Shattered by Aprilynn Pike

Shattered is book two in the Glitter duology. It picks up right after the end of book one, so if you haven't read book one, I highly suggest reading it before reading book two and also, you should read both books before reading this post because there will be spoilers.

So, Danica seems pretty trapped in this book. She's trapped in a marriage that she never wanted and she's trapped in this arrangement with Reginald that she had never intended on following through with. Reginald basically is forcing her to continue dealing this drug for him and this is something Danica had never intended to continue doing and as a result her character begins to change a little.

Danica discovers that she has a knack for manipulation in book two. She had started doing it in book one with Glitter (the drug) and she starts doing it more on her own as Queen. She finds that she is privy to things she hadn't been before. She goes to shareholder meetings with the King and she attends other secret meetings with those loyal to the King. When a rebel group tries to overthrow the King and does not succeed, it is Danica who comes up with the punishment the makes everyone miserable that was involved but also makes the King and his friends very happy. As she watches these events, events that she has put into motion, unfold, she finds that she enjoys the more cut-throat version of herself as opposed to the scared child she had been before.

If you read my first review, you may remember me talking about the corset and Danica using it as a form of self mutilation in an effort to feel control? She ends up tightening the corset up so much and depending on it to the point where she can't even stand on her own without it. In this book she is still using the corset, but her need for it begins to diminish. As her confidence grows, Danica begins to tighten the corset less. With the help of Saber, she even manages to discard the corset completely. Saber teaches her core exercises and has her strengthening her ab muscles so that by the end of the book she is able to walk out of the palace of Versailles on her own without the help of the garment she had once relied so heavily on.

Things at the end of this book turned out pretty much as I had expected. Danica and Saber got to have their happily ever after, sort of, and Reginald got what was coming to him. Justin (the King) surprisingly got off with very little damage done to him. He was still the king. He was still going to make billions off the scheme he came up with with the Bot designing company. His reputation was still intact. The only thing Danica did to him was threaten him with an information leak if she didn't get her divorce, which she did get.  I was hoping for a little more punishment for him, but I guess as long as Saber got to live his life at the end of the book, I was fine with it.