Crown From the Glass Sword B Book to Draw
"I stare at the polished metal, examining my reflection. The girl I see is both familiar and foreign, Mare, Mareena, the lightning girl, the Red Queen, and no one at all. She does not look afraid. She looks carved of stone, with severe features, hair braided tight to her head, and a tangle of scars on her neck. She is not seventeen, but ageless, Silver but not, Red but not, human—but not. A banner of the Scarlet Guard, a face on a wanted poster, a prince's downfall, a thief... a killer."
Rating- 2 stars
Content/ Trigger Warnings- child murder, show off of corpses
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is book 2 in the Red Queen series.
*Spoiler alert for Red Queen*
Thank you to Ester for buddy reading this with me!
"I am a weapon made of flesh, a sword covered in skin. I was born to kill a king, to end a reign of terror before it can truly begin."
I do not know how to start this review. Seriously.
That's why it's been pending for over a month.
And after A LOT of thinking, I realized why:
*drumroll*
Yes, nothing happens in this book.
The plot= non-existent
When Mare discovers that she is not the only one of her kind- red and silver both, she sets off to find fellow 'Newbloods' like her.
Yes, that's the plot.
Throw in some random stuff like: rebellions, deaths, killings, action scenes and some romance to make it ~interesting~ but honestly this book felt like a filler.
Because it is a filler.
If I had to summarize the plot properly, here's what I would say-
Mare Barrow, is the FaCe oF tHe ReBeLlIoN. As the blur says, 'If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different'. She is SpEsHuL, as she is red and silver both.
In the previous book, she was kept in the Palace and was engaged to a Sliver Prince Maven (which again, doesn't really make sense as to why a red was given power, so Mare should have seen the betrayal coming but she is stupid so, never mind) and is betrayed by Maven (who frankly is the only one with a brain here, except for Farley. We stan Farley.)
Towards the end of the book, they escape and now Mare is on the lookout for more like her, also called the Newbloods so that they can fight and face the Silvers.
The entire first half of the book is full of plot conveniences and predictable storylines.
It comprises of- "Oh no, we have a problem! But this Newblood has a random special power that can save the day. YAY!!!"
Yes, that's what happens throughout the first half book.
*Insert* some random fights and yelling between Mare and Cal and Mare having a few breakdowns and thinking over Maven and Kilorn (who is her childhood best friend, and is iN lOvE with her)
Fortunately, the book gets slightly better in the middle portion as something starts happening, and the last 20 pages are probably the best part of the book. (they were actually good)
But this book is 400+ pages, and when only the last 20 pages of a 400+ page book is the best part, its
not a good sign.The world building= even more non-existent
There is no world building. Period.I could stop there, but let me emphasize.
From book 1 we are told that there are different cites (?) all over this world where the Red's are forced to work and etc. etc. but that's all we get about it.
I want to know more about this world and it's history, and was disappointed with what I got.
The writing
"Red Queen. The lightning girl. She lives. Rise, Red as dawn. Rise. Rise. Rise."
The writing was alright, but it is a recurring of the common catchphrases; 'red like the dawn' and 'little lightning girl' and I personally found the action scenes repetitive.
"And I am revealed for exactly what I am - a particularly stupid fish, moving from hook to hook, never learning my lesson."
This is a pretty good summary of the book.
So I don't really have much to say on the writing. It was alright, but it could have been better.
The characters
Mare
"If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter."
Mare Barrow, our protagonist.
I don't know what to say about her.
She's having a hard time yes, but I won't excuse her behavior.
She is arrogant and power hungry.
The entire time Mare is mopping about how bad her life is.
"I suppose I should get used to being alone too. Not in the world, but in here. In my heart.""Mare of the Stilts died the day she fell onto a lightning shield. Mareena, the lost Silver princess, died in the Bowl of Bones. And I don't know what new person opened her eyes on the Undertrain. I only know what she has been and what she has lost, and the weight of it is almost crushing."
She is
not compassionate at all, even towards the people she killed herself."It isn't hard to let people die when their deaths give life to something else."
I get it. Mare is having a bad life. Don't tell me that every other page.
Mare is not a morally-grey character or an anti-hero.
She is just a MC who doesn't have many good traits. And that makes her unlikable.
I would have technically called Mare flawed, but after some thinking I realized she is just a special snowflake character who can do anything.
