Glass Sword (Red Queen, 2) Hardcover – February 9, 2016

This is a great installment for a book series. Glass Sword really knocks it out of the park. It's a build up of war, internal and external, throwing punches, and getting messy with emotions. Now that all the set-up stuff is over with, this second book gets right into the thick of the plot, expanding upon the story arc introduced in the end of the last book, wherein Mare resolves to rescue the redbloods with silver abilities aka "newbloods" and continue working on the mission of the Scarlet Guard: overthrow the Silver hierarchy and make a change for the better for the reds.But this novel doesn't shy away from getting complex. War is complex, social movements are complex. There is sacrifice, there are people whose perspectives will never align with yours, there are things that haunt us, things that twist us, reasons to turn your back on people you love... The story has definitely shown an expansion of what we saw in Red Queen. Things seemed so direct in that book, but now the waters are murky. We see the worst in our characters, we see their true natures, we get met with obstacles and things that make the reader feel conflicted about their own stances if they'd be in this situation, what choices they would make. It's actually a really enjoyable read because the author wasn't afraid to make events or characters bad and messy and horrible. It feels realistic that there's a balance of things; there are victories, but oh, are there losses too.In fact, while this book was really great, it's also the kind of book I probably won't be rereading anytime soon (like, I'll probably reread it when book #4 comes out and then I'm not picking it up again for a while) because it appeals in a way that's heavy emotionally and makes it hard to just pick it up and experience it again. It doesn't have enough feel-good moments to make the heaviness bearable again and again.I enjoyed the writing, the character development, the plot projection... I'm excited for the next book! I've always been a sucker for obsessive villains who become fixated on a single person, so it'll be interesting to see how things unfold after that ending. Again, the romance wasn't very heavy, but I think those moments of connection between Cal and Mare were worthwhile, showing something very human in both of them. But like the last one, this book isn't nearly as concerned with romance as it is with the major plots. It's just a small touch here and there.I can't really pick any faults from it. I read it in one sitting and loved every minute. I recommend picking up the series! Though if you've avoided it this long, wait until 2018 when the last book it out since I'm sure book #3 will leave on a hell of an ending too.

Actual rating 4.5 stars.It wasn’t long after the release date that I began reading this follow up to Victoria Aveyards debut, and it had some big shoes to fill with all the hype surrounding this release; but did it meet my expectations? ‘Glass Sword’ has definitely surpassed ‘Red Queen’ in my opinion. More complexity. More characters. More supernatural. More action and character development. It impressed me on so many levels.Picking up the story not long after where ‘Red Queen’ concluded our protagonist, Mare and her (kind of) beau, Cal’s relationship for most of the novel was…. I want to say distracting… because of the nuances of their history and situation. And though it made good reading I’m not sure if I was completely sold on the pairing until after half way. Mare is not the type of girl who needs a man. And Cal certainly does not see her as a damsel in distress. They are warriors with equal gifts to use in their arsenal. A great team for the rebellion. There is distaste and attraction equally present for Mare, she is battling with what she thinks of Cal. War is a difficult time to form romance, it shows our nature at its ugliest and most basic.Cameron was a great addition to the cast – a realistic portrayal of a tween and not quite an antagonist. I really appreciated the dynamic he brought to the relationships and it was relieving to read a story which strains many of the typical tropes of characters in YA.Maven has transformed into someone else entirely and immerses himself fully into the role of the antagonist. This is where I was a little disappointed: I wanted to see some humanity or inner struggle with Maven. All the other characters were written so beautifully, where Maven tended towards a stereotype.Though the narrative style – easy to read – had occasional moments where a sentence felt clunky, and had me rereading the line several times to understand what was being conveyed. ‘Glass Sword’ is definitely high on my recommendations list and is helping me get into a fantasy mood after a past year heavy the contemporary titles.Plenty of surprises. Great character development.The ending was bloody brilliant!Bring on Red Queen #3 – no title yet and just an expected publication date as somewhere in 2017 – Argh! I’ll just have to fill up my time with some other great series :)