Title: The Glass Spare
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher/Year:  HarperCollins 10/24/17
Length:   416 Pages
Series:  The Glass Spare #1

Overview

The first in a new fantasy duology, The Glass Spare is a gorgeously told tale of love, loss, and deadly power from Lauren DeStefano, the bestselling author of the Chemical Garden series. Perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Renee Ahdieh.

Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and 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, though, 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 Wil’s 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?

My Thoughts

I’ve been on the hunt yet again for something new to read and here we’ve hit directly upon that.  The Glass Spare is the introduction to a new series where we are in a world where kingdoms want more power and control and there are loyalties at stake, and families that are being torn apart.  And what would a book be without curses and ‘gifts’ and the like – right?

We meet our leading character Wil – a princess in Northern Arrod, the ‘most powerful’ kingdom in the area, and she like 2 of her brothers are considered to be spares.  that means the one that’s not due to be the heir is the spare – the extra.  Because of that, Wil is able to have more freedom from the rule of her father, and add to that, she’s got no resemblance to any one in her family, she’s able to move about as she likes and be a spy or unnoticed.

The interesting thing here is that Wil was born with a unique mark over her heart – thought to be a curse but no one really knows what that will mean in the future.  What we see throughout this first book though is how that curse manifests itself and how that affects all those around her – and it doesn’t have the best outcome for everyone involved.  Wil’s close relationship with her brothers bring her both more knowledge about what it is that she’s become as well as more pain because of the implications of what she can do.

Outside of Norhtern Arrod there is a whole world with technology, strife, struggles etc.  and that’s where our story really starts to take shape.  After a catastrophe hits Wil, she’s banished from her home, from her family and she ends up on the run to learn more and find a marveler who may be able to cure her.  That’s where her path crosses with Loom and Zay – 2 wanderers who have stories that are much more than what they seem at first.

Loom turns out to be the banished son of the king of Southern Isles and that’s a kingdom that Wil’s father wants badly.  So this means that Wil has an opportunity to be a spy, learn more and hopefully solidify a relationship.  What ends up happening instead is that Wil starts to develop a truly strong relationship with Loom and Zay, begin to see that there’s so much more to the situation than ever thought before, and find a way to make her curse and a curse put on another main character even worse.

That’s where we are left off at the end of this book – there’s a month to gather information to break a curse or someone dies.  Wil is left to make a choice that will hurt the heart both figuratively and in reality of everyone, and i think that it’s an interesting place to go.  Can’t wait to see what happens in book 2 since we know that the kingdom of Northern Arrod is a mess with all that’s fallen on the royal family.  I hope you guys pick it up!  enjoy!