“Hazel — Promise me you won’t give up on your dreams.”

“I won’t, Mom!” Hazel swears, assuming Mom means that she should try to be whatever she wants to be, a doctor, or lawyer, or even a mermaid. Hazel is just nine, but she really means to keep that promise.

Seventeen years later, she wonders if she’s broken it – or maybe just failed to fully realize it, because she hasn’t become a doctor, or a lawyer, or a mermaid. Or anything much, really. Yet, in one way, she has kept her promise — because Hazel is a Grand Champion Dreamer. When she’s asleep, she dreams a dazzling universe full of heroes and monsters, princesses and goddesses, cities and temples and gardens that make the most wonderful places on Earth seem dull in comparison.

During the day, she does what she has to do to pay the bills. At bedtime, she turns in, confident that she will dream, and that the sun will come up in the morning. So on the evening of her last day, she embraces the night wholeheartedly and drifts into the universe of her imagination.


But when the alarm goes off, she opens her eyes to darkness. The sun hasn’t come up, the world outside has become a City of Night, and the dwellers there are Night Shifters — gods and elves, daemons and djinns, dreamers and wizards. All of them have their own agendas, all of them are chasing Hazel, and as she fights to understand this world of dreams and her place in it, she can’t help remembering what her mother said.

And she wonders. All those years ago, when she swore to never give up on her dreams, did she really understand what she was promising?
This blurb came from Goodreads.

Back when I was on an extremely limited budget – allowance from chores—and I had exceeded my parents’ pockets on books from the bookstore, exceeded the library’s weekly checkout limit I lived for the Friends of the Library semi-annual book sales. We were members which meant we would show up early help organize them and get to shop a day before everyone else. Those sales provided my introduction to I don’t remember how many authors. One of the books I found was called Larissa and happened to be by Emily Devenport. I really enjoyed reading it and often wished I could find any other books by Ms Devenport, this was also during the heyday of Usenet and BBS (Bulletin Board System) so I didn’t have the capability of finding her website on the internet like we can today.

When we were contacted with a review request for The Night Shifters I liked the premise of the book and thought the author’s name sounded familiar, so I did a little research, found out it was the same author and leaped on the chance. Ms Devenport created an extremely vivid sort of world that reminded me of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Neil Gaimen’s Neverwhere while containing some unique twists. As Hazel explores the City of Night she is faced with some interesting characters, choices and things that aren’t quite right. In the process she learned a lot about herself, her values and who she really was. I enjoyed watching Hazel triumph over some of her old fears and start paying attention to her instincts instead of what other people told her.

While the story as a whole flowed some of the scenes didn’t quite match up. I admire Ms Devenport’s use of that technique because it was very similar to how different scenes in a dream don’t necessarily appear to go together while you are experiencing it. I felt that added to the overall atmosphere in the City of Night. It was also interesting to see how characters continue to show up and morph according to the scene again making it more dreamlike. Unfortunately, while well written, I really struggled finishing The Night Shifters. Ms Devenport happened to hit a button I didn’t know I had which caused me to remember some of my neverending dreams that weren’t exactly nightmares but were not comfortable either. As a result I was never able to settle down and just enjoy. Just as a side note I wasn’t able to get into Alice in Wonderland or Neverwhere either.

I give The Night Shifters a C+

Links to purchase
Kindle eBook | Barnes & Noble 

Review – The Night Shifters by Emily Devenport is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

My personal favourite is the Immortals series that is set in the Tortall Universe. I’ve been meaning for a while to do an overall review, and this past week, I’ve done a major re-read of the series so I thought it was the perfect time.

I’m going to do a review of each book through out a time period. I’ll try and not totally gush and express my total book love of the most awesome mage EVER, Numair Salamin *grins*.

“Young Daine’s knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine’s talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself.”

Our heroine of the series is young Daine, a 13 year old girl orphan who has the most extraordinary gift which allows her to communicate and talk to animals. In Wild Magic, it’s the story of Daine’s introduction to the Tortall Kingdom and her learning about her abilities and finding a place to call home. We meet again characters we grew to love from the Alanna series who make appearances quite often — not only in Wild Magic — but throughout the rest of the series. If you’re a big fan of animals, you will enjoy this series a lot. What Tamora Pierce is best at is her ability for world building, her imagination for creating magical beasts and gods, and for creating characters that are unique and so full of personality that you’ll remember them for a long time to come.

