2015 was THE year of monumental debut releases and bookish things in general. As an avid reader and consistent reviewer, the entire year was a mixture of the bad, the good, and the down right amazing of reads.
Victoria Aveyard’s electrifying debut novel Red Queen was at the top of the NY times bestseller list in its first week of publication in 2015, and Victoria Aveyard herself was voted Debut Author on Goodreads with an astounding 46,698 votes. With world building to rival the likes of George R.R Martin, a cast of fiery and powerful characters and betrayals which left many gaping, Red Queen is a victor worthy of its debut Crown. The only thing left to do was wait for its sequel, but would it live up to the hype of its predecessor?
February 2016. Months away. How. Can. I. Cope?
Red Queen made my top 10 reads of 2015 mainly down to its vivid and exciting host of characters and razor sharp twists. Waiting for Glass Sword was like waiting for snow to fall in spring, so when I finally got my hands on a copy, I almost wept with sheer joy and anticipation to read the book as soon as humanly possible (two days to be exact).
Often sequels to hit debuts fail to meet the expectations of readers, but fans of Red Queen will not be disappointed. Victoria’s writing is fluid, fast and fierce, and the action, suspense and crackling adrenaline woven into the pages of its predecessor aims, pulls the trigger, and hits home in Glass Sword.
The characters of Mare, Cal, Maven, Shade, Kilorn and Farley are all explored and put through new trials and tribulations. Mare is an incredible, sometimes flawed, but always admirable protagonist, and I thoroughly enjoyed driving further into her story and learning more about her complex and often heartbreaking character.
Maven will forever be a terrifying villain, as his redeeming qualities truly make you wonder if we all have the potential to be truly evil. Reading Glass Sword consolidated my immense hatred for him, but I will always remember my humble love towards him before the conclusion of Red Queen. Dang it Maven, my once sweet Prince! *sobs into handkerchief*
One of the main reasons I love the world of Red Queen is the immense and bloody divide between the powerful Silvers and normal, or so we thought, Reds. Yet, towards the end of Red Queen, it is revealed that some Reds, such as Mare, have begun to show signs of a mutation which gifts them with potent powers unlike anything seen before.
One of the main story-lines explored throughout the novel is the quest to find the rest of the gifted Red bloods, an exciting and often dangerous plot which left me on the edge of my seat. As an avid X-Men fan, parallels between the Red Queen saga and the Marvel films are often drawn, and although the two franchises are two separate passions, this quest reminded me of when Professor X and Magneto go off to find their fellow mutant family in X Men: First Class *shuffles off into nerdy bliss*.
The new gifted Reds introduced in Glass Sword were truly a joy to meet, and I’m very excited to see where Victoria takes their characters in future novels!
Intense fight scenes filled with heart pounding choreography. Immense character development. Jaw dropping revelations. Lots and lots of death (I’m not even lying). Oh, and ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER. DAMN IT VICTORIA. I am now positively ready to get my hands on Red Queen #3. My emotions cannot take it.
Go and pick up Glass Sword NOW, and long live the Scarlet Guard!
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
