Glass Sword Paperback – Import, 3 April 2018

“Now he is king. Now he will fool – and control – our whole world.”This book went all kinds of wrong for me and I’m gutted because I absolutely loved Red Queen.The storyline itself was interesting, find the newbloods while being on the run from the crown.The difference in Mare grated me. She was broken and betrayed yes, her trust issues are somewhat understandable but she droned on, and on, and on! It was insufferable. I didn’t like how on one page she’d complain about never being Mare Barrow again, never feeling whole or being able to smile, but then a few pages later she’s smiling and thankful that Kilorn makes her feel like Mare, then he’s worthless and useless and all this other such nonsense.She’s also meant to be uneducated, yet she can detail every corner, side alley and building in a place she’s never been to. Her being able to call lightening is honestly more believable. Her knowledge for someone uneducated was too far fetched.She became worse than those she was trying to oppose.The town scenes were too detailed, I personally didn’t need paragraphs of detail of a town I don’t even remember the name of. I would have liked details on the prison break scene, it ended too abruptly. I was expecting a showdown not a ‘next thing I remember' moment where she was whisked away to safety with two bodies at her feet. There was a huge build up for this moment and it ended up being nothing at all.It also lacked in character descriptions for all the newcomers. I can't recall what most of them look like or what name belongs to what ability. It was too much all at once, and not enough to stick with me at the same time.I’m at the point where I don’t want any of them in power, none of them have the right ideals at all. Julien is the only person who could run the place fairly, but that’d mean keeping a Silver in power. It was awfully disappointing. I’m not sure if I want to continue this series at all.

After escaping the clutches of vengeful King Maven, Mare must protect herself and others like her. Known as 'The Lightning Girl', who bleeds red but with the powers of a Silver, Mare must team up with the rightful king, Cal, to find and protect the New Bloods from torture and death.I read Red Queen so long ago now and I forgot how great this storyline is! This book introduces so many new characters but I would have loved to have seen them develop more; maybe I'll see more of this in book 3!There is so much action in this and I cannot help but feel like I was watching a movie in my head - the Matrix meets the Expendables! I don't feel as strongly about this one compared to its predecessor Red Queen but overall I still really enjoyed it! Now onto King's Cage!

I don’t know what it was about this second book, but I felt Victoria Aveyard had her writing down to a ‘T’. I LOVED the way she wrote Mare in this instalment, as an unforgiving, ruthless newblood. But also gave us a clear perspective of her internal struggles, and how in her own way she did care but just shut herself off.Also, totally raising my hand to the fact that I WISH I had Nanny’s power I mean c’mon! How cool is that!? That was another point, absolutely was enthralled by learning of other newblood powers, some were totally cliché which was to be expected, however can we also just appreciate Cameron? I mean let’s be real, she was such a bloody whiney pain but a total bad ass!Reason for not 5/5? I have to admit, gathering all those new bloods blah blah blah, got a little boring, it wasn’t until the prison when I was literally finding it harder to put the book down. Also was completely offset by the lack of chemistry between Cal and Mare? I mean for them to both acknowledge that they do have love for each other but just really not feeling that connection, which is a shame because they do have so much potential.SHADE AND FARLEY HOWEVER 😱😱 Oh my God love them. And we won’t even talk about Shade at this point ‘cause you know....wasn’t like he was my favourite character. 🙄😭All in all a much enjoyed read, fantastic character building and displays of fantastical elements, just a shame that newblood recruiting part dragged and we need more character chemistry!That all said, consider the next book ordered 👍

First things first, Red Queen was one of my favourite reads from last year, so I had pretty high hopes for the sequel, Glass Sword, and a hella lot of trepidation. Second books are often a difficult thing to get right, however I am pleased to report that Aveyard does not let up with this second addition to the 4 book series.Again, we are thrust back into the world of Mare, Cal, and their rag-tag band of questionable soldiers, all fighting for freedom, justice, vengeance - all that good stuff.One thing I will say is that Mare has put up with a lot of s***. This book deals well with her transformation following the events of the first book. She has well and truly been broken and rebuilt, and if the ending is anything to go by, she is in for a lot more heartbreak. Someone cut this girl some slack.Maven, oh Maven. His parts of the book are truly the most sinister/creepy to read. I thought his mother was bad (yes, Elara, I'm talking about you) but oh my god, this kid needs help. For those who have a soft spot for him and Mare together, I respect you, but seriously. His and Mare's relationship (if you can call it that) is so toxic, it could dissolve metal. And that's all I'm going to say about that.On a similar note, there is very little typical romance to speak of in this book, which works for me, however if you are into heavy romances, I would bear this in mind. Honestly, Mare's romantic prospects look so bleak, at this point I would say she is better off alone, even if she might not think so yet. Cal is there, burning away (flame on!), but he needs to get his s*** together, big time. I feel for ya bro, but times are tough, you just gotta roll with the punches.I loved some of the newer character additions, my absolute favourite being Jon, despite his albeit brief page time. I am so enthralled by his character - I mean who wouldn't be? The man is truly an enigma, and I hope we get to uncover that enigma a bit more in the third book.This novel deals with a lot of difficult themes - there's guilt, regret, vengeance, retribution, sacrifice, and a whole boat load of murder. It can make for an intense read, and although I loved it, consider yourself warned.The ending - OH WOW. The book starts admittedly slow - the pace meanders along leaving you with a sinking feeling and, true to form, there are a few unpredictable moments before the 'finale', which leaves you feeling like you've been punched in the face. Except now we have to wait for book 3 for the bruises to heal. It's a good ending, but I'm just not okay, OK?Ultimately, I am intrigued to see what will come considering this is a 4 book series, and I look forward to what I'm sure will be a nail-biting, but brilliant follow-up.

The book is really good. It's full of plot twists you would never expect. The turns in took and the ending took me of course by surprise.The pace is perfect. The slow places give us insight into characters minds. They help to connect with them. Then we have places full of actions and it's definitely big improvement in comparison to the "Red Queen". I feel like the writing really improved.On the top of all that we have unique world- full of magic, deep characters that are far from being flat, complicated love story, amazing friendship, death. While reading it I experience so many different emotions.If you read "Red Queen" and you liked it but you are not sure if you should read next book you should give it a try. Its more action-packed, the characters develop and it's a good page turner.