MARIA V. SNYDER; Spy Glass

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Novel: Spy Glass

Release date: 2010

Category: Young adult fantasy

Publisher: Mira

Blurb: After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with

the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood—and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever....

**SPOILER WARNING may contain spoilers for Maria’s first Study series and her second Glass series SPOLER WARNING***

Review: Spy Glass was my lest favorite of Maria's novels. Mind you I still really enjoyed it!

By the third book of the Glass series and the fifth book with Opal, I knew the characters really well. While they stayed within their own personal boundaries (their personalities didn't jump around too much) , they still surprised me and I wasn't able to guess the ending.

That being said, I didn't like Devlen. Without giving anything away, if you have read the first two in this series and the Study books you'll know Devlen isn't a really nice person (understatement of the year) and yet his personality totally flips round. I thought it a bit unbelievable and a let down.

Also, I didn't like the title of the book. Spy Glass doesn't really match, at least in my option it doesn't. I can see where the spying comes into it and the glass but they never really mixed as much as the title leads us to believe.

I also have to admit, I took this book at face value. I guess I could make a long speech how Maria investigates the effects of taking drugs, how they change your whole life and how different people cope with drug addictions but I won't. I prefer to think of it only as blood magic, a mythical and magical state that only occurs in 'fiction land'. I know that its almost cowardly of me, but I think the book works better this way. There's enough violence already in the story to make it exciting and stressful enough without the massive philosophical discussion banged on the end.

I'm still giving this book three stars. Although it was a bit of a disappointment, it was still the last one in an otherwise wonderful series and for that it deserves recognition.

And so as Maria says: