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madisone's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, War, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pregnancy
kingrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Okay, I’m going to start by saying it took me 7 months to read Glass Sword after reading Red Queen. Both books took me about two weeks to get through. These books are pretty slow and this one in particular was a bit boring. I mean I liked the adventure around Norta and learning about the wider world, but that’s it. I think Maven could be a formidable villain with him killing children and having an obsession with Mare, but it’s not something seen in this book. I said for Red Queen that it reminded me of Hunger Games and Mare definitely reminds me a lot of Katniss. Mare has done a lot for her family from stealing to becoming a Silver princess to protect her family. Though it seems her mission to protect them is lost after being betrayed by Maven. It’s not that she doesn’t care about them, she just forgets they exist or their feelings. But here’s the thing: Mare is a seventeen year old child. Children, particularly teenagers, are naturally selfish and not in a malevolent way but just the way they are. Mare and Cal’s relationship also reminds me of Katniss and Peeta where they seek comfort in one another, both have an understanding of one another, and they end up sharing a bed but nothing more, though Cal isn’t anything like sweet baker boy, Peeta. (Kilorn is just as annoying and toxic as Gale though).
Mare is this reluctant leader, she didn’t choose this path and she sure as hell hates being in the position to lead. She struggles with the role and makes mistakes and struggles to control her anger and hatred which has led her to be ruthless and cold. These traits are important when going up against Maven, so the fear is her going too far and losing herself. Mare’s not a likeable person and that’s not a requirement to be a good story, in fact I started this series because I wanted to read a morally grey and slightly unlikeable main character, Aveyard just hasn’t quite gotten to a point with Mare that she’s a complex character who does questionable things for the greater good.
I think I’ll continue the series, because Aveyard does do a pretty good cliffhanger. I like gritty political fantasies that really get into the violence and the crimes an oppressive and tyrannical government commits. This is in no way a romance. There’s no romance at all. It’s not even a subplot and really there’s no love interest that is all that likeable right now.
I will say the slow pacing and kind of filler information about the world and recruitment of the new bloods is something I’d expect from a middle of the series book, not the second book in the series. The first is supposed to be the foundation and world building, the second book is meant to be exciting and filled with twists and turns. But that’s just my opinion. When you have a 4 book series I feel like books 1 and 3 can be just exciting enough but filled with information, but books 2 and 4 are where the really crazy and fun things should. Just saying.
I think this series could’ve been better if it contained multiple POVs to give more dimension to the other characters as we’re only viewing them from Mare’s POV and she’s currently absorbed with her actions. I’m not sure if I’m giving Aveyard more credit than what’s due if the confusing fighting scenes are meant to mimic actual confusion during battle which Mare as a first person POV would be processing it or when two significant people die and it’s a “what the fuck just happened” moment because it was mentioned out of the blue and quickly with little explanation, or if it’s genuinely bad writing? I guess I’ll find out in the next 2 (2.5?) books. I hated that one of these people died and got a little teary eyed (but not full on tears thanks to Mare’s numbness/indifferences to it) but I’m happy the other is dead.
I’d say this is probably a 3.25 or 3.5/5 stars.
Mare is this reluctant leader, she didn’t choose this path and she sure as hell hates being in the position to lead. She struggles with the role and makes mistakes and struggles to control her anger and hatred which has led her to be ruthless and cold. These traits are important when going up against Maven, so the fear is her going too far and losing herself. Mare’s not a likeable person and that’s not a requirement to be a good story, in fact I started this series because I wanted to read a morally grey and slightly unlikeable main character, Aveyard just hasn’t quite gotten to a point with Mare that she’s a complex character who does questionable things for the greater good.
I think I’ll continue the series, because Aveyard does do a pretty good cliffhanger. I like gritty political fantasies that really get into the violence and the crimes an oppressive and tyrannical government commits. This is in no way a romance. There’s no romance at all. It’s not even a subplot and really there’s no love interest that is all that likeable right now.
I will say the slow pacing and kind of filler information about the world and recruitment of the new bloods is something I’d expect from a middle of the series book, not the second book in the series. The first is supposed to be the foundation and world building, the second book is meant to be exciting and filled with twists and turns. But that’s just my opinion. When you have a 4 book series I feel like books 1 and 3 can be just exciting enough but filled with information, but books 2 and 4 are where the really crazy and fun things should. Just saying.
