Review: The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano

Series: The Glass Spare #1

A banished princess.
A deadly curse.
A kingdom at war.

Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power.

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

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2.5 Drink Me Potions

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**The Glass Spare comes out October 24, 2017**

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for this copy in exchange for an honest review

The girl with the magical touch that turns people into gemstones. A unique twist on a familiar story about a certain king with a golden touch, I thought The Glass Spare did its best to create a YA-themed story around a young and uncertain protagonist who had yet to figure out who she was and where she fit into this world. But, I’m rather torn with my feelings on the overall novel.

The characters in the story (who were not just mere acquaintances that flash by in a page or two) were few and far between. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I loved how each of Wil’s brothers were different and had a certain role they fit into that wasn’t necessarily stereotypical. My fave may have to go to the smart one who could create anything – protective equipment to deadly weapons – but the kingly brother with a sense of duty on his shoulders and the dour brother who just didn’t fit in with the rest of his siblings were interesting additions to the overall family dynamic. Even the parents had facets to them that weren’t so simple with a superstitious mother who was once a wanderer of the lands, and a harsh ruling father who had a loving side buried deep inside him. I think Wil’s family was one of my favourite parts of the story.

Unfortunately, the story digresses from them eventually (as the synopsis would suggest). Tragedy struck – I totally saw that particular tragic event coming wayyyy before I reached that page – and Wil has to leave. Oddly enough, this happened past 1/4 of the way into the book which made the beginning drag a little, but as mentioned above, I loved seeing Wil in her element as part of the royal family.

The rest of the story was paced kinda slowly too. Aside from the royal family, I wasn’t particularly fond of the love interest, Loom, for a long time. It wasn’t love at first sight – gosh, by far no – but the way their interactions were depicted didn’t really make me feel like there’s that level of chemistry between them either. The action slowed as the main stressor was protecting Wil’s secret ability from anyone else while searching for a “cure”, and only a couple of problems popped up along the way. It just felt like more could’ve happened in the span of these few hundred pages, and I kept holding my breath for that moment to come.

So with both action and romance not fully captivating my spirit, the high from the beginning with Wil’s family just wasn’t enough. The world building was also a little confusing. This land seems like a rather stereotypical place where people walked or sailed or whatever to travel. But then weird inventions such as flying aircrafts and trains and other things you consider as “modern technology” were also present and it just got my head all turned around with it. I still haven’t figured out if I loved it or not, but it almost felt indecisive on the author’s part.

I didn’t come here to bash the book. I do believe The Glass Spare has more to offer than meets the eye, although it has much to live up to (hopefully coming to light in the second book). It ends not so much on a cliffhanger but on a…moment where you know Wil is about to embark on some new adventure in her quest and we don’t know how that’ll turn out. If the romance had struck a larger spark in me, I think the slowness may have dissipated a little ’cause I’d have something else to focus on. As it is, all I can say is that this book could’ve been better, but I’m hopeful things may get better later.

Overall Recommendation:
The Glass Spare was slow in action and in romance. It had all the components to become something amazing, but it fizzled with its confusing world building and diversions from the main quest of the book: to find a cure for Wil’s unusual abilities. With few characters that were 3-dimensional (and only a portion of these whom I actually liked), sometimes it could get dry reading through those scenes, and the romance didn’t convince me enough to care as much as I normally do. I may just be picky as I do see some potential in this book, but I may have to wait until the next book to make that call. I’d say this novel could be pretty great for non-fantasy readers as there’s not as much to offer in this book as other fantasies that we fantasy-lovers may be unconsciously comparing it to.