**Disclaimer: DO NOT read this book review if you are trying to avoid Red Queen series spoilers.
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction
Book Jacket Synopsis: “If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different. 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? 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.”
Review: The first thought I had when I finished Glass Sword was “Wow.” The second was “When is the third book in the Red Queen series coming out?!” This thought led to a frantic but somewhat fruitless scouring of the internet, only to find that Aveyard is currently working on both the third and fourth book in the series but has released no additional details. Which means I will have to find a way to bide an unspecified amount of time before reuniting with Mare Barrow and her comrades. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Glass Sword was an excellent, excellent sequel to Red Queen and pulled me even deeper into the world that Aveyard has created. With the help of the Scarlet Guard, Mare and Cal manage to narrowly escape the clutches of vindictive King Maven. However, their relief at being rescued is short-lived; alliances, manipulation, and animosity abound even within the ranks of the Scarlet Guard. Mare finds herself, once again, unsure of who she can trust. Julian’s warning constantly rings in her head: anyone can betray anyone. As Glass Sword progresses, Mare and Cal are able to ally themselves with a small band of Scarlet Guard members: Kilorn (Mare’s best friend), Shade (her presumed-dead brother), and Farley (fallen Scarlet Guard Captain). Together, they set out to find, recruit, and train other Red-and-Silver anomalies. It was this scavenger hunt for people like Mare that ultimately drew me in. I even found myself thinking that it reminded me of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s hunt for Horcruxes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and we all know that I am the world’s biggest Harry Potter fan). As in Red Queen, there were ample surprises and twists in Glass Sword that kept me reading at a relentless pace (i.e., book finished in less than 12 hours). Aveyard’s strength as a writer really comes through in this second book, largely in her ability to make me care about the secondary characters. For example, Farley quickly emerged as one of my new favorite characters, with quotes like the following actually causing me to laugh out loud.
“You’ll find I’m remarkably good at giving orders, and particularly awful at following them.”
For a supplementary character, her personality is beautifully developed throughout the book. Altogether, I really, REALLY enjoyed Glass Sword and can’t wait for the third book to come out.
Rating:
The Banned Book Brigade 
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