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.
The Glass Spare was a book of two halves for me.
The first half of the book is world building, and it's done so well. This fantasy world with modern technology but classic fantasy elements and a power-hungry king and his four kids. That first half of the book simultaneously had me addicted and had me growing to care about Will and Gerdie and Owen and the queen and this world that was built in front of me. Still, as the pages turned and the time passed, I began to crave adventure.
Enter the second half of the book, our heroine is cast out into this crazy wide world and she meets the bad guy/love interest and becomes part of something a whole lot bigger than before. Yet through all of that, I wanted to be back in the castle with the brothers and the queen and the crazy king.
Never happy, am I?
It just felt for me like both halves of the book were slow paced, but the second half - with Zay and Loom and all of that - just dragged, and I'd really loved how this book started and I wanted to go back there.
I really liked Wil as a character, but she worked best as a princess not an outcast. She seemed to take a backseat for so much of the last quarter of this book and I wanted her to do more because I knew she could. It's like as soon as she fell for Loom she became a melted mess of mush.
I did enjoy The Glass Spare, don't get me wrong. I am so excited to see where the sequel goes because there are so many secrets to be revealed and so many loose ends to be tied up... this was an okay introduction to a world which can only get better.
Book released 24th October 2017 by Balzer+ Bray
Book received from the publisher/author in exchange for an honest review
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