Maria V. Snyder’s Sea Glass is the second book in the Glass series. After the events of the previous novel, the Council now knows about Opal’s dangerous glass abilities: draining the magic out of magicians and transforming it into diamonds. The Council orders her to return to the Citadel, but she has more pressing matters to deal with. Opal and Janco return from Ixia with Devlen residing in Ulrick’s body. Opal makes it her mission to find the real Ulrick and return the two souls to their rightful homes, but never gets the chance. When she finally returns to the Citadel, her welcome is (in kind terms) frosty. No one believes her tale about the dangers of Blood Magic and everyone seeks control over her abilities and her messengers. Betrayed and isolated, Opal isn’t sure who to trust and decides to embark on her journey alone.
Opal character undergoes major transformations in this book. The Opal from Storm Glass was kind and trusting, choosing to see the good in others until proven otherwise. But then, she is repeatedly betrayed and tortured. Over and over, she finds herself increasingly isolated until she makes the complete character flip from being too trusting, to not trusting at all. At the same time, she is determined to make herself more independent and to take charge of her life. She learns to fight giving her the confidence to take on challenges and learns to stand up for herself, choosing to be an active participant in decisions involving her future. Her growth in confidence, maturity, and strength is impressive; however, she takes it too far. She shoulders the burden of all her problems and often gets into trouble because of it. Sea Glass is another great book by Maria V. Snyder. Like the previous book, Sea Glass’s pacing can vary wildly. The book starts off fast, but eventually slows to a leisurely meander that remains the baseline for the book. Thanks to an intriguing overarching plot, the book never feels boring in the slow parts. In fact, this slower pace allows Opal to build her strength and character before setting off on a high-octane mission full of action, intrigue, and excitement.
Like Storm Glass, Sea Glass also continues to explore some of Sitia’s lesser-known gems. This novel adds depth to the country, showing smaller villages and internal customs.
However, the biggest contribution it makes to the series is how it manages secrets. After the discovery of null shields, many began to learn and implement them in defending against magical attacks. Blood magic could easily grow just as powerful, allowing magicians an easy way to increase their abilities and the cost of lives. The book stresses the point that the wrong knowledge in the wrong hands can quickly create terrible situations.
At the same time, Sea Glass also stressed the limitations of magic. As Opal’s magic is very specific, she often finds herself in situations where her magic is not an advantage. Instead, she has to use her wits and her new training to maneuver her way out.
One of the more unsavory aspects of the book is the forced love triangle. Just when you thought things were official between Opal and Kade, Opal starts to take interest in another guy. As I have personal problems with her new romantic possibility, I am fully supportive of Opal and Kade and annoyed at the continued existence of this love triangle.
Thankfully, the love triangle can often be overlooked due the many interesting characters introduced to the story. Some are brand new vibrant friends, while others are multifaceted villains or simply interesting characters. These characters mesh seamlessly to the returning characters that provide Opal with some useful advice and aid as well as being the fun, lovable group from the Study series.
I give this 406 page book 4 stars.
Glass Series
After Yelena's adventure that opened diplomatic relations between Ixia and Sitria, it is time for Opal Cowan's story.