SPY GLASS Review

An undercover mission leads to danger, adventure and an impossible choice...

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 an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world.

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 know it could be they are lost forever...
From Goodreads.com

WARNING: If you haven't read the rest of the Glass series by Maria V. Snyder, this review will contain spoilers. I'll keep the review short because it is the final book in this series, but if you plan on reading the series but haven't yet, I wouldn't recommend reading this review.

I've loved Opal as a character from the beginning. She has great personality and a great power of creating her glass messengers. At the end of the second book, Sea Glass, when she lost her powers, I felt put out, lost as she was, unable to recognize her as the character I thought she was because she'd lost this great power that I'd always defined her with.

Though the beginning of this book starts out slow, it's to be expected because of the whole losing-her-powers thing. Opal isn't who she thought she was. She's a changed person. She's not only lost her sister, but now she's lost the powers she loved. Things have changed drastically, and her family, through this book, plays a huge role in getting her back on track.

To all those love triangle fans, lovers of Kade or Devlin, prepare yourselves. The love triangle hinted at in the first two books takes full bloom in this one and you'll find yourself struggling to keep up with who Opal's focused on and who you want her to be focused on. Honestly, I love a good love triangle and Mara V. Snyder gives a great one in Spy Glass.

Despite all this, I thought it took too long to get back to the magic readers of Snyder's works are used to, but when it gets there, it really, truly gets there. The story takes off with the signature strong female character and action packed story line without pointless action, one of the things I truly love about her books. Though at times the plot is rocky, taking too much time to get to one place, the book comes through strong with an ending to the series much like that of the Study series that will leave readers satisfied in a way only Snyder can perform.

Rating: A

Cover Updates

So, I'm trying to break out of doing so many memes on my blog, and will do some occasionally, but I would like to rely on them less and less. So, here is a brief post compiling all the covers you (probably) have seen already, but covers I haven't covered (pun intended), and blurbs if the book has it. These are all reads I'm looking forward to. Leave your thoughts in the comments.


The Lost Saint (The Dark Devine #2) by Bree Despain
Releases December 28, 2010
A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns.

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot—a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger—in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her—not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.
From Goodreads.com



Desires of the Dead (The Body Finder #2) by Kimberly Derting
Releases March 15, 2011
The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.
From Goodreads.com



Outside In (Inside Out #2) by Maria V. Snyder
Releases March, 2011
No blurb yet, but I loved the first book and love the cover. More details when they're released!



Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
Releases February 8, 2011
The small town of Cryer's Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing - someone close to Kendall's heart - the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall¹s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school - messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there - Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something's not right in Cryer’s Cross - and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.
From Goodreads.com

Teaser Tuesday ~ POISON STUDY

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
From page 14

"'No Sir,' I whispered, all I could manage from unused vocal chords. 'I killed him.'"

As I side note, I loved this book. It is one of my all time favorites. Pick it up if you haven't.