Victoria Aveyard

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they've always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul. 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 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

Pia 

One person alone wears gray, the only color that suits him. Jon.

This is my bargain. "Let the rest go-and I will be your prisoner. I will surrender. I will return.”

I will do anything to keep him alive. To keep him with me. To not be alone. My lightning has never looked so weak or forlorn. The sparks fade slowly, like the beat of a dying heart. "I have something to trade," I whisper hoarsely.

I mean it was obvious that something would happen but come on

The alarm sounds seconds before the tail of the plane explodes.

No! He was the brother who was supposed to be dead but wasn’t! He is not supposed to die

Shade appears in front of me, intending to take me away from all this. Instead, he gets a cruel, gleaming needle through his heart. He doesn't realize what's happening. He doesn't feel any pain. He dies before his knees hit the ground.

Oh so he couldn’t have mentioned that!?

Maven shut up no one wants to hear from you 

 If you could, wish him a happy birthday for me. And assure him it will be his last.

"What," he echoes, shaking his head. After a long second, thing snaps in him. "I know you don't feel the same way I do. About us.

IfI am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.

 Cal's eyes widen, imploring me to understand. "He's hunting newbloods not to protect his throne but to hurt you. To find you. To make you come back to him." His fist clenches on his thigh. “Maven wants you more than anything else on this earth."

He is Wolliver Galt, a newblood, reduced toa lifeless corpse. I weep for the boy I never knew, for the boy I was not fast enough to save.

I mean one of you can take her and the other one maven 

"When the time comes," he says, staring at me, we ll flip a coin." His bright flame has grown dark indeed.

"What?" I ask the heavy, stale air. But the only answer I need is Kilorn's face, staring at me from the other side of the glass. The key hangs from one clenched fist, and his face curls into something between a scowl and a sob.

"He's" Kilorn stumbles, unsure of the words even as they leave his lips. "He's not entirely wrong though, is he?" 

 "I'm sorry you can't stop being an ass for two minutes so you can see exactly what's going on here."

amelia <3

“Anyone, anything, can betray anyone. Even your own heart”

Nicky 

But like my brother, I too have a crutch. Mine is not metal. It is flesh and fire and bronze eyes. If only I could cast him away. If only I was strong enough to let the prince go and do what he would with his vengeance. To die or live as he saw fit. But I need him. And I can't find the strength to let him go. 

alexys <3

Cal’s grin is just as forced as mine, but it warms me anyway. 

When he tries to get up, I push, holding him firmly beneath me. "You're not getting up until you pull yourself together." 

To my surprise, he only shrugs. He even winks. "Not much of an incentive.”

Because I miss him. I miss the boy I thought he was.

I've read this through once, and then DNF about three times after. It's good, but something about it stalls for me and I find it hard to finish to get to the next book.

ploral

Mercy Jepchirchir Barno

Honestly I don't know what to say. This book broke me, I'm basically lost for words. But I truly did enjoy this book and look forward to King's Cage. 

..Goodness gracious. There are things in Glass Sword that I don't think I will get over anytime soon when I start reading book 3 of the Red Queen series: King's Cage. Another thing about Glass Sword, I held my breath through out the whole book, the anticipation and *sigh*, I am lost for words.

The #1 New York Times bestselling series! The electrifying second installment in the Red Queen series has all the drama, intrigue, and steamy romance that made it a #1 New York Times bestseller. 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 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? Perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series, Glass Sword is the high-stakes follow up to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen. And don’t miss War Storm, the thrilling final book in the bestselling Red Queen series!

katie ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

tough read. i had high hopes because i loved the first book, but this just didn't catch my attention and i had to force myself to pick this back up numerous times. just second book syndrome imo, and i don't want this to drive me away from finishing the series!

[finished back in 2018]

Lots of inner monologue from mare which I don’t mind so much, but I  feel like the battle between her and the queen in the jail was super brushed over and I can’t get over shade dying. 

Colleen

Too many new characters to keep up with, so many repeating scenes, and overly wordy descriptions of everything. Not a fan. 

Jillian Roberts

Glass Sword (Signed)

Lots of internal monologue from main character and pretty much no interactions between characters to develop relationships. Textbook example of telling development instead of showing it

Sam Good

First half was really slow but the ending saved it for me

Emily Akerman

The second novel in the #1 bestselling RED QUEEN series by Victoria Aveyard. I WAS BORN TO KILL A KING, TO END A REIGN OF TERROR BEFORE IT CAN TRULY BEGIN. If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different. Mare's blood is red - the colour of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court wants to control. Pursued by the vengeful Silver king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join the rebellion. 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? _________________________________ Read the international bestselling RED QUEEN series in full: Book 1: RED QUEEN Book 2: GLASS SWORD Book 3: KING'S CAGE Book 4: WAR STORM Book 5: BROKEN THRONE (AN EXCLUSIVE RED QUEEN COLLECTION)

Red Queen Book 2

Melissa Palmer

Book #33 Read in 2016
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

This is the second in a paranormal young adult series, the sequel to Red Queen. While I enjoyed the first book more, this book was a good read. It picks up right where Red Queen leaves off, and the battle against evil King Maven continues for Mare and Cal. This book has great characters and a lot of action. I am hoping there is a third book in the works. I recommend this read to high school readers and adults.

