Sea Glass (Glass, Book 2)

Sea Glass - Maria V. Snyder All right, first off, i'm going to start by saying that Mara V. Snyder is one of my favourite authors of all time. (This'll be a long post, be warned)So, because i started this blog AFTER i read the Study Series (the series before this books) i'm going to explain them just a tad, and also tell you that to truly enjoy this book, you should have some before knowledge of Yelena, Valek, & Janco, so you really should definitely read The Study Series (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study) before this one.Sea Glass is the second book in this series. So, obviously, you have to read Storm Glass first. (All this reading, goodness) Well, it's a good thing her books are freakin amazing!!!Parts i love about her books (i'm talking about them all right now) is that the dialogue is slightly modern for a fantasy book, and that's something i appreciate because then the dialogue is easily relatable. I love that.The setting is another point that just amazes me. Usually, the setting is the last thing i think about or remember, but she paints such a beautiful picture of Ixia, the military district with it's mountains and forests, and then Sitia, the magicians country with its jungles and sands. (I myself am partial to Ixia, but that's because i loved the study series so very very much) that the setting stays with you and you can easily call up images of each place.Then, finally, my favourite part of a book. The characters. Every single one of her characters are amazing. This book, Sea Glass is about Opal Cowen, but because Opal had a key role in the last of the study books (Fire Study) the main character from said books makes various appearances. Kind of the way Tamora Pierce did the Alanna quartet and then have Alanna reappear for The Protector of the Small quartet. Because i'm such a huge fan of the Study series (i honestly wish that she'd write more books from Yelena's point of view, i love her so much) i get wa-a-a-ay excited anytime Yelena makes her small appearences (and you don't even know how ecstatic i was when Valek showed up in Storm Glass. You. Don't. Even. Know) lol, but she creates such realistic loveable characters that they stick with you and you remember them for long after you've finished the book. I mean, i could list off all the characters from her books that i am absolutely in love with.All right! With that said, i should talk a tad about this book.Sometimes, if a lot of time has passed since i read the first book in a series, i have a hard time recalling what happened. But not this one, everything is clearly rewritten but not in a way that makes it so that she's repeating herself over and over. It flