There were so many great things about this book, but there were also a LOT of disappointments and things that I was really unhappy about. 
 I finally got to know Kilorn more, and I realized I like him. He's not Cal, but he is a good character to have around Mare. I even started to like Farley more! She isn't as obnoxious as I first made her out to be, which was a nice surprise. I liked most of the newblood recruits and I enjoyed learning about their different abilities. 
 Shade is awesome and I can totally understand why he is Mare's favorite sibling. He just has a certain something about him. Cal isn't my first choice for Mare...more on that later...but I mean you really can't go wrong with a handsome, muscly, fireball prince. The more I got to know him, the more I wanted everything to work out for him. And honestly, I would just love to be wrapped up in a warm Cal-hug. 
 Getting to see the rest of Norta was quite entertaining, albeit incredibly stressful. There is a TON of action and it really keeps you on edge most of the time. It started out kind of slow and dissatisfying, but I couldn't put it down after about the halfway mark. Things just really started building and building, until I seriously had to look up and breathe every once in a while. 
 The ending!!!!!!!!!!!! WOAHHHHH!!!!! As much as I have to say about Victoria Aveyard in the next portion of this post, I gotta hand it to her: she really knows how to write an ending. No matter what you are feeling throughout the entire book, once you reach the ending for both Red Queen and Glass Sword, you are somehow shocked, frustrated, impatient, hopeful, depressed, fearful and excited ALL AT THE SAME DAMN TIME! 
 Mare. Mare. Mare. Probably the biggest reason I didn't rate this book higher is because of Mare. I was on the fence with her in the first book, but I just downright hate her in the sequel. Some people say she is real, some people say she is complicated. I say this chick is simply insufferable. Mare is the "lightning girl", which she will happily remind you about ten times on every single page. We get it, you have really cool special abilities. And boy howdy does she worship those abilities! Mare develops into an extremely self-righteous martyr who believes herself superior to literally everybody. She's also a pretty big hypocrite. I was disappointed to see her development. My only hope is that her ever-changing attitude makes a U-turn in the next book. But a whole lot of air needs to be let out of her big head before that happens. 
 The writing was way more noticeable in this book than Red Queen...but in a really lousy way. During those reflective moments, between action sequences and bits that move the plot along, we get the same observations over and over again. Aveyard's writing is unbelievably repetitive! I got bored reading Mare's thoughts about betrayal and her overall greatness, mostly because nothing new was brought to the table during those moments. It was the same judgement and the same conclusions, slightly reworded every couple of pages. I wanted to rip my hair out because of her stupid nickname, as well as Cal's--"the exiled prince". Does Mare consider that a term of endearment or something? I found it degrading. Well, the exiled prince did this, and they treated the exiled prince like that, and OH I'M THE LIGHTNING GIRL, DON'T FORGET THAT....and blah blah blah. Aveyard's style is also over-the-top dramatic. I could go on and on about how much I disliked the writing in this book, but I will spare you the gritty details. Honestly, if I were to go back and read Red Queen again, I would probably find the writing to be just as bad. But I was too overcome with excitement and I would like to leave it that way. 
 I am crying inside due to the vast amount of wasted opportunity that is Cameron. This gal could have been such a great character, but instead, Aveyard decided to make her a stereotype. And an outrageously angry one at that! 
 And lastly: not enough Maven. Yes, I am Team Maven. 
 Overall, I love the direction the series seems to be headed toward. A lot of people have compared Glass Sword to Mockingjay, which I think is appropriate. This particular book is more about the inner conflicts of Mare and her decisions as the face of a revolution, much like Katniss. I thought the pacing was slow, but it picked up halfway through. The writing could have been a hundred times better, but eventually the story came together for a very effective ending. I look forward to reading the next books, yet I am fearful for what Aveyard has in store. I'm just hoping certain character traits are worked out and that there are many surprises to come.