Synopsis:
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.
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?
Favorite Lines:
“If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.”
“I suppose I should get used to being alone too. Not in the world, but in here. In my heart.”
“I must freeze my heart to the one person who insists on setting it ablaze.”
“I stare at the polished metal, examining my reflection. The girl I see is both familiar and foreign, Mare, Mareena, the lightning girl, the Red Queen, and no one at all. She does not look afraid. She looks carved of stone, with severe features, hair braided right to her head, and a tangle of scars on her neck. She is not seventeen, but ageless, Silver but not, Red but not, human—but not. A banner of the Scarlet Guard, a face on a wanted poster, a prince’s downfall, a thief…a killer. A doll who can take any form but her own.”
“No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance.
My Opinion:
I must admit that I didn’t like this book as much as the last book. I feel like Aveyard tried to cram too many events into one book and didn’t spend as much time on the details of the thoughts and emotions of the characters. I felt like the book would jump from one important event to the next without giving both the characters and readers a bit of time to process the events that took place. Nonetheless, this was still a decent book and a must read to continue the series.
Mare is still developing in this book, being shaped by what took place in book one and what she knows she must face in the future. This book explores a darker side of Mare as she struggles with the delicate balance of survival and mercy. Mare has great power and a vendetta against a lot of people; she must figure out what type of person she wants to become. I hope that we get to see Mare figure out who she truly is in the next book and break out of the mold she is casting for herself.
We see a lot more of Cal’s struggle in this book as well. He must adjust to his new life after the plot twist from Red Queen. Again, I wish there was more romance here, but I also understand that the world they are in is not one that has much time for romance. Plus, this is a young adult novel not new adult; young adult sometimes stays away from romance in favor of action. Regardless, I still ship him and Mare and they better get it together in the next book or I will be very upset.
Summary:
Overall, I just wish that Aveyard had put more thought into writing about the characters thoughts and emotions and spent more time with how events unfolded; one big thing would happen right after another, never really giving readers a change to catch up. Honestly, I would consider this book a filler book. A book that has the events necessary to bridge two other books together but doesn’t have any of the main action in it. It was necessary to bridge events in the series together but did not amount to be nearly as interesting as the first book. With how this book finished, the third book could potentially make up for all of this and I am hoping that it really blows this series out of the water.
Likely Story 