Glass Sword

Title: Glass Sword (Red Queen #2)
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: YA Distopian Fantasy
Pages: 440
Rating: 2 Stars
Purchase this book:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Book Depository

To end the reign of Silver, Mare Barrow must find the only Reds who have a shot at defeating them. Unfortunately, she is not the only person who knows where those few Reds are. Newly appointed king, Maven, is racing neck and neck to find these Newbloods and end them- or is he?

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This book took me so long to get into. I'm pretty sure it took me two weeks. Two weeks. I don't think it's ever taken me that long to read a book, and quite frankly, I don't think it's all my fault. This book was very, very slow. Sure it sped up in the end, but it wasn't until page 200 that I even remotely had an interest in this book. 

The fact is, the characters aren't unique or developed. They all have the same personality, and I can't tell one apart from another. And Mare? The main character? I wasn't emotionally attached to her in any way, shape, or form. Plus there's practically no character development on her part between book one and two. It's literally like Aveyard flicked a switch, and suddenly Mare was some new person who'd been traumatized and put through so much. It was annoying, to be honest. 

This all being said, Victoria Aveyard is a very talented writer. From her word choice, to her imagery, to even her sentence structure, she obviously is skilled. I just wish that transferred to character development and plot structure, because you'd be kidding yourself if you thought that the plot wasn't somewhat cliché and featuring at least one overused trope. But hey! With these dystopian trilogies, the second book tends to be the worst, full of filler, and I have hopes for the third novel. 

So yes, I have to give Glass Sword two stars just because of how difficult I found it too care about anything happening in the story. I won't be recommending you read this until we find out if the third book is worth it, but if you liked Red Queen, maybe give this book a shot. I wish you the best of luck with it. 

                                                 

Top Ten Tuesday 12/1/15

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's theme is actually "most anticipated debut novels of 2016", but because I don't think I'd be able to come up with ten, I'll be simplifying it to "most anticipated novels of 2016". 

So, here are my Top Ten Most Anticipated Novels of 2016 in order from least to greatest anticipation:

10. Stars Above by Merissa Meyer

Stars Above is going to be a collection of short stories from the Lunar Chronicles! More content? I think yes.  

9. I See Reality by Various Authors

With twelve short stories about life, I thought this book looked rather interesting. 

8. Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige

This is the third book in the Dorothy Must Die series, and I'm pretty excited to see how it ends. (Is it the last book... I don't know if there's supposed to be another one or not.)

7. The Last Star by Rick Yancey

This is the final book in the 5th wave trilogy, and I'm certain I'm not the only one who's highly excited about seeing how this alien apocalypse closes.  

6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

This is the 2nd book in the Red Queen series, and I'm really excited to see what happens next!

5. United As One by Pittacus Lore

IT'S THE LAST BOOK- I'M SO EXCITED!!!! 

Ahem, anyway, yes, final installment in the I Am Number Four series, and I seriously can't handle the cliffhanger we got at the end of the last book.

4. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken   

If you didn't already know, yes.  Alexandra Bracken is releasing a new book on January 5th, and yes, I am most definitely reading it.  And just look at that stunning cover! 

I mean, I'm not one to judge books by their cover (cough) but just look at it! 

3. The Crown by Kierra Cass

I know some people weren't too fond of the extension of the Selection Series, but I personally adore the Selection world, and I'm super excited to get this book.

2. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater 

The final book in the Raven Cycle is coming out spring of next year, and I seriously cannot wait.  Also, this book has a beautiful cover- it takes my breath away.  

1. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare 

And my number one, most highly anticipated novel of 2016 is Lady Midnight.  I mean- is there a TMI fan out there who isn't excited for Lady Midnight?  More content on those next generation Shadowhunters = take my money. 

Thanks for reading this week's TTT- comment your thoughts and feel free to link your post! 

  

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I'm Looking Forward To/Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch 

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you by the brokeandbookish. 

So here's my list of movie adaptions I want to see! 

1. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Set to release this January- have you seen the trailer yet? 

2. Mockingjay Part 2 by Suzanne Collins

Coming out this month! Check out the trailer. 

3. Allegiant Part 1 by Veronica Roth

March of 2016!  I love Tris' hair in the trailer. 

4. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (Yeah, yeah, I haven't seen it yet.) 

5. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

This is one of my favorite books, so when it was released that a movie adaption was underway, I was suuuuper psyched!  Unfortunately, there's been some director problems, so I think the release date is being delayed. 

To finish off my post, I'll list 5 other books that have been optioned as movie adaptions! 

6. Legend by Marie Lu

7. Looking for Alaska by John Green

8. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

9. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

10. The Selection by Kiera Cass


That's all!

Red Queen

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: dystopia, action, YA
Pages: 388
Purchase this book here

Mare Barrow lives in a world divided by two blood types: red and silver.  The reds are the laborers- the workers.  They slave away in their grimy villages, supplying the silvers with every leisurely need.  The silvers are the nobles.  They sit in their mansions, or their expensive flats in the capital of the country, laughing at the insignificance of the reds.  There is one special thing about the silvers, though: they have a special ability, each of them.  Some have the strength of a giant, some can bend the rays of the sun at their will, some can leek into the minds of their neighbors.  It is these abilities that create a rift between society.  The kingdom is so cleanly divided that nobody quite knows what to do when one day, Mare Barrow, common red, quite obtrusively shoots lightning out of the palm of her hand directly at the new queen-to-be- by accident. 

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This book was fantastic! It was choke full of action, and there was a twist around every corner. This was definitely worth my time, and I can't wait for the next one to come out. 

As you can see from the summary, this book is a dystopian book.  I for one, love dystopia, and if you do to, you should definitely pick this book up. What drove me to read this was probably just how popular it was, so, I figured, I might as well see what all the hype was about.  It definitely has a Throne of Glass feel to it, along with a Hunger Games sort of social system.  That being said, this is a book entirely of its own sort, so don't be afraid of picking up some repeat dystopia book. 

The actual story telling of this book was down right phenomenal. When you start reading a dystopian book, or at least a book that takes place in its own world with its own ways of society, you usually get some amount of information dump.  The author explains all the rules and ways of society all at once, or as needed. That never actually happens in Red Queen.  This is how you can see just how great of a writer Victoria Aveyard is. She doesn't tell you all the background information, she shows you it. If you're a writer, you've probably heard that term before: Show, don't tell; and that's exactly what Aveyard does.  She doesn't tell you that Silvers are viewed as superior to Reds, she shows you through the two interacting in society.  She doesn't tell you that only Silvers have abilities, she shows you when everyone is shocked at Mare possessing a power. Having a good story is only half of the equation, you also need to be a good storyteller. 

So.... moving on to the characters. There are a lot of characters in this book, and sometimes it can be a little hard to keep track of them all, especially since a lot of them have odd names.  However, the major characters are very complex, and their personalities are strongly developed.  There is no bad guy and good guy.  Every character has a little bit of each in them. 

The action and suspense in this book is great, and you should definitely give it a shot!  It also has a great lesson in treating all people as your equal.  So go read this book, and remember, "power is a dangerous game".