Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard, the second book in the Red Queen series, tells the story of Mare Barrow: a girl who straddles the divide that is tearing her country apart. She bears the strange ability to conjure and control lightning, an ability akin to the Silver-blooded nobility, but her blood is red like the common people beside whom she was raised. After a betrayal from someone she trusted most (I won’t say who because spoilers suck), Mare is on the run with the Scarlet Guard, who seek to start a rebellion and close the divide between Silver and Red. Charged with seeking out and saving those like her, red-blooded with Silver abilities, Mare scours the nation with her merry band of thieves, cast-down captains, and a dethroned prince.
What I loved about this book was that it improved upon the first book in the series (you can read my review of Red Queen here). While I thoroughly enjoyed Red Queen, I knew it would be difficult to surpass. However uncharacteristic to such a trilogy, Glass Sword did the almost impossible: it matched, if not excelled beyond, the first book in the series.
What made this book so remarkable for me was that Aveyard showed how the characters suffered from acts of rebellion and bloodshed, especially the protagonist Mare. She has her moments of strength, of weakness, of certainty and doubt. She questions herself, asks if the end is worth the means. She is scared of how she has changed and how she will continue to change. There was not a static character in sight and Mare was a prime example.
Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed was Aveyard’s writing itself. Her descriptions are unique and accurate, dripping with phrases that sound more like poetry than prose. She plays with words in Glass Sword, exploiting double meanings and foreshadowing like the best of them. Her diction is purposeful. No letter goes to waste; every word packs a punch.
The plot flowed and was interesting, but the pacing was a little funky. I felt like we were constantly seesawing in between slow motion and fast forward: thirty minutes would last for chapters and an entire month would be covered in little more than a paragraph. Maybe this was a function of Mare’s perceptions: the moments that stuck with her were going to stick with us, the readers, and Aveyard made sure of that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. While it was not my favorite novel in the world, it was far from my least favorite and I would certainly recommend it to other readers. I gave Glass Sword 4/5 stars on Goodreads and cannot wait to pick up King’s Cage, the next book in the series.
Have you read Glass Sword? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and check out Annie Likes Words on Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Wattpad<3
Ah! I did not like the Glass Sword at all and your review is making me feel like I need to revisit this series……..
Oh no! It certainly had its flaws but I generally enjoyed it. Happy rereading!
I did a review on this as well a couple of months ago now. I’m glad you enjoyed it more than I did ha-ha! I liked it, but I preferred Red Queen to be frank. I totally get what you mean by the “see-saw” occurrences. This book actually frustrated me so much ha-ha! I can’t wait to see what you think of “King’s Cage”. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind…but I ended up really enjoying it! Great review! It’s nice to see one that differs and get a different perspective!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to read Kings Cage myself 🙂
I enjoyed this one, too. I’m a little more on the fence on King’s Cage for reasons, so I’m interested to see what you think of that one.
We’ll see! I tell ya, Victoria Aveyard knows how to write a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to get my hands on Kings Cage 🙂
I remember that cliffhanger. For me, King’s Cage wasn’t even out yet and it was TORTURE.
Ugh hate when that happens!!
Me, too…I just don’t always have the patience to wait until a series is finished.
I strategically waited till now so hopefully my waiting will pay off 🙂
Good plan. Just know that there’s at least 1 more book coming. I didn’t realize that when I read King’s Cage…
Whoa I thought it was a trilogy! That rocked my world a bit…
I didn’t know until I finished the book. I started wondering though when it didn’t seem like anything was resolving quickly.
Well, I’ll have to rethink my reading strategy 🙂
Beautiful writing!
I LOVED this book! It was one of the best sequels I’ve ever read. That ending left me dead lol! I had such a bad book hang over, oh my gosh.
I’m a 100 pages into King’s Cage, but it hasn’t been nearly as entertaining 🙁
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Aww man! Hope it gets better!
I think my high expectations made me disappointed in this book, but it was still pretty good. I recently finished King’s Cage and the ending is so strange and wished it were better. But overall it was still pretty good compared to other book series. Loved the review!
Thanks so much! This series isn’t my favorite, but it’s still pretty fabulous 🙂
I should really read this series! I’ve seen it around but never picked it up. The covers are neat tho!
The covers are so gorgeous!! As far as YA dystopian fiction goes, it’s pretty original and interesting. Hope you get to read it soon!!
Sounds interesting! I definitely need to read more books like this. Nice review, thanks for posting 🙂
-Helene, https://angelspartaness.com/
Thanks!!
I did not get on with Victoria Aveyard’s writing yet I keep reading these wonderful reviews which makes me think maybe I need to sit down and give her books another try. 🤔
I’d totally recommend it! I wasn’t a fan of some things about her writing but generally I was a fan!
I was a bit meh about this to be perfectly honest, but I am so glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <3
Thanks so much! What did/didn’t you like about the book?