Megan During

This book blew me away! It starts exactly where Red Queen left off so if you haven't read Red Queen for a while I highly recommend giving it a quick re-read before starting this. 

Let's start by saying this book broke my heart, then put it back together than broke it again! Seeing Mare struggle was so hard to read. The whole time you want her to just see that she is not broken and to accept the love that Cal and Kilorn offer but she keeps them at a distance fearing that they will betray her and it is so hard to read. Typically in these types of books the heroine realizes that love conquers all and dives head first into a relationship so it was refreshing to have Mare take a more realistic approach. She was hurt and betrayed so many times that trust is hard and she's also trying to lead a group of special people and it's a lot for a 17 year old to take on.

This book definitely did not take the route I thought it was going to and all it left me with was a desire for more! Here's hoping book 3 in the series comes soon because that ending was so crazy that I need to know what happens next!

In comparison to Red Queen, Glass Sword was alright. 

The love triangle between Mare, Cal and Kilorn was further developed (omg - who should I choose?) which is just not my cup of tea. 

The recruiting of newbloods was also a way to pass time in my opinion, it just felt like it kept away from the plot a little bit. 

Also, Mare's whole thing of "trust nobody" was a bit annoying, especially as she said it all the time and then continued to trust the wrong people (as Harry Styles once said: "will we ever learn, we've been here before"). 

The little girl-to-villain arc was interesting, but it stopped halfway because of this whole good-bad dilemma. I think it would've gotten really interesting if Mare just became the villain but that would take her title as hero away so I get the choices that have been made. 

When they finally made the decision to go to the front to help the child soldiers, I was like 

 but then they didn't? And the book ended very confusing because she said "omg I'm never going back to Maven" and then she does?? I'm confused and very curious to see how the third book will play out. 

If you liked this book, I recommend: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; The Selection by Kiera Cass. 

Laura

In comparison to Red Queen, Glass Sword was alright. 

The love triangle between Mare, Cal and Kilorn was further developed (omg - who should I choose?) which is just not my cup of tea. 

The recruiting of newbloods was also a way to pass time in my opinion, it just felt like it kept away from the plot a little bit. 

Also, Mare's whole thing of "trust nobody" was a bit annoying, especially as she said it all the time and then continued to trust the wrong people (as Harry Styles once said: "will we ever learn, we've been here before"). 

The little girl-to-villain arc was interesting, but it stopped halfway because of this whole good-bad dilemma. I think it would've gotten really interesting if Mare just became the villain but that would take her title as hero away so I get the choices that have been made. 

When they finally made the decision to go to the front to help the child soldiers, I was like finally but then they didn't? And the book ended very confusing because she said "omg I'm never going back to Maven" and then she does?? I'm confused and very curious to see how the third book will play out. 

If you liked this book, I recommend: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins; The Selection by Kiera Cass. 

i unfortunately found this boring because the same pattern in scenes kept appearing. Book could've been way shorter, and too many new characters are being introduced. 

poopsoup

This book was just as captivating as the first. While it did feel a bit slower I still found myself very immersed in the story. This one is absolutely emotional and will take you on one hell of a ride!

Sasha Mann

Jazelle H

Nessa Luna

Read this review and more on my blog October Tune!

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the first book, so if you haven't read that book yet, you should probably not read this review!

Last year, I read 
  Red Queen
, the first book in a series about a girl who finds out she's special. She has a power that she's not supossed to have, because she has Red blood and only Silver bloods have powers. But here she is, Mare Barrow, red blood flowing through her veins, and the power to summon/feel electricity at her will. I was very intrigued in this book, especially because of the whole special powers theme, and because this book was a fantasy novel (with a fantasy world) but still so modern with cameras, trains and (obviously) electricity!

Glass Sword is the second book in the series, and I wasn't so sure if I wanted to read it, because I'd seen very mixed reviews on Goodreads. I decided to just pick it up after I saw it discounted and read it almost immediately after it arrived. I was - and still am - in a reading slump, so it took me a while to get into this book, but stars it was good.

The story takes off almost immediately where the first book left us - in the underground train on their way to the Red Guards secret hide-out. Mare has just found out her brother Shade is still alive and a newblood like her. We arrive at the hide-out, only to be swept away almost as quickly, because Maven knows where they are and is leveling the city just to find her. From then on, this book is a damn rollercoaster.

