Glass Sword really did not disappoint in terms of story and character building and the believable aspects of the story. I've heard so many complaints about Mare's personality in this book, but I do not agree with their disgruntlement. First off, I found Mare to be a very realistic character. Yes, she comes off as a bit self pitying and emotional, but that is because that is how SHE deals with the stress and responsibility placed on her. She has had to kill so many people and she continues to struggle with the guilt of placing her trust in the wrong person. Due to her error, Maven and the queen forced Cal to kill his own father, many rebels were massacred and now they are running for their lives after being placed in an arena to be executed. Near the middle/end, she is having a sort of break down where is becoming ruthless and distant from her friends and family as she tries to, ineffectually, protect them from sharing her burdens. 
 However, with the reappearance of (view spoiler)[ Julian Jacos (hide spoiler)] she is able to come to her senses and recuperate. (view spoiler)[ He (hide spoiler)] reasons with her much better than anyone else has been able to.