THE GLASS BOOKCASE

01

Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard

Reds are Commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty striken stilts, it seems likenothing will ever change.

 

That is, until a twist of fate brings her before the silver court. Here, surrounded by people she hates the most, Mare discovers that despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly ability of her own.

 

Fearful of Mare's potential, the king hides her in plain view: betrothed to his youngest son. Trapped, Mare decides to use her new position to bring down the regime - from the inside.

 

But this is a game of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, Prince against Prince, and Mare against her own heart....

(description taken from the back of the book)

 

My Review:

'Anyone can betray Anyone'

This is the quote to remember when reading this book.
Although slow to start (picking up about 40 pages in) Red Queen has become one of my favourite and most anticipated series of this year.
I read it in one sitting as I couldn't put it down, the characters and descriptions are brilliant with the plot twisting and turning at every possible moment. Although one of the main plot twists I saw coming pretty much as soon as I met the character in question, I didn't realise how much of an impact and shock I would be in at the reasons behind the twist.  
This book has you second guessing all of your previous thoughts and feelings towards the characters you love as you learn more about them, wondering if the villains are really villains, If the hero's are really hero's or if they are exactly who you think they are.  

Having read this in a public place I got some very funny looks when I would gasp and shake my head as I read on. If you can get past the slow beginning you will not be disappointed with this book.

 

02

The Mime Order

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London...

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on the dreamwalker, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take centre stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

(Description taken from goodreads)

 

My Review:

Okay.....
I've literally just closed the book and I have to say, I'm stunned and little hurt at the betrayal. 

I absolutely loved this book, from start to finish I was drawn into the story eager to know more of what happened to my favourite characters (The White Binder, Pale Dreamer, Red Vision and Warden) after the end of The Bone Season...

I was not disappointed. 
I followed their every move and emotion, trying to figure out what would happen next as I went along. 
The plot twisted and turned making me wonder CONSTANTLY who certain characters were and what was really going on under the facade of Scion 
(sometimes I did lose what was going on completely but it wasn't long before I understood once I read ahead bit).

Although a little slow at points I now know that the slow parts were the most imperative and the ones that need to have the most attention paid to them.

All I can say when you read this book (read The Bone Season First or it won't make any sense) 
PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS!!!! They are what make any twists even more dramatic and shocking.

Credit defiantly has to be paid to Samantha Shannon for the amazing detail that has stunned all of her Voyants.

 

03

Frostfire

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

(Description taken from goodreads)

 

My Review:

FrostFire By Amanda Hocking has all of the charm and danger of the world first seen in the Trylle trilogy mixed in with new characters and new dangers. 

Hocking has created a brilliant follow on from her successful Trylle trilogy with this novel. Although I found the beginning a little slow after the first few chapters I was hooked into the fantastic Dystopia that Hocking has created.

 

FrostFire follows Bryn Avan, a Kanin tracker as she delves into the mysterious tracker turned criminal Konstantin Black to discover why he tried to murder her father. We see Bryn tackle her emotions for her boss Ridely whilst trying to understand what her emotions for Konstantin (her former crush) are. In amongst this mix of emotions danger lurks around every corner for Bryn. As a tracker she has to find and retrieve changelings from the human world. But four years after Konstantin's attack changelings start to be hunted and murdered, causing Bryn and Konstantin's lives to intersect once again. As they're meetings become more frequent Bryn start to suspect that something more is going on, Who is Konstantin working for? Why are they after the changelings? and How have they gained knowledge of where to find the Changelings?

 

I read the Trylle trilogy a few years ago and have been waiting a long time to revisit that world and Hocking didn't disappoint. I found the characters easy to connect and sympathise with as no detail is spared when it comes to describing they're emotions; Many of the characters are shrouded in Mystery making the plot line even more compelling. An added bonus to this novel was the small cameos of the characters from the Trylle trilogy, such as Finn who visits his sister Ember Holmes for her birthday.

 

As for the plot line itself, I believed it picked up around chapter three causing me to ask more questions about the characters and they're intentions; which is one quality I always look for in a book (If you don't ask questions about a book then you are clearly not enjoying it enough to care).

Hocking's writing style is also very clear and too the point, making this book very easy to read, meaning the age rating I would give this book would be from 14 upwards (young adults).

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the opening to this trilogy and am very excited about reading the next instalment.