Honestly, I kept comparing this book to X-Men. Which is not a bad thing really, but my mind just kept going back to X-Men while I was reading this book, and I don't think that's what the author wanted. The newbloods are basically mutants, because their blood has mutated so they get their powers. I do really love X-Men, and I've always been a fan of stories where people get powers, but yeah, I don't know. (view spoiler)[There is Mare, who can summon lightning and that reminded me a bit of Storm. There's the stoneskins (or whatever they were called) one of which made his entrance by running through a wall, which reminded me of Juggernaut (or Colossus or Luke Cage, though that one isn't a mutant). Nanny was basically Mystique because she could change into anyone and even take over their voices. Shade reminded me a bit of a combination of Nightcrawler and Quicksilver. So yeah. (hide spoiler)]

I read a couple of spoiler-free reviews on Goodreads, and saw that people are still shipping Mare with Maven, after all he's done in this book, and I don't get it? After all the shit he's put her through, after all the people he's killed just to get her to come back to him. In this book, Mare often feels disgusted by Maven whenever she thinks of him or sees what he's done. (view spoiler)[When Nanny morphs into him to get into the prison, Mare nearly punches her even though she knows it's not really Maven. I think that shows how much she hates what Maven has become. (hide spoiler)] Maven's behavious in this book was childish and Joffrey-like. Honestly. He kills people just to get Mare back to him? What the hell, no. I will never go down with this ship, never never never. (view spoiler)[I don't really ship Mare with Cal either, nor with Kilorn. And that last bit annoyed me too, because it's so old already. The best friend, the one she grew up with, turns out to be in love with her as well. Ugh, please stop. (hide spoiler)]

Like the previous book, Glass Sword had a couple of twists, but I have to admit that, like the previous book, I saw (some of) them coming. (view spoiler)[I knew that Kilorn was going to confess his love for Mare, I knew that she would get locked up with Cal in that silent stone room and that Kilorn was going to do that. I knew Farley was pregnant before it was announced. Or well - Mare still doesn't even know it yet, so it's not official yet, but I already know she's going to find out in the next book. (hide spoiler)] There was only one that I didn't see coming, and that was the ending. THAT ENDING HOLY SHIT WHAT. Anyway, I am a bit sad that I found the book so predictable, because the twists are good, but I just didn't experience the way other people did.

I don't have any comments on the characters, other than that I really enjoyed reading about all of them. I loved the newbloods, and I loved their powers. Mare went through a couple of changes in this book, which I understood. I mean you can't be chased by the king of your country, almost get killed multiple times, and then end up being the same person. What I did like was that this book wasn't centered around romance that much, which happens a lot in YA books. There was romance, but very subtle and not too in-your-face, which is exactly how I want my romance. (view spoiler)[There is just one thing I am a bit crossed about. Shade's death. I mean sure it was in the middle of battle and they lost a couple of others, but why Shade? Why?! Perhaps to make Mare's escape/being rescued in the next book a bit more difficult, but still WHY SHADE. (hide spoiler)]

The one thing I would have loved having in this book, was a map. There is a map of the Red Queen world, but it just isn't in my books, which is such a shame, because I was terribly confused by all the new cities and towns they visited in this book, to find newbloods. Maybe it's just the editions that I have, and others do have a map, but I really wished that it'd been in every edition of the books.

In the end, I really enjoyed Glass Sword and I will certainly be reading the next book in the series. If you love X-Men and you love fantasy books that also have a hint of science fiction, you should definitely check out the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

The first 200 pages were a bit tedious. The character building feels a bit shallow as I don’t really feel as saddened by things as I think the author intended. Also, I understand this is a teen fantasy, but having two teens sleep together every night but saying they don’t do anything feels very un-teen behavior. 

However! The last 250 pages did have a much better pace and made up for the lackluster other details. 

Syrina Akbari

The first 200 pages were a bit tedious. The character building feels a bit shallow as I don’t really feel as saddened by things as I think the author intended. Also, I understand this is a teen fantasy, but having two teens sleep together every night but saying they don’t do anything feels very un-teen behavior. 

However! The last 250 pages did have a much better pace and made up for the lackluster other details. 

Courtney

DNF'd this. Totally a "filler" book. Idk if it's because I tried to read this immediately after Six of Crows, or if it's been too long and I can't remember how great Red Queen was, but I couldn't get into this and I'm not ashamed to leave personally honest feedback. You're welcome.

Fast paced and exciting, but also tremendously sad. By the end of the book I felt like crying in frustration. I know this means that I have to read the next one to see some characters redeemed and some conflicts get solved. 

Paige Carter 

Although I felt that the first part of the book was slow, I later understood it needed to be that way. 

It's a good continuing of for the Red Queen. 

The last part really convince me to read the next one

María | @AltroReader

You just have to give it time!

Although I felt that the first part of the book was slow, I later understood it needed to be that way. 

It's a good continuing of for the Red Queen. 

The last part really convince me to read the next one

4/5

This is more of a 4.5 than a 4 to be honest. It was still as gripping and intense as Red Queen BUT I have to admit my interest faltered in and out for the first few chapters. However, halfway through the book it got better and goddamn that's good. It did it again, it evoked my emotions. I didn't love it like I loved Red Queen but this was a good sequel to follow up.

From the NEW YORK TIMES number one bestselling author of RED QUEEN. If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different. Mare's blood is red - the colour of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court wants to control. Pursued by the vengeful Silver king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join the rebellion. 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

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