Sea Glass by Maria V Snyder (Opal Cowan Trilogy: Book 2)

9/10

In the second book of the Opal Cowan series Opal is finally ready to graduate from the Keep and now must decide whether or not she is going to continue working for the Sitian council, or whether she is going to try and make it on her own. Will Opal go it alone without the council and risk having her magic exploited by others for personal gain? Or will she stay with the council and let them exploit her gifts for the benefit of everyone but at the risk of losing her freedom?

She makes things worse, however, by directly disobeying an order from the council to return to the Keep and goes off on a quest to prevent the events of the previous book from happening again. This inevitably makes Opal's life harder and causes many more problems than it solves.

Sea Glass was not quite as interesting as Storm Glass was and I found it quite easy to put down when I needed to do something else. Opal is still wonderfully naive and you come to see that getting into trouble is a trait that she shares with the protagonist of Maria. V. Snyder's previous series. Unlike Yelena Zaltana, Opal is still not as capable but she takes strides to try and change it throughout the book but it reminds me all too much of how Yelena went about life but without so much risk and intrigue.

By far the best part of the book was an appearance from Yelena herself and I found it most interesting to see how others see Yelena, and to see how her character changes from the first person perspective in the Zaltana series to the third person perspective in the Cowan series. Yelena's appearance sparks an interesting twist in the storyline that until this point seemed to flounder a bit as Opal tried to win back trust from the council and set her future in order, which is quite tedious in someone as nice as Opal.

It is difficult not to compare this series with Snyder's previous work with a storyline and character progression similar to that of Yelena but, as I stated above, without the mystery, intrigue and natural suspicions and wariness of the person Opal looks up to so much.

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We return to find Opal in the perils of another storm that rages beyond control.

Opal's fate and trust is tested beyond measure and she and only she alone can decide who she can and cannot trust in the web of lies that surround her.

In her search for answers, Opal faces many more walls and complications on her journey to self-discovery and faith in those that surround her.

As her talents develop, Opal must decide whether her new found 'talent' is best served for the Magicians, but with great power comes great responsibility, and one the Master Magicians fear beyond comprehension.

Isolated, confused, scared and in doubt, Opal finds the courage to ride out the storm before her and discovers that not all is all as it appears.

The storm is coming and Opal must choose the players who she can trust.

When he trust is broken, a new Magician emerges.