Glass Sword
Red Queen left us hanging in horror after the awful murder of the king by his oldest son’s hand and the rise of his youngest, with Mare and Cal barely escaping the Bowl of Bones with their lives still intact. Mare spent the biggest portion of Red Queen as Mareena, a lost Silver noble and engaged to Maven, the youngest of the two princes. But after a lethal mistake, were Cal’s mind was manipulated by the queen to kill his own father and Mare realized the hard way were Maven’s true loyalties lie, Mare and Cal has to fight in an arena filled with powerful Silvers acting as their executioners, but they manages to escape in the end. Now they’re trying to find their feet again, while living at a camp alongside the Scarlet Guard. Mare desperately wants to go out and find every person on the precious list she holds so close, the one that list name after name of people who are just like herself. Common people with red blood, who wields powers that belong to the noble silver-blooded residents of Norta. Mare believes that these people, the newbloods, will be the saviors of the Reds and the end of the reign of Norta’s new, cruel King Maven.
Glass Sword is much like Red Queen but even more. The stakes are higher and everything seems bigger, with Mare’s world expanding throughout the story. The Scarlet Guard, the Red soldiers rising up against their Silver oppressors, is much more than Mare ever could’ve dreamed of and the knowledge that she’s not the only person out there with special abilities makes her question everything she’s ever known. She sets out to save them from Maven’s grasp and does her best to make sure everyone has a choice and everyone is kept safe, but despite that Mare travels down a dark path in Glass Sword, one that I’m not entirely sure she can ever get back from, or even get off at this point. She makes choices that dooms people and she has to live with the consequences, slowly alienating every one of her loved ones in her pursuit of Maven’s end. While Glass Sword was an action packed story about Mare roaming around Norta trying to find people like her, it was also the stepping stone of a dark turn in her character.
I really enjoyed reading about Mare chasing the newbloods with Kilorn and Cal, Farley and her brother Shade, alongside new additions that appears in the shape of more Red people with Silver abilities, like both Mare and Shade. It was fun, and usually followed by more than a few close calls and interactions with Silver soldiers hunting for Mare and Cal, both being the most wanted fugitives in all of Norta. The last part of the book turned instead to a big coup which brought even more action, until it all ended in a big bang, Aveyard-style, once again leaving readers hanging on the edge of the pages wondering what will happen in the next installment.
The first book saw a love story between Mare and Cal, impossible to really happen since Mare was engaged to Maven, whom she also had somewhat tender feelings for. But after Maven’s betrayal in Red Queen, Mare is left with the possibility of being with whoever she wants. While a boyfriend is the last thing on Mare’s mind, Cal still holds a part of her heart which brings a few sweet moments between the two throughout the story. But if you’re worried that this is a story all about the romance, I am here to tell you otherwise. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about Glass Sword is action. Action, action, action. So much action, with a side of action. Brawls, fights, all-out war. There are so many fighting scenes, so much blood, so many people who dies you won’t be able to remember them all at the end. This is not about Mare and whoever she’ll end up with, this is about a young woman trying to take down a monster and the ruins and smoke she leaves in her wake.
Mare is no longer the Mare from the beginning of Red Queen, but neither is she Mareena, the girl engaged to Maven. She is a new person, fighting not only the Silver soldiers and the vindictive king, but also herself. She turns dark and ugly in this book and some parts really made me fear what’s in store for the next one. People are afraid of Mare, something she dislikes at the beginning of Glass Sword, but by the end relishes. She’s a force to be reckoned with and definitely not your average female main character from a Young Adult novel. If anything she reminded me of Adelina in The Young Elites, with the same hunger for revenge. I am both frightened and intrigued by this turn in Mare’s personality, but I do still feel it to be an interesting move from Aveyard's side. It’ll be fun to see wherever this will bring the third book, and Mare herself.
I felt like both Cal and Kilorn felt detached in this story, but then again, so did mostly everyone that wasn’t Mare herself. Maybe because Mare feels very alone and makes a lot of choices that sets her apart from everyone else and this is just a way to underline her loneliness. If that’s the case, then hats off for Aveyard because she really pulled that of – if not then I’m disappointed that Mare was the only one that felt real. I did like the new characters that appeared, however, most of them newbloods with curious abilities and interesting personalities.
There wasn’t really anything that made this book bad, apart from Aveyard repeating certain parts and moments a bit too much, but I still felt like something was missing. I want Aveyard to step up another notch in the next installment, maybe not action wise – because there was quite enough of that – but there’s something still lacking in her story. I can’t even put my finger on it but I know this could be even better (which is saying something since this is a good story to begin with). Despite this I can’t wait to see what the third novel will bring to the table and I definitely think anyone who hasn’t read this should give it a go. Make sure to buckle down when you pick it up though, because this story is going to take you on the ride of your life.