Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Transformed from a timid girl who could make magical glass to a magician who can readily steal the power of other magicians, Opal Cowan is considered too powerful and possibly a threat to Sitia. Though ordered home by the Council, Opal is no longer content to follow them blindly and instead goes off on her own to search for Ulrick who she believes to be a victim of corrupting blood magic. But Opal’s plans hardly go as she hopes, and soon she finds herself embroiled in another deadly plot. Word of Opal’s newfound abilities has spread, and now there are people after her for their own selfish gain. With numerous enemies everywhere she goes, Opal no longer knows who to trust. All she knows for sure is that there are more lives than just her own at stake and that she can’t solve this mystery on her own.

Although my confidence had never really been shaken, Sea Glass renewed my faith in Snyder for truly fantastic storytelling. The plot in this novel is even more fraught with frequent dangers than its prequel Storm Glass was. This made the story more difficult to follow and even confusing at times, especially with the quick pace of the plot. However, everything else more than made up for this. Sea Glass is definitely more complicated than its prequel, as evidence by the almost too numerous twists and turns in this novel, but the complexity of the different characters and situations is what made this story so good. The doubt and treachery that Opal experiences strengthen her character; all the changes that Opal goes through due to various revelations and epiphanies are quite fascinating and realistic. This coupled with her confusing regarding her various personal relationships made the story even more interesting. However, what I appreciated most about Sea Glass was the completely unpredictable conclusion; the way Snyder managed to bring this about was just amazing.

Sea Glass will be enjoyed by fans of its prequel Storm Glass, the Poison Study trilogy also by Snyder, and The Named trilogy by Marianne Curley. I cannot wait for the conclusion to this exciting trilogy.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from Amazon Vine