lemon_'s review against another edition
1.0
Spoilers below.
I just fucking can't. This series so so dumb, so predictable, and can you say exposition? holy fuck, the amount of times moron barrow feels the need to pity herself and act like she's the only one who has trauma in the world ("I won't let maven break Cal like he's broken me" - are you fucking kidding me? You think you're more traumatized by the betrayal of Maven than Cal, his brother , Cal, who was forced to murder his own father by maven..... SHUT UP, moron.)
I'm convinced Aveyard couldn't make a more unlikeable, selfish, self-righteous main character if she tried. Little miss whiney spend SO MUCH TIME saying she doesn't trust anyone and - oh look, she's trusting [person who betrayed her] again two pages later. and then she's "shocked" and "traumatized" again when more betrayals happen.
how is it that such an unlikeable bitch gets every male in a mile radius to fall in love with her? really men, tell me what you see in her? and to all of the maven apologists here, you realize the guy actually murdered babies just to try to spook moron barrow here, right? and someone needs to tell little miss barrow here that she's not that smart. Seriously, who is she to tell ANYONE "you can't join the scarlet guard because i said so, because it's dangerous. You can't go do this or that because it's dangerous. You can't do anything because I don't think you're capable of doing it" blah blah blah. Mare Barrow is less capable, less smart, and less likeable than almost anyone in the book, and yet somehow she's put at the head of All Things Important. Please. Let me go barf in a corner.
This series is trying so hard to be "woke" that it falls so incredibly flat and tone deaf. It's reductive and just plain bad. Even as pulp reading, just-for-fun reading, this has no value.
I just fucking can't. This series so so dumb, so predictable, and can you say exposition? holy fuck, the amount of times moron barrow feels the need to pity herself and act like she's the only one who has trauma in the world ("I won't let maven break Cal like he's broken me" - are you fucking kidding me? You think you're more traumatized by the betrayal of Maven than Cal, his brother , Cal, who was forced to murder his own father by maven..... SHUT UP, moron.)
I'm convinced Aveyard couldn't make a more unlikeable, selfish, self-righteous main character if she tried. Little miss whiney spend SO MUCH TIME saying she doesn't trust anyone and - oh look, she's trusting [person who betrayed her] again two pages later. and then she's "shocked" and "traumatized" again when more betrayals happen.
how is it that such an unlikeable bitch gets every male in a mile radius to fall in love with her? really men, tell me what you see in her? and to all of the maven apologists here, you realize the guy actually murdered babies just to try to spook moron barrow here, right? and someone needs to tell little miss barrow here that she's not that smart. Seriously, who is she to tell ANYONE "you can't join the scarlet guard because i said so, because it's dangerous. You can't go do this or that because it's dangerous. You can't do anything because I don't think you're capable of doing it" blah blah blah. Mare Barrow is less capable, less smart, and less likeable than almost anyone in the book, and yet somehow she's put at the head of All Things Important. Please. Let me go barf in a corner.
This series is trying so hard to be "woke" that it falls so incredibly flat and tone deaf. It's reductive and just plain bad. Even as pulp reading, just-for-fun reading, this has no value.
abookie's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 50%...... I don't understand how anyone could like these books. Mare is infuriating. There is no plot. The whole book could cut at least 200 pages. Aveyard try's way too hard and needs to work on her craft. I know that she's a screenwriter but writing a novel is totally different. I'm just so disappointed. I will not waste my money on anything she writes again.
josephineemmah's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think the whole book is kinda rushed but at the same time nothing happens. If anyone would ask me what the 450 pages were about I could tell them in like 2 sentences.
I personally don’t like Mare, I know she is just seventeen and everything but she thinks that the whole world is about her. I was so mad when she said something like that: „He is nothing in comparison to me, just a little fisher boy“ LIKE MISS GIRL!!! You were even worse that him just a few months ago 😭 didn’t even had a job… just so annoying.
AND if I have to read the words „little lightning girl“ one more time I’m going to throw up. And I have three more books to go ….
Like we get it, you can wield lightning. Congrats. No need to make it your whole personality next to making bad decisions and just being a pain in the ass.
