The Glass Gauntlet (The Blood Guard #2) by Carter Roy

Ronan Truelove barely survived his first encounter with his father and the Bend Sinister. Now, he’s determined to become one of the Blood Guard, a sword-wielding secret society sworn to protect thirty-six pure souls crucial to the world’s survival.

Eager to prove he’s got what it takes, Ronan is sent on his first mission with his friends Greta and Sammy to visit a weird-sounding school and take a series of tests called the Glass Gauntlet. Paper and pencils and nerdy scholarship—where’s the life-or-death challenge in that?

But the Glass Gauntlet is actually something much more dangerous: head-to-head competitions against ruthless opponents. Nothing and no one are what they seem. Who can he trust, and who will kill him? Ronan has to figure it out fast because his enemies are multiplying, and soon he will have to pass the ultimate test: facing his father again and standing up to those who threaten not only him and his friends but also the world. 

 The Glass Gauntlet is the second book in The Blood Guard series and starts up shortly after the end of book one " The Blood Guard". It revolves mostly around the same main characters we met in The Blood Guard - Ronan, Greta, and Jack, but this time with Sammy in tow. The dialogue of both the books so far have been right up my alley with fun banter and witty lines ( I especially find Jack to be a big hoot! ).The action in The Glass Gauntlet doesn't slack off from the first novel but somehow I felt less invested in it this time. 

Maybe because once they enter this "contest" where most of the book takes place I was busy wanting more answers about the Pures and the Bend Sinister. It still remained interesting through and through though even as in the back of my mind I was still wanting a little something different. I did enjoy getting some more back story on the comical Jack though. His past was a bit dark and explained how he became part of The Blood Guard. It also loops back into the story later as a big aha! moment but I won't tell the details on that so as not to spoil any storyline twists. Despite this book not being quite what I expected and slightly less exciting than the first, I am still very invested in the story as a whole and can not wait to find out more in the next book. 

Hopefully all those things I felt were missing from this one will be explained then and I can find out what is going to happen to Ronan and the gang. I would definitely recommend this series to both those young or just young at heart, who like a good story of evil vs good with lots of action, wit, and friends who have each others backs. 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  April