Wild Magic I don’t believe is the best book in the series. It’s a little slow to start with, but once it gets going, it goes to strength to strength. Daine for the past few years has had a terrible and traumatic time after raiders killed her mother. She’s never had a father and doesn’t know who he is, and except for her horse, Cloud — who she can communicate with — she’s been alone for a long time, expect for when she was with the wolf pack. When she meets horsemistress Onua, and becomes her apprentice, it’s a lifeline for Daine. She tells a few porky pies, but Onua likes what she sees and hires Daine. From there, the two begin a friendship, and it’s not long into the journey they encounter trouble from monsters, they meet my book crush, Numair. *happy sigh*

Daine is very much young and naive despite the horror she had to endure, but there is also a core of strength in her that is similar to Alanna when she was young, but in a much quieter way. Daine can seem perhaps to others as ‘too perfect’ but she is a major contrast to Alanna and I think having another strong and in your face character as Alanna would have been overbearing. Daine though is thrust quickly into using her gifts when terrible creatures from the Immortal world, the Divine Realm, have escaped. Daine is forced to use her gifts to battle these terrible creatures, and there is a realistic amount of violence that doesn’t escape into graphic territory. I loved the scenes when they travelled to Pirates Swoop, and it’s there where a big-ass battle commences where animals, monsters, sea monsters and a dragon appear in scenes that showcases the awesome world building. I think said it before, but I would have LOVED to have read this series when I was kid. I think I would have loved it even more back then. Not only is the world building so solid, the dialog and characters and just as fantastic. There is wit and humour that makes reading Wild Magic so engrossing.

Wild Magic is more of an introductory piece than anything as the subsequent books go into a lot more depth. But it’s one that invokes such imagination that you’ll find it very hard to put down. I give Wild Magic a B+.

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REVIEW: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

When Harlequin started their LUNA imprint several years ago, little did I know that they would expose me to several authors who quickly made it to my autobuy list. I have been reading Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra since about 2007 when the third book CAST IN SECRET was released. I don’t know why it took me so long to start reading them because I remember seeing the first CAST IN SHADOW on bookshelves. Before I get into my review since this is the eighth story set in Elantra, following one novella and six novels, I will provide you with a quick background. At the bottom of this review you can see the covers of the previous books, some of which you can click to find out more about that particular book.

Elantra is a rather large city that at the time this series starts is populated with six different species called Castes each with their own Castelord (ruler) and their own language. The six Castes are Human, Aerian, Barrani, Leontine, Tha’alani and Dragon. Some Castes have different forms of innate magic while others have some members who deal with more external forms of magic and yet others forbid all magic. Within Elantra each Caste has an area that is primarily theirs, yet there are common areas as well. In the Caste area Caste specific laws as dictated by their Castelord take precedence unless a crime is committed between different Castes or an appeal is made to the higher authority. The higher authority is the Dragon Emperor, he rules Elantra and what he says goes. He has created a set of codified laws that govern inter-Caste relations and provide an overall structure for the running of the city. To enforce those laws the Dragon Emperor created three enforcement branches; the Swords – like the Army, the Hawks – like the police and detectives, and the Wolves – who go after what the Hawks cannot handle and are not necessarily expected to bring their targets back alive.

On certain edges Elantra is bordered by what are called Fiefs. The Fiefs do not fall under the control of the Dragon Emperor and are ruled by the strongest person there. The Fief takes the name of that ruler so as the ruler changes so changes the Fief’s name. There, instead of a written set of laws, might makes right provided it doesn’t go against what the Fieflord wants. As a result people in the Fiefs do whatever they have to do to survive. So is extremely rare for someone born and raised in one of the Fiefs leaves and is able to successfully transition to life in Elantra. The heroine of this series, Kaylin Neya, has managed to make that transition.

When I finish a book I usually wonder what happens after the immediate celebration of the hero/heroine when they solve the main crises for that particular book. Everything that led up to the crises and the event itself caused an effect on the world and it’s characters. Ms Sagara is very good at included the “what happened next” when she starts each succeeding novel. CAST IN RUIN picks up with the aftermath of strange, unnerving magical events, dragons flying overhead and walking through the streets of Elantra and a large number of a new species about 8 foot tall and well armed emerging in the middle of the city out of practically nothing.