I personally don’t like Mare, I know she is just seventeen and everything but she thinks that the whole world is about her. I was so mad when she said something like that: „He is nothing in comparison to me, just a little fisher boy“ LIKE MISS GIRL!!! You were even worse that him just a few months ago 😭 didn’t even had a job… just so annoying.
AND if I have to read the words „little lightning girl“ one more time I’m going to throw up. And I have three more books to go ….
Like we get it, you can wield lightning. Congrats. No need to make it your whole personality next to making bad decisions and just being a pain in the ass.
carriekerrie's review against another edition
4.0
Mare can be annoying but I enjoy reading about her journey and the many heartbreaks.
bookish_paula's review against another edition
3.0
My feelings for this book are very conflicting... On one hand I couldn't put it down, on the other, I was disappointed overall.
The pacing was off, a good chunk of the book is all about recruiting people like Mare, newbloods, in a lot of detail, which I found quite unnecessary. There were too many characters, and the story once again only was particularly interesting at the very beginning and the very end. A good chunk of the middle of the book could have been edited out and it would have made very little difference, plotwise.
I appreciate Victoria Aveyard's style of writing more than her plot building. Both this and red Queen left the big plot lines to the last few pages of the book.
I don't think I will ever forgive Shade's death, and how little Mare seemed to mourn for the brother that died twice.
That scene really grinds my gears. You have the queen dying at the same time, yet we opt to kill Shade and overshadow what could have been a very satisfying death???
She's a selfish brat, and the epitome of a 17 year old who thinks she has the world on her shoulders and overestimates herself a little too much. I applaud Aveyard for this, in my opinion it is a relatively accurate depiction of a 17 year old.
I may return to this series, but now now. I need a break from Mare and her antics.
The pacing was off, a good chunk of the book is all about recruiting people like Mare, newbloods, in a lot of detail, which I found quite unnecessary. There were too many characters, and the story once again only was particularly interesting at the very beginning and the very end. A good chunk of the middle of the book could have been edited out and it would have made very little difference, plotwise.
I appreciate Victoria Aveyard's style of writing more than her plot building. Both this and red Queen left the big plot lines to the last few pages of the book.
I don't think I will ever forgive Shade's death, and how little Mare seemed to mourn for the brother that died twice.
That scene really grinds my gears. You have the queen dying at the same time, yet we opt to kill Shade and overshadow what could have been a very satisfying death???
She's a selfish brat, and the epitome of a 17 year old who thinks she has the world on her shoulders and overestimates herself a little too much. I applaud Aveyard for this, in my opinion it is a relatively accurate depiction of a 17 year old.
I may return to this series, but now now. I need a break from Mare and her antics.
angie_readsalot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoilers!!! The chapters were so long for no reason I was even thinking that certain sentences would be a perfect place to leave off but then the author would go into something else that could bave its own chapter. Also mare was definetly starting to loose it at some point and her forgetting her family was making me upset. And Gisa hand could have easily been fixed by Sarah towards the end of the book. I cries for shade like three times whenever he died for the plot and he is the father of Farley child!! I'm done. And cal he was alright I guess. Then there's Jon he just getting on my nerves with that last scene in the epilog not gonna lie I don't remember the beginning of the book because I've been reading it for so long...😋
leon1's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
albeit it was a little bit better than the first one, it was still a mess.
-the pacing of the story was all over the place. at times it was very fast and a lot of things happened at the same time, but then it would slow down extremely where it was painful to read.
-Mare was dumb as hell in this book but are we suprised? and she was very confusing and contradicting. i remember her being extremely confident about her position as a leader in their little new blood group that they have formed only for that confidence to be eradicated in the next chapter. she was also extremely selfish and whiny.
-still no chemistry between Mare and Cal.
-the world building improved a bit.
-when they happened, the action scenes were pretty dope and interesting to read. almost as if you’re reading a movie script but in a good way!
-the ending was great tbh.
-the writing style didn’t improve at all. so you could imagine the torture that is reading the slower scenes in this book!
-the characters were still one dimensional that it’s kind of shocking when you think about it because not a single character had any development at all. and i’m not lying!
-the pacing of the story was all over the place. at times it was very fast and a lot of things happened at the same time, but then it would slow down extremely where it was painful to read.
-Mare was dumb as hell in this book but are we suprised? and she was very confusing and contradicting. i remember her being extremely confident about her position as a leader in their little new blood group that they have formed only for that confidence to be eradicated in the next chapter. she was also extremely selfish and whiny.
