#REVIEW: The Glass Gauntlet by Carter Roy

Title: The Glass Gauntlet
Series: The Blood Guard #2
Author: Carter Roy
Publisher: Two Lions
Published Date: August 18, 2015
Pages: 261
ISBN:  978-1477827154
Genre: middle school fantasy
 Buy It Link: Amazon

Synopsis:
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.

Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
It's hard to keep up an action-packed series. Eventually, it will start falling flat. They always do. The author hasn't quite gotten there yet with this series however. Ronan and Greta are back and honestly, I wonder how long Greta is going to remain in the dark about herself. For a smart girl, she isn't putting together the clues that are right in front of her. However, with more books in the series after this, she's got plenty of time, and the signs are all pointing towards it.
 Ronan is starting to step up and accept the idea he is part of this secret society. Is it really believable that some secret society would rely on what ends up being a bunch of kids to save the world? There is some evolution of the main characters, which I like, though some will always remain the same, it seems. Speaking of evolution, I wasn't exactly pleased with the evolution of and adding to the core group of characters. There just seems to be way too many people in the core group right now. Perhaps that will change later on during the series, however.
Overall, this book was pretty much the same as the previous book in terms of action and violence. The action certainly kept the storyline going, and ultimately, I enjoyed reading this second book in the series.