If that wasn’t enough…
“Seven corpses are discovered in the streets of a Dragon’s fief. All identical, down to their clothing.
Kaylin Neya is assigned to discover who they were, who killed them–and why. Is the evil lurking at the borders of Elantra preparing to cross over?
At least the investigation delays her meeting with the Dragon Emperor. And as the shadows grow longer over the fiefs, Kaylin must use every skill she’s ever learned to save the people she’s sworn to protect. Sword in hand, dragons in sky, this time there’s no retreat and no surrender….”
This blurb came from the author’s website here.

I loved this latest entry into Kaylin’s life! Ms Sagara did a wonderful job of demonstrating yet again that even after you “save the world” you still have to go back to your day job and deal with what happens after. As with each of the previous stories Kaylin’s surprisingly innocent yet jaded point of view provides the reader with a glimpse into the inner workings of one or more of the Castes. This one happens to focus on the Dragon Caste and answers several questions that both Kaylin and I had been wondering since she asked them in earlier books. I really enjoyed finding more out regarding the dragons since I think they have always been my favorite fantasy creature.

During the course of Kaylin’s investigation she demonstrates that she is able to take what she has learned through her early life in the Fiefs, what she has picked up about Dragons and blend that with more traditional investigating techniques to attempt to solve the puzzling murders. Her tenacity and determination reminded me of a dogged hardbitten detective in murder mysteries of yore, yet her youth and impatience with the longer lived Castes’ apparent lack of urgency kept CAST IN RUIN from being too dark.

Ms Sagara continues to develop Kaylin as a person and a character. While that growth has been evident throughout the series, it struck me that in this book Kaylin is actually starting the final steps of the transition from childhood to adulthood. Despite what she has done in the past, Kaylin still retained a childlike view of certain things. One of her conversations demonstrated that she is stepping away from that shield. It will be interesting to see how she deals with the realization that she has two men, both extremely powerful in their own ways, each with a mentally intimate connection to her who are definitely interested in her as more then just another person.

My only regret is that I wish I could have seen more of Kaylin’s typical interaction with the Barrani, Tha’alani and Leontines. She had a few encounters but compared to previous books they felt shallow. Granted that could certainly be because previous books delved deeply into those three Castes’ cultures. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and can’t wait for the next one.

I give CAST IN RUIN an A

Clicking on the cover image will bring you to an excerpt if one is available:

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Review – Cast in Ruin by Michelle Sagara is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get this book from: ARC from Publisher

Release date: Out now

This review contains some minor spoilers.

Blurb taken from author’s official website:

…Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It is an intimate portrait of a woman, Jane, and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality.

Jane and her sister Melody vie for the attentions of eligible men, and while Jane’s skill with glamour is remarkable, it is her sister who is fair of face. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.

When I received this book for review and saw the very intriguing title, I didn’t know what I was going to expect. Then I read the blurb, and there I was, immersing myself into this romantic fantasy tale.

Jane’s world is full of glamour that is created by threads and folds that come from the Ether. And ladies are expected to be accomplished at glamour. Glamour is an illusion that can be used on anyone and on anything: a person, a house, on a landscape and even used while playing a piano, it can even be used to create things. But it takes a toll on the person manipulating the glamour, and our heroine Jane is very accomplished in the glamour arts; she is considered to be the best in her neighbourhood.

But while Jane is astutely accomplished in the arts, she is considered to be plain of face while her younger sister, Melody, is the beauty of the family. Melody attracts the attention of suitable beaus, while Jane is considered to be the wallflower. While Jane is most sensible, and very calm, she becomes jealous of Melody who becomes enamoured of Mr Dunkirk, a man and neighbour whom Jane has deep feelings for. But Jane’s world of glamour becomes very exciting when Mr Vincent arrives on the scene. Mr Vincent is considered to be thee best glamour/illusionist in the country. And when Jane sees his work at a party, she is spellbound by what she sees. From there, Jane’s calm and not so content world is rocked with secrets that can cause scandals, and she has to endure the grumpy, but oh so fantastic Mr Vincent.

I found Shades of Milk and Honey to be the utmost charming read that features the touch of magic and the fantastical. While in some ways this is an adaptation, in other ways, it’s completely different.

