So. As some of you may know, for the past three weeks, I’ve been posting divisional previews for all of the divisions in professional baseball. However, I’m taking a week’s hiatus to talk about something else–which, if you follow me on Twitter, you may already know the subject I’m about to discuss.

That’s right: It’s GLASS SWORD time.

GLASS SWORD is the sequel to fellow Masshole (settle down, it’s a compliment) Victoria Aveyard’s debut novel, RED QUEEN.

If you haven’t read RED QUEEN (well, first, you should get on that) here’s my mishmash summary of the two books (minor spoilers ahead; if you don’t want them, skip down to the review):

In a world that is divided by blood–the Reds on one side, while the Silvers, who have supernatural abilities, reside on the other–Mare Barrow has red blood but the abilities of a silver—making her as unique as she is dangerous. GLASS SWORD, Victoria Aveyard’s electric sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling RED QUEEN, follows Mare, the girl who has captivated an entire nation with her ability to control lightning.

*SPOILERY PART*

Now branded as a traitor to her country, Mare is on the run from the newly-crowned king Maven and his army. Alongside her stands Maven’s brother, Cal, Mare’s brother Shade, her best friend Kilorn, and Farley, the girl leading the rebellion against Maven—and Mare will have to decide if betraying them all is the price she must pay for her vengeance.

Okay, I’m gonna be honest here: I wasn’t RED QUEEN’s biggest fan. Sure, it was perfectly enjoyable and the ending was great, but it was just kind of…meh. And everyone was freaking out about it and it hit the NYT list and I was still kind of just like…meh.

Somehow, I think that those people had the ability to see the future and knew how astonishing GLASS SWORD was going to be and just needed people to read the first book to get to the second one.

GLASS SWORD surpasses any and all expectations that you had for RED QUEEN’s sequel; it’s a magnificent journey of action, suspense, and jaw-dropping moments that will send you on an emotional roller coaster for the record books.

The best thing about this book, however, is the author herself. Victoria Aveyard’s writing has come so far since RED QUEEN, and to see the way she was able to shape and bend Mare to the young woman she is at the end of GLASS SWORD was something I don’t think I’ve ever seen (and that’s saying a lot, considering that the total of YA books I’ve read over the past few years is upwards of 800).

Mare, the main character, is the anti-hero that you’ve been waiting for. She is the girl that doesn’t stand around and talk about how powerful she is, she is the girl who shows you how powerful she is. She’s the girl who makes all the wrong choices; who chooses vengeance instead of mercy; who aches so fiercely that you feel her loss as if it was actually happening right in front of your eyes.

This book is not about ships or you think Mare should end up with. This book is about Mare–wholly and unapologetically. People have been complaining about the fact that there’s so much Mare in the book and they need more romance and no. Okay? Thanks.

This book also had another thing going for it: Mare was relatable. She was struggling with the same things that readers struggle with–identity, family, relationships, just to name a few. Granted, Mare was dealing with them under some *starkly* different circumstances, but readers still identify with her. Mare dealt with her problems in a rough-in-tumble way, on a path that was littered with mistakes–just like us. 

Let me let you in on a little secret: Books like this do not come around often. Books like this are not commonplace; they are not something that you can just pass over and compare to the other books in the same genre. This book is special; it is unique and beautiful and a true showstopper. It is rare and you simply need it in your life.

I honestly cannot urge you strongly enough: Go get a copy of GLASS SWORD. Then run around and show it off to anyone that will listen. And then read it and feel all the feels and wait not-so-patiently for the next installment.