Girl of Glass by Megan O'Russell is an intense story about a girl trying to find her place in a chaotic dystopian world. And I know, the word "dystopian" may make you want to tune this one out. It almost got me too, but just let me say one more thing; this book had a lovely unique premise that I really enjoyed!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

BEWARE, there will be very slight spoilers below!

I had so much fun reading this! The story begins starts with a bang and doesn't let up! The writing is wonderful and so easy to get totally lost in. This is another that I just cruised right through because I had to know what happened next.

I absolutely loved the premise that medicines that were supposed to help people survive in the contaminated world were responsible for infecting people and turning them to zombies, werewolves, and vampires. I was so excited to learn more about each of the drugs, and their effects. This book was heavy on the Vamp side of things, so I wonder if the others in the series will discuss the other two in more depth, or if it will stick to vampires.

I really enjoyed all of the characters, but I think Julian was my favorite. Because this book is centered on Nola, the main character, I do wish we had gotten to see more of the side characters though, just to learn a bit more about them.

One of my favorite scenes was with Kieran and Nola. Nola had just been through quite the experience that shocked her. Before rushing to help her up, Kieran paused to ask, "Can I touch you?" For some reason, this scene really stuck with me! How sweet of Kieran to ask her permission? We need more of this in Fantasy YA!

So while I loved most of this book, there was one major negative that really affected my overall thoughts, simply because of my personal reading preferences...


Beware, the negative:
There was a love triangle. I am not at all a fan of love triangles. Nola's relationship with each of the male characters was pretty cute though, so I did enjoy each of her interactions with them. But overall, this element just left me more annoyed than anything else.


My favorite passages:
Nola sat crouched just outside the glass. She was like a child reaching for something dangerous with the certainty that someone would snatch it away before she could get hurt.

You see, the Domers care about protecting the genetics of the human race. But, down here, we want to protect what it is to be human.

I prefer to write myself into an unlikely fairytale rather than accept that my existence is a horror story.

Don't forget, Nola, people living in domes was once story stuff, too. We can't choose which stories come true and which stay stories. None of us are that strong.

Standing up on her toes, she leaned forward and brushed her lips gently against his. Her heart fluttered, and her stomach danced. But, the world stayed upright. There was no rabbit hole she was falling into like with Kieran.

Julien had taught her to lie. He hadn't taught her how to live with it.


My final thoughts:
While a really fun premise, nice characters, and great writing... the love triangle just really wasn't for me and ended up affecting my overall thoughts.

However, if you're a fan of YA Fantasy with a nice dose of suspense, and don't mind the love triangle element, I highly recommend this to you!!