Jane was a great heroine: smart, witty, and most importantly, she wasn’t the perfect, quiet, and meek heroine who didn’t let petty feelings get the better of her. She felt jealousy, she felt sorry for herself, and she expressed anger at her sister. And she wasn’t above letting her sister know those feelings. Jane also didn’t hide away her talent of glamour.  While I enjoyed reading about  glamour and what you could accomplish with it, I did wish it was explained in more detail. The background story of the Ether is not explored, there aren’t any explanations on how it came to be, who discovered it, and how did a person simply reach out into the Ether and manipulate the folds? But despite this, it didn’t distract me from the enjoyment of the book.

Jane’s relationship with Mr Vincent was very slow, but it’s not lacking in the least.  It stuck to the conventions of what was proper in those days (at least I think it did). It was like Lizzie’s and Mr Darcy’s courtship from P&P, but Jane wasn’t as mean as Lizzie . So there’s not much to say on the romance side because declarations of love didn’t come until the end of the book, but Jane’s and Mr Vincent’s interactions were like special occasions that I eagerly looked forward to.  And there’s an important and quite lovely scene in which Mr Vincent gives Jane a gift that was the changing point for their relationship.

This book has a little of everything: romance, magic, fantasy, and some action towards the end which revealed true personalities of characters – especially Melody who had insecurities of her own. Jane’s relationship with her sister was not easy, and both women craved what each other had. And even though Melody did come across as selfish and immature, she wasn’t all bad, even though what she came out with made her seem that way.

I wouldn’t hesitate in book pushing this book onto others, and I can’t wait to see if Mary Robinette Kowal will be writing any more books set in the world of Shades of Milk and Honey.

I give Shades of Milk and Honey 5 stars.

And here’s a very cool, and quite unusual trailer for Shades of Milk and Honey, featuring a style of Puppetry called Shadow Masks. The trailer  is featured over at Mary Robinette Kowal’s website.

Review: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get this book: Won in a contest

Release date: Currently available

This review contains spoilers!

Blurb taken from authors’ official website:

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

I have to say, when I read the premise for this story, I was really excited. I’ve always been fascinated by the mystery surrounding the demise of the Romanovs. And when I first started reading the novel, I thought it was going to live up to my expectations.

The visions Anne had of Anastasia were interesting. Ethan popping up in unexpected places was fun. In short, I initially enjoyed discovering the situation with her. But over time, the excitement wore off. I still enjoyed the novel, but it wasn’t as winning as I’d hoped.

Having said that, the basic story itself is very engaging and the characters are interesting. I like how strong Anastasia stayed through her captivity, and I liked the fact that, unlike many YA stories, Anne had a generally good relationship with her parents. Ethan was cute and kind of clumsy with Anne, which was a nice change from the alpha males often seen in YA. And I enjoyed the inclusion of the Baba Yaga mythology. In other words, there were a lot of things I liked.

The problem is there was a lot I wasn’t fond of too. First, while multiple first person stories aren’t a turn off, I need all the narrators to have very distinct voices. I didn’t feel that with Dreaming Anastasia, particularly with regard to Anne and Ethan’s chapters. And while I liked the inclusion of Anastasia’s journal/letters, I’d like to deck whoever picked the font. It was horribly difficult to read, especially by book light late at night. (Though I don’t hold the author responsible for that choice, it still affected my reading pleasure.)

The way Anne kept worrying about things like skipping class (when Baba Yaga’s giant disembodied hands were chasing her) or getting her driver’s license (when she’d just been shot at) really bothered me. I felt it was a forced way to make her sound more like a teenager. For me, if a teenager is getting attacked by monsters or bad guys, they’re probably thinking the same thing as the average adult, which would be more along the lines of “Oh #*($, I’m glad I’m still alive!” The thing with the much older guy as a love interest bugged me. At first, I liked how they both approached their attraction in an oh-no-can’t-go-there kind of way, but considering the short timeframe of the story, they got over it way too fast. If it was squicky in when she finds out how old Ethan is it would still be squicky a few days later. And lastly, I could well be wrong, but to me it seems logical that an early twentieth century princess would have known how to ride a horse. Why, in that case, would Ethan put Anastasia to ride double on one of the three available horses with Anne, rather than having her ride the third horse alone? It seemed like the logic was twisted there with no explanation just to make it possible for the bad guy to follow them.

All in all, I wanted it to be a great book, I really did. For me though, the plot issues mentioned just made it not measure up to what I’d hoped for. It could have been fabulous, instead it was just okay.

