I am so happy to be part of the official blog tour for Glass Sword. Since it's already in stores I hope some of you have already picked it up and have started reading it. I cannot wait to discuss it with you all.
My review will be below, and there is a pretty amazing giveaway as part of this blog tour as well so be sure to enter it. Seriously, the prize is amazing! Also visit the other stops for more reviews!
Publisher Website - HarperTeen/Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader/Frenzy
Pages - 448 pages
My Rating - 5/5
Book Links - Goodreads // Amazon // Barnes and Noble // Chapters
**received for honest review from the publisher**
**RED QUEEN SPOILERS**
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.The Red Queen series is not one of absolutes. There simply good or bad. There is a whole lot of wiggle room in between the two. As a result there is not one character that can be defined as fully good or evil within these pages. People are often ever shifting in their morality and this novel reflects that truth. We all make bad decisions for what we feel are good reasons sometimes and Victoria Aveyard embraces that greyness. Glass Sword embraces the shades of grey that Red Queen first introduced and reminds us that good and evil really depend on who is telling the story.
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
Glass Sword took Mare's story into unexpected places. The world is expanded and with it comes breath stealing storylines that are filled with surprises, and some new characters to love. So much of what Victoria chose to do in this instalment felt bold and daring. It's not the predictable direction you would expect it to take and that makes this story all the more engaging. It could go in any direction, and it is not necessary telling the story you think it is. It leaves you feeling unsettled because this could be the story of how a young woman becomes the hero, or it could just as easily be the story of a young woman becoming a villain.
Mare struggles with the events in book one. They have left their mark and haunt her every step. Maven's betrayal has cut deep and she is now a closed off, distrustful mess. She is sometimes selfish, sometimes cruel, and often makes quick tempered decisions AND I LOVE HER FOR IT. I've always said that I don't have to agree with a character's actions, or even like their decisions, but I do have to understand them. I understand Mare. The writing ensures that the reader recognizes her motivations. The things that happened to her have an impact and that's made her who she is. There is character growth, even if it feels like negative character growth. This isn't the story of someone learning to open up. Instead this is a systematic hardening of a young girl who has had a large responsibility put on her, one she is not sure she's ready for. She's a reluctant heroine, one who isn't sure the shoe fits. “If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.” This quote lingered with me and I think it defines Mare's mental state during Glass Sword perfectly. Mare is beginning to become a little ruthless, and we all know that saying about power and how it corrupts.
Maven haunts these pages both physically and metaphorically. His betrayal is the catalyst for so much of what happens in this novel. Both Cal and Mare mourn the loss of the boy they thought he was. He is never far from any of their thoughts, and he is hot on their trail while tracking down the new bloods. The path that Victoria takes with him is unexpected, and welcome. He is not some cliche villain. This is a villain who thinks he is just and right in his actions. This is a villain that sees himself as the hero of his own story, and those are the most dangerous (and fascinating) villains of all.
The romantic scenes are extremely subtle in this novel, but they are some of the most swoon inducing ones I've read. The ability to create chemistry and sexual tension without any kissing is an art, and Victoria Aveyard manges it masterfully. Her words paint a picture with nothing more than a look, or a brief touch. I am so fully invested in one particular ship that I am sure it'll end badly, but it doesn't even matter, because it is so perfectly written. There are parts of this novel I want to read again because of the emotions they capture. The romance in this isn't the central focus (hello, war happening) but it is the heartbeat. It is just as complex, and complicated as everything else. Feelings of betrayal, guilt, trust, loss, and lust are all tangled together. It's messy and that makes for some compelling dynamics.
Victoria Aveyard once again offers up a juggernaut of an ending that will leave you madly desperate to get your hands on book three. It is the sort of ending that once again pushes this novel into new territory. It is, like the rest of Glass Sword, bold and offers the perfect exclamation point to this chapter of Mare's story.
Now for the giveaway! Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter below to win this amazing prize. Seriously, I need one of the Scarlet Guard scarves! *need*
One winner will get a RED QUEEN Prize pack from HarperTeen, which includes:
- 1 Physical Copy of CRUEL CROWN (0.1 & 0.2 Red Queen)
- 1 Red Queen foam sword that reads “Kneel or Bleed”
- 1 Scarlet Guard scarf
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Victoria was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, a small town known only for the worst traffic rotary in the continental United States. She moved to Los Angeles to earn a BFA in screenwriting at the University of Southern California. She currently splits her time between the East and West coasts. As an author and screenwriter, she uses her career as an excuse to read too many books and watch too many movies. She has sold several television pilots and feature-length screenplays. You can visit her online at www.victoriaaveyard.com or on Twitter at @VictoriaAveyard.
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