Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Opal Cowan has always felt a little out of place training at the Keep. Because her magic is so linked to her glassmaking, she feels like a one trick wonder—useless and inadequate when compared to the magicians around her. But just because Opal’s magic is unique and specialized doesn’t mean it’s not useful in some way. The Stormdancer clan relies on glass orbs to harness and hold energy from storms, and when the orbs start shattering, killing Stormdancers, Opal is called upon to investigate the problem with the glass. However, as new intrigues arise and Opal’s magical skills are put to the test, Opal discovers that she may have access to a new kind of magic, a magic so potent and powerful its effects could only be disastrous.

After such spectacular storytelling in the Poison Study trilogy, Snyder’s first novel in her spinoff trilogy is somewhat of a letdown. It was almost inevitable because the success of Poison Study would be hard to top. Although Storm Glass was not quite up to par with Poison Study, it is still an enthralling and well written story. Snyder has this amazing ability to whisk the reader off into her imagined worlds of Sitia and Ixia. It’s fantastic how everything plays out from there. The plot was undoubtedly exciting although the continuous twists and turns were sometimes difficult to keep track of; sometimes I felt the “out of the frying pan, into the fire” mentality was embraced a little too eagerly. The quite pace of this book was, however, very beneficial to character development. Constant danger and threats forced the characters to adapt quickly, and I loved seeing grown in protagonist Opal’s personality. So although Storm Glass can’t quite compare with Poison Study, it is still an exciting and satisfactory read.

Dedicated fans to Snyder’s Poison Study trilogy will not want to miss the first installment of this spinoff trilogy. Storm Glass will also be enjoyed by those who liked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and The Named trilogy by Marianne Curley. I look forward to the continuation of Opal’s story in Sea Glass.

Rating: 4.25

Review copy borrowed