-still no chemistry between Mare and Cal.
-the world building improved a bit.
-when they happened, the action scenes were pretty dope and interesting to read. almost as if you’re reading a movie script but in a good way!
-the ending was great tbh.
-the writing style didn’t improve at all. so you could imagine the torture that is reading the slower scenes in this book!
-the characters were still one dimensional that it’s kind of shocking when you think about it because not a single character had any development at all. and i’m not lying!
mysticslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Victoria Aveyard has a habit of writing books that I end up devouring. I finished Red Queen quickly and Glass Sword, while it took me a little longer (due to not having as much time to read) sucked me in every time I picked it up.
Glass Sword was as well written as Red Queen in my opinion. The characters have incredible depth. The world that Aveyard has built is also just as in-depth as the characters.
The other thing that I enjoy so much about this series is that everything is in a kind of moral grey area. There really is no good side, or bad side. All Silvers aren't evil overlord bastards that want to kill everyone. Just as all Reds aren't meek and subservient to the Silvers. And the Ardents... well... they seem to be having issues on both sides of the spectrum. Both sides, Red & Silver, have their fair share of good people and bad people, but there really isn't one side that is morally better than the other. I love it when stories take that path. Sometimes it makes you have to think a little harder about who you want to side with as the reader. Sometimes when there is a clear cut "good side" and a clear cut "bad side" you don't really get to make that choice.
I really enjoyed the direction that this book took. It was incredibly dark (much more-so than Red Queen in my opinion) and I'd be lying if I said that Mare wasn't starting to scare the ever living bajeebus out of me. Maven is creepy and awful, yes, but gosh. Mare was terrifying. There were a few parts where she was kind of whiny/angsty that I didn't particularly care for, but her character changed so much in this book, and possibly not for the better. I kind of feel like she's starting to take the path of a villain even if she swears she isn't (and if I've learned anything about her... she never really tells the truth anyway). But let's face it, she had a lot of really awful things happen to her and they aren't exactly going to get better after the way the ending left it.
Maven is going to try very hard to break her further than she's already been broken. And I really am curious to see what happens in King's Cage. Especially after the final reveal at the end with Jon being on Maven's side (or at least that's how it appeared.) I just think that Mare may end up doing a lot more awful things before the end of this series. I guess it's up to her on how it's going to affect her.
I can't wait to delve into this world again when I get King's Cage. Victoria Aveyard is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors.
Glass Sword was as well written as Red Queen in my opinion. The characters have incredible depth. The world that Aveyard has built is also just as in-depth as the characters.
The other thing that I enjoy so much about this series is that everything is in a kind of moral grey area. There really is no good side, or bad side. All Silvers aren't evil overlord bastards that want to kill everyone. Just as all Reds aren't meek and subservient to the Silvers. And the Ardents... well... they seem to be having issues on both sides of the spectrum. Both sides, Red & Silver, have their fair share of good people and bad people, but there really isn't one side that is morally better than the other. I love it when stories take that path. Sometimes it makes you have to think a little harder about who you want to side with as the reader. Sometimes when there is a clear cut "good side" and a clear cut "bad side" you don't really get to make that choice.
I really enjoyed the direction that this book took. It was incredibly dark (much more-so than Red Queen in my opinion) and I'd be lying if I said that Mare wasn't starting to scare the ever living bajeebus out of me. Maven is creepy and awful, yes, but gosh. Mare was terrifying. There were a few parts where she was kind of whiny/angsty that I didn't particularly care for, but her character changed so much in this book, and possibly not for the better. I kind of feel like she's starting to take the path of a villain even if she swears she isn't (and if I've learned anything about her... she never really tells the truth anyway). But let's face it, she had a lot of really awful things happen to her and they aren't exactly going to get better after the way the ending left it.
Maven is going to try very hard to break her further than she's already been broken. And I really am curious to see what happens in King's Cage. Especially after the final reveal at the end with Jon being on Maven's side (or at least that's how it appeared.) I just think that Mare may end up doing a lot more awful things before the end of this series. I guess it's up to her on how it's going to affect her.
I can't wait to delve into this world again when I get King's Cage. Victoria Aveyard is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors.