free Review

Ok so if you're looking at this review than it probably means that you've already read Red Queen, which means that you have been patiently waiting to have your heart pieced back together after Victoria Aveyard shattered it in Red Queen. I mean, that freaking PLOT TWIST had me picking up my jaw off the floor, I was absolutely NOT expecting that.

*Actual footage of me reading the lact few chapters of Red Queen above*

So, after a year of patiently waiting for the next book, Glass Sword was finally released on February 9th, 2016. And let me just tell you, it is every bit as good as the preceding novel.

Glass Sword picks up right right where we left off in Red Queen, with Mare and Cal accompanying the Scarlet Guard, while Maven, Cal's younger brother, has overtaken Cal's rightful throne. Maven, who is revealed to be a plotting traitor in the last chapters of the previous novel, has made it his priority to hunt down his brother and Mare. His other priority is to find all the other Reds with powers, since it is obvious that Mare isn't the only one, and wants to put an end to them. However, he is not the only one out searching, as finding the gifted Reds is also what the Scarlet Guard and Mare are upto. Nevertheless, it becomes a competition between the two of them as to whom will be the first to reach them; Maven or Mare.

Let's talk about characterization for a minute. Surprisingly enough, my favorite character in this particular book is Maven, who I had sworn that I hated ever since he betrayed Mare in the first novel. He is much more interesting in this new release, even though he did cower behind his mother's skirts for a good chunk of the book.

Now, shall we discuss the main 'heroine,' Mare? Honestly, and this is my personal opinion, Mare was an absolute struggle for me to read about in Glass Sword. In Red Queen, she was cunning and resourceful, two characteristics that are crucial in any bad-ass female protagonist. Unfortunately, even though she had very clear goals set up for herself in this book, they were blinded by hatred and vengeance. To me, she lost all the badass-ery that she had possessed and became plain annoying/frustrating. Bottom line is, Mare was a slight disappointment in book two.

Something that I did like about this book was that it was more focused on the action of the plot rather than romance. Red Queen had the whole love-triangle vibe going on between Mare and the two brothers, but that almost completely vanishes in Glass Sword. There are still some moments between Mare and Cal, but they are rare and not cheesy, which it quite a relief. Mare is much more focused on finding the Reds and saving them, and taking care of her family, which leaves not much time for love in her life.

I will conclude this review by saying that although Glass Sword was an exciting read, it did lack a little of the fire that was evident in Red Queen. Many of the exciting characters (e.g. Evangeline) are not prominent in this sequel, which made it feel like something or someone was missing at times. Nevertheless, I would still recommend that people read this novel, and who knows, maybe the third book will be better?