Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: February 11th 2016
My rating: 3 stars
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I fell hard and fast for Red Queen last year, the amazing
world the Aveyard created, fast pace and brilliance of characters was sort of
hard not to love. So of course I was eagerly anticipating Glass Sword, I
couldn’t wait to be back with my favourite characters once more and see how
everyone would be dealing with what had gone down, especially as the wrath of
so many characters would be expected.
The world Aveyard created was once again brilliant, there
was always danger looming around every corner, with you never knowing what
could happen and you being in a constant fear of something happening to
somebody you loved. But I think Mare’s character sort of dampened my experience
of the book, yes I did expect her to be a changed character after everything
that happened in Red Queen, but at times she really came across as this
insensitive cold person and I think that really came across more strongly when
a lot of characters who knew Mare pointed that out too. At times I wanted to
shake some sense into her and be like look at all the good things in front of
you, why do you keep being drawn back to that one person? And I could see that
everything that she wanted to do and was willing to sacrifice, was for the
greater good of everyone else, but I just wanted our old Mare back, the one who
could have a joke about with Julian, who was clever and skilled but still knew
when to reign her control into check. Who didn’t lie constantly to these who
deeply cared about her and who just for once listened to her heart.
My complaints about Mare aside, other characters were able
to step up and really make my reading experience of Glass Sword a worthwhile one.
There was Cal who despite me not having a clue most of the time what he was
thinking, I loved having him around, his demeanour always came across sort of
scary and untrustworthy, but the poor guy had been through so much and he found
himself with people he didn’t really know if he could trust. But I always loved
how he came through, how he was always willing to do things he wouldn’t have
dreamed of, he was such a torn character, but that I think made me fall for him
so much more. Despite being vulnerable, his strength he displayed was immense.
Then there was Kilorn, I loved the happy go lucky guy we were given in Red
Queen, and although we got snatches of that in this book, again like many others
Kilorn was another forlorn character who had been through so much but was still
trying to hold his head up high. Alongside Cal and Kilorn there were a great
bunch of new characters that Aveyard introduced that although I was wary of to
begin with, they had me excited at every scene with them, in wonder of all the
things that could come. These new characters also gave off a great X-Men sort
of vibe, with their various abilities that I wish more time could have been
spent getting to know these characters. Hopefully more time will be spent with
them in future books.
Aveyard also knew exactly how to bring up the tension and
create wonderful scenes of destruction and power. Also the journey along the
way for our characters was exquisitely sprinkled with fast paced scenes of
brilliance which really raised my heart rate and blood pressure through the
roof. I only wish alongside this, all the potential romance that had subtle
hints of coming through had been focused on more. But with so many things going
on and the story being pulled in so many possible directions, I could
understand Aveyard’s need to put it on the backburner. Overall despite me not
enjoying Glass Sword as much as I would have hoped, this book didn’t end up
putting me off the rest of the series. We were dropped with so much hurt and
bombshells in the end, that I know the wait for book three is just going to be
a killer.
I hope book 3 sees Mare coming to her senses and a little more romance then! Sounds your favourite characters this go around were all men. I'm hoping to start reading this series this year; I have the first book on audio. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThis series was supposed to be a trilogy and it got extended to 4 books. I'm still really annoyed by that so I think I'm unsure whether I want to read this. Now that you mention this one being not as great as the first, I'll admit that I don't think I'll be picking it up. Mare's personality changes sound a bit too drastic and I think I'd have a real rough time connecting with her.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, Jasprit!
I admit, I've been dying to read this since I finished Red Queen last year. However, 3 stars isn't a bad rating, but it's not really making me want to read this just yet. I may wait until the Summer like I did the first book. Great review!
ReplyDeleteMeh. I'm sorry you didn't love this book Jasprit :\ But sort of happy you still liked it :) I gave three stars to book one. And I own the ARC and hardcover of that one.. but did not get this new one. Sigh. I don't really want to read it :\ It seems a bit annoying, lol. I think I would dislike what you disliked too. Sigh. I'm sorry it was pretty bad. But glad you gave it a try :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a sure way to lose interest in a book: an apathetic character. Sorry this was not as great as you'd hoped, Jas. I didn't quite enjoy Red Queen so I knew I as going to give this one a pass.
ReplyDeleteI've felt this way about a lot of middle books but, like you, have persevered to the end of the series and haven't been disappointed. I'm glad to see you're enjoying this world, though, Jasprit, as I have yet to pick up the first novel and perhaps should. Thanks for such a honest and helpful review, dearest! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure this isn't a series for me. :( The world does sound fascinating, but the "triangle" in the first book and then what I've heard about the "romance" in this book makes me wary. :/
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it for the most part. I hope book 3 is even better for you. :) Lovely review!
Oooo, I'm excited to get started. I think I'll start this one later, because oooooo, it's exciting and I genuinely have such high expectations. Maybe that's a problem, but bah, your review has me even more excited, so thanks Jas! :)
ReplyDelete