Really.
"Part of me wants to hold my ground, to stand, to fight. My purple-and-white lightening will certainly make me a target and draw the jets away from the fleeing Guard. I might even take a plane or two with me. But that cannot be. I'm worth more than the rest, more than red masks and bandages."
Mare's lightning can do anything possible, and that makes it so plot convenient. She hardly ever gets injured, and even when she does she recovers far too quickly.
I do admire her for her strength, but I didn't like Mare much as I felt things were far too easy for her.
I get that she feels guilt, but I never felt sympathetic towards her.
And that is Mare Barrow.
Cal
"Every single thing I did, you stood behind me," I say. "If I'm turning into a monster, then so are you." [Mare]
I found Cal to be flat, boring and someone with hardly any personality. (Don't come at me!)
I was fine with Cal in book 1, I had no emotions for him whatsoever. I was hoping book 2 will change that, but it didn't.
I seriously think Mare and Cal are carbon cutouts of each other. There's hardly any difference between them.
Let's do this;
Mare is physically strong- Cal is physically strong.
Mare can fight- Cal can fight.
Mare misses Maven- Cal misses Maven.
Mare is stubborn-Cal is stubborn.
Mare wants revenge-Cal wants revenge.
Mare is a Mary sue-Cal is a Gary sue.
Need I go on?
My point is that I don't like Mare or Cal, and that's unfortunate considering they are the main characters.
Let's just hope they get better.
"No matter how much I might want to feel him, I cannot. I must keep my eyes ahead, and away from the fire of a fallen prince. I must freeze my heart to the one person who insists on setting it ablaze."
Shade
Shade is Mare's brother. I liked him a bit but he didn't really have much of a personality. Still, I liked him a bit.
Farley
Farley is the best character in this series for me, second only to Maven.
I absolutely love her.
She is an actual strong character, unlike Mare.
She trusted Maven in book 1, but that was a rookie mistake. We're gonna ignore that.
(view spoiler)[And she's pregnant! So excited for that. I felt bad for her when Shade died. (hide spoiler)]
Maven
"Maven lies as easily as he breathes, and his mother holds his leash but not his heart."
Maven is possibly one of the best villain's I've read.
"He leans forward slightly, lips pulling back against his even, white teeth. It's so aggressive and animalistic I expect to see fangs. "I am your rightful king, Silver-born for centuries," he replies, seething. "The only reason you're still breathing is because I can't burn the oxygen from this room."
I do expect him to have some sort of redemption arc, because it just seems like he will.
"Yesterday he was a prince; today he is king. I thought he was my friend, my betrothed, but now I know better."
The romance
I do not care about Mare's love life.
But if I had to make a choice, I ship her with Maven.
I don't like Mare and Cal together as I personally don't see much chemistry between them. But they are both boring, so I suppose they deserve each other in that way.
Why does mare have to end up with someone anyways? She's like 17.
(But this is YA, so obviously that won't happen)
Audiobook Comments
I think the narration was alright, but it was a bit slow for me. I can't tell if it was because of the book, or the narration was generally slow but I think you might have to speed it up. I recommend the audiobook otherwise!
Why did I rate it 2 stars?
Despite its flaws, I enjoyed some parts of it (the ending) so its a 2 star from me.
Final thoughts
If you were a huge fan of book 1, then you might like this book. I think this is the kind you will either hate, or love.
I would recommend it only if you are ok with everything I mentioned above in books. :)
I am still reading book 3 to see where it goes. We can only hope it gets better. 🤞
"Anyone, anything, can betray anyone. Even your own heart."
My ratings and reviews for other books in this series-
Red Queen - 3 stars
King's Cage- 3.75 stars
DISCLAIMER- All opinions on books I've read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.
How I Rate-1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite
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Pre- review
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Update- 30 March 2021
I am writing this now. Will be up in a while!
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Update- 20th March, 2021
I think I'll write this soon. Sorry for the delay.
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Update-24th Feb 2021
I have to write a review for this but I don't know what to say. I need help.
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3 stars I think, I might change it later. I have mixed thoughts on this. The ending picked things up, but it was quite a drag otherwise.
Thank you Ester for buddy reading this with me!
Review to come.
Crown From the Glass Sword B Book to Draw
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23174274-glass-sword