I give Dreaming Anastasia 3.0 stars.

Review: Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Sometime early last year I was either browsing my favorite book related blogs or looking on Amaxon.com for their list of recommended upcoming releases when I came across a book called Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire.  The back cover blurb caught my eye with the mention of a half Sidhe-half human Private Investigator, October Daye, who had lost 14 years of her life.  At first I thought the 14 years were the price she had paid for working some magic spell.  Boy was I wrong.  Instead of paying a price, she was unwillingly transformed into something other then human or fae and spent those 14 years unable to sense or comprehend the passing of time. Intrigued I picked up a copy when it was published and Ms McGuire sucked me into a dark, complex enjoyable tale.

When The Bookpushers were contacted to see if there was interest in reviewing her upcoming book called A Local Habitation that just happened to be the sequel to Rosemary and Rue, I leaped on the chance.  Per the FTC I am obligated to inform you that I received an ARC of this book from the author for the purpose of reviewing it.  (Confidentially I will admit that I will purchase a copy release week.) I will attempt to avoid major spoilers from Rosemary and Rue but some smaller ones are inevitable.

Excerpt from the Back Cover as stated at http://seananmcguire.com/alh.php

“Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, most changelings are second class children of Faerie spending their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations.  Toby is the only changeling who has earned knighthood, and she re-earns that position every day, undertaking assignments for her liege, Sylvester, the Duke of Shadowed Hills.

Now Sylvester has asked her to go to the County of Tamed Lightening – otherwise known as Fremont, California – to make sure that all is well with his niece, January O’Leary, whom he has not been able to contact.  It seems like a simple enough assignment – but when dealing with the realm of Faerie, nothing is ever as simple as it seems…For Tamed Lightening has somehow been cut off from the other fiefdoms, and now someone has begun to murder January’s key people.  If Toby can’t find and stop the killer soon, she may well become the next victim…”

Ms McGuire has succeeded in taking a common theme, the Sidhe, and adding some unique twists that sucked me back into October’s life.  Set once again in San Francisco, home to October “Toby” Daye, the opening scene showcases Toby in a much lighter mood then than readers of the first book are accustomed to seeing.  Fans of this series might also be interested in the fact that we also get to see Tybalt, a very powerful Cait Sidhe and the local King of the Cats *waggles eyebrows* very early on.  Don’t worry I promise you that Tybalt appears again.

Throughout the course of Toby’s investigation in A Local Habitation, I was treated to more information about the Sidhe culture, its various members and Toby herself.  I found it to be a mark of Ms McGuire’s skillful writing style that her character and world building were seamlessly merged with the pace of the story so I never lost my reading enjoyment as the story unfolded.  All of the characters showed unexpected depths, including those victims who died before Toby arrived at Tamed Lightening.  Based on the other characters statements about one of the victims I had painted a particular picture but when Toby examined their office area my mental picture drastically changed.  In another instance I thought I had figured out who one character was attracted to and found I was entirely wrong.   Toby and her sidekick (name is a major spoiler for Rosemary and Rue) also learned some interesting lessons and faced some situations when Toby’s connection to her liege wasn’t necessarily believed or even helpful.

The murder mystery was complex enough that while I guessed some of the roles the different characters played I was not expecting all of the twists nor did I accurately guess the culprit.  Despite the gritty nature of the investigation, Toby and the cast of assorted characters do experience some lighter moments.  Ms McGuire’s October Daye series does not shy away from showing how the Sidhe have a very different viewpoint on life and what death really means.   I also got to see the manifestation of power and what it means to have and control that power.  While dark and gritty A Local Habitation ends on a note of hope.  I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next installment in October Daye’s life, An Artificial Night.  Ms McGuire has very kindly provided the reader with a sneak peek of into that third novel due to release in September 2010.

I give it a rating of 4 of 5 five stars for the slight predictability in some of the characters and their roles and the fact that I believe in order to fully enjoy the book and understand at least one key scene you need to read Rosemary and Rue.  A Local Habitation releases in North America on March 2 as a DAW Mass Market Paperback.

ARC Review: A Local Habitation is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Review: The Hero and The Crown by Robin McKinley is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

This review contains spoilers.

I first want to mention, Opal, the heroine, is a character which features in the Study series. It’s based in the same world. So be warned, if you do read Storm Glass without reading the Study series, there are a lot of spoilers relating to the Study books, including Opal. While Storm Glass is not a continuation directly, I do think it’s somewhat linked.