I think this series could’ve been better if it contained multiple POVs to give more dimension to the other characters as we’re only viewing them from Mare’s POV and she’s currently absorbed with her actions. I’m not sure if I’m giving Aveyard more credit than what’s due if the confusing fighting scenes are meant to mimic actual confusion during battle which Mare as a first person POV would be processing it or when two significant people die and it’s a “what the fuck just happened” moment because it was mentioned out of the blue and quickly with little explanation, or if it’s genuinely bad writing? I guess I’ll find out in the next 2 (2.5?) books. I hated that one of these people died and got a little teary eyed (but not full on tears thanks to Mare’s numbness/indifferences to it) but I’m happy the other is dead.
I’d say this is probably a 3.25 or 3.5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Gore, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and War
robin_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t know what I’ve ever don’t to Victoria Aveyard for her to hurt me this bad. I wanted a single character to live. Just one. She could’ve taken literally anyone else from me. But no. It had to be the one person I loved the most.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Classism, War, and Torture
snartyhasgottheskills's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
victoria aveyard is a brilliant writer and really immersed you in the story. I don’t understand how or why the main character is SO BAD at finding love but whatever. it really is hard to understand what is right and wrong in the world she has built
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
hshipl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was… not good. I should’ve expected it, considering I rated “Red Queen” only 3 stars. I don’t know why I decided to go further on with the series, but for some reason I did. And it wasn’t that enjoyable! In all honesty, I’m in desperate need of reading books to complete my reading goal and if I wasn’t, I would’ve DNFed this. I never DNF books. For the latter half of the book, I listened to an audiobook version although I own a physical copy.
I don’t feel like writing a full-on review, so here are some of my thoughts from my notes app that I had whilst reading one time!!!
- i love cal but he’s kinda boring
- maven is the only character that’s carrying the series and that’s only because he actually has a personality
- OH AND KILORN AND SHADE, i like them, especially their bantering
(edit- SHADE DIED. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO I LOVED) - mare = lightning girl NOT mareena
- WE GET IT. ANYONE CAN BETRAY ANYONE. OOOOKAY.
- cameron is girlboss
I’m done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
emmaopaline's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, and War
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was both exactly what I wanted and completely unexpected at the same time. It both holds up the tropes of the genre while subverting them in the best ways.
I honestly can't believe all that happened in this book; the writing is so immersive, but also very tight -- so much is conveyed in concise and simple lines. Every page packed a punch; every new chapter came with new conflict, new missions, new obstacles, but it never felt overdone or like too much was happening. The tension and pacing kept me obsessed and invested.
I was expecting someone to die, but my guess was wrong.I also expected Mare to end up in Maven's grasp again, but I was not prepared for how that happened. I thought there would be a bit more romance between Mare and Cal, but their relationship would have felt unnatural if it had been pushed anymore in the narrative; they are still both processing and dealing with a lot in a short amount of time.
I am so excited for the rest of this series; I am completely hooked!
I honestly can't believe all that happened in this book; the writing is so immersive, but also very tight -- so much is conveyed in concise and simple lines. Every page packed a punch; every new chapter came with new conflict, new missions, new obstacles, but it never felt overdone or like too much was happening. The tension and pacing kept me obsessed and invested.
I was expecting someone to die, but my guess was wrong.
I am so excited for the rest of this series; I am completely hooked!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and War
slythormione's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Slavery, War, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Gore, Murder, War, and Violence
cranereader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book was definitely something. I've picked it up and put it down so many times. It took me ages to get through this book and that's also how I felt reading it.
While the first book of the series was okay, this definitely wasn't a promising sequel. It didn't really feel like Mare's character was real anymore to me and I ended up disliking her. It felt like she was so self-absorbed and overwhelmed by her emotions that she didn't care about anyone else anymore and therefore ended up doing some really awful things.
I was glad when I finally reached the end of this book and won't continue the series, as it's just not for me.
Instead this book might be something for readers who like a lot of slow-paced angst set in a dystopian world.
While the first book of the series was okay, this definitely wasn't a promising sequel. It didn't really feel like Mare's character was real anymore to me and I ended up disliking her. It felt like she was so self-absorbed and overwhelmed by her emotions that she didn't care about anyone else anymore and therefore ended up doing some really awful things.
I was glad when I finally reached the end of this book and won't continue the series, as it's just not for me.
Instead this book might be something for readers who like a lot of slow-paced angst set in a dystopian world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Death, Murder, Torture, and Blood