Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is the second in the Red Queen series and follows the story of Mare Barrow, a recently discovered Newblood as she evades the clutches of the new king. This book is quite different from the first being set all around the nation of Norta and features lots of new characters.
Mare is a pretty angry person that is very conflicted by her recent past and she is struggling with what’s expected of her. The relationships she has with the people around her are quite cold and held at an arms length throughout. There are some pretty gruesome scenes throughout the book which really go to show just how disturbed the king is.
I originally listened to Red Queen on Audible and then carried on the series by reading through for my reading challenge. I’m not sure how I really feel about this series just yet but I’m sticking with it because I do want to read on and find out what happens next however I have found myself skimming through some of the chapters. It’s not that it’s bad as the story is okay but some parts feel rushed that I wish weren’t and other parts feel lengthy and a bit like they’re just trying to fill out the plot. Some of the content is a bit too graphic for younger teenagers and it’s absolutely aimed at the older YA audience.
The thing is I’m not really sure I have much sympathy with the characters. I just don’t really know them well enough to decide whether or not I think of them as likeable or easy to relate to. None of the relationships are really very believable and it’s just clear that everyone is really angry. There is a lot of angst throughout the book and given the subject of a nation on the brink of rebellion after years of oppression you can see why. I’m interested to see how the plot continues in the next two books.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.
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