I haven’t read all of the book in the Study series, so despite the spoilers, I really enjoyed this book. Maria V Snyder has such a unique story voice. The world she has created is vivid, and colourful. It’s mentioned that Maria has a hobby of glass making, and that knowledge is shown in great detail in the book.

Opal is a glass magician. She creates glass artefacts, which she infuses with her own magic, which can then be used as communicators. Opal thinks she is a one trick pony though, and has to fight her own insecurities which are tied with events that happened in the past. She’s trying to cope in the Keep, a magical academy for students, without any friends. One day, much to her surprise, she is called in to see the Master Magicians. They want her to go on a mission. A mission to help the Stormdancers!

The Stormdancers are a unique group of people who can trap a storm’s energy within a glass orb. Not only by trapping the energy does it help to temper down the dangerous storms, which can kill people, it also can be used as energy. There is a problem though. The orbs are failing, and two Stormdancers have died because of it. Opal must use her knowledge to help them, before anyone else perishes by the orbs.

Straight from the beginning, we see the love Opal has for glass making. She thinks her magic is not special or unique, and we see her disappointment. Through out the book though, Opal is proven wrong. Opal slowly evolves as a character, and new powers are seen. Opal is somewhat of a flawed character. There are scenes where she is being tortured, and she gives in. She’s not one of those heroines, who suffers in silence and stoically withholds the information they want. Opal does gives in, yet I didn’t think less of her. I would probably squeal like a pig if I was tortured!

Opal is the way she is because of events that happened in the past, which features in the Study books. Though, I did think that Opal should have been less trusting and less naïve in certain circumstances.

There is a undercurrent of romance in the story, and there are two love interests. Kade, a Stormdancer who is grieving over his sisters death, and Ulrick, another glass magician who has similar interests as Opal.

At the beginning we see the energy that literally sparks to life between Opal and Kade, but when Opal makes an opening, Kade shuts her down. I can understand why Kade did what he did. He was grieving for his sister, and I could understand his reluctance to give into his emotions. He was frightened of losing another person he cared for.

We then have Ulrick, who is also a glass magician, but he is frustrated and feels useless in his family’s eyes. Ulrick doesn’t know he is a glass magician until Opal tells him so, and he goes back with her to the Keep. Opal and Ulrick embark on a relationship on the urging of Opal’s sister, who tells her to stop living in the past.

I’m not sure what I make of the two love interests, and how Maria worked that through the plot. Both characters are featured through out the book, and I find myself in the Kade camp, whom I like very much.

There is a plot twist, that puts a spanner in the works with Ulrick. One night, after Ulrick comes back from visiting his sister, Opal thinks he is acting somewhat strangely, but puts it down to her imagination. She finally makes the important decision and decides to sleep with him. As their relationship goes deeper with these events, it finally emerges that a known enemy was impersonating Ulrick, who had been kidnapped on the night he visited his sister. Blue Eye’s, the enemy’s nickname, who we see in intermittent stages throughout the book, manages to use blood magic, which is forbidden, to accomplish this. It bothered me somewhat that there were no ramifications of Opal sleeping with the enemy, emotion wise. I hope Maria deals with this in Sea Glass, the next book in the series.

I was also confused by Opals decision at the end of the book.

Opal is kidnapped, again, along with Kade. After Kade watches Opal being tortured, he finally gives in and admits that he loves her. When things are resolved regarding the enemy, Opal is happy, and admits she loves him too. I was like yes! *pumps arms in air*

Next though, I was like, say what?

Opal tells Kade that while she loves him, she wants to find Ulrick and see what he has to offer her. I’m like nooooo! Why do you want to do that for. Didn’t you know enough about Ulrick while you were with him in the keep?

So, except for that issue, this book is one hell of a read. The plot kept on turning and going in different directions that kept me on edge. It looks like there is an unseen enemy, and we will probably see those events unfold in future books.

From now on, we have decided to rate books out of five.

Five being: This totally rocked my socks off.

And a one: I really, really didn’t like this book.

So, I’m giving Storm Glass a healthy 4/5.

Storm Glass is available now in the US as an ebook, and paperback.
The trade back release will be available in July, for the UK.

Review: Storm Glass by Maria V Snyder is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter