Book: Storm Glsss by Maria V. Snyder

Published by Mira Books

Purchased for my Nook (448 pages)

Genre: YA: Fantasy

Find out more: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Maria Snyder

Goodreads Summary: As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers–particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade–require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance–including her own–Opal must control powers she hadn’t known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.

I’m quickly becoming a fan of Maria Snyder.  She really does come up with some interesting ideas, and her worlds seem to be pretty distinct.

First, I just love the names in Storm Glass!  They’re a little fantasy-esque, but for fantasy names, they’re not too crazy or out there.  I loved that she didn’t feel confident in her abilities, but became more confident over the course of the novel.  I loved how she used her magic- through glass animals that are used to communicate.

Snyder did a fairly good job at creating a memorable world, although there were times when I felt like I was missing something.  There are plenty of details and I had a good sense of what was going on…but there were times when I felt like I was reading the series out of order.

Other than that, I really like the setting.  And the society that Snyder created was also interesting.  I loved that there were a lot of people who had magic manifest in different ways and yet ended up in the same classes as everyone else because no one knew what to do with them.

The glass-making is a really interesting aspect, and I really enjoyed seeing it used in a really interesting way.  I also enjoyed seeing the Stormdancers and what they did.

I liked Opal, and how she doubted herself but still did what she needed to do.  She felt very human and flawed, and I liked that she wasn’t completely sure of herself.  But I felt like she did become more confident by the end too.

I didn’t like the love triangle, which wasn’t really a big surprise, because it felt really forced.  With both guys.  As much as I love romance, I’d rather it not be in there than feel like it’s there to create conflict.  There are a quite a few characters, but I think I liked Opal the best.

Storm Glass gets a 4 out of 5.  It’s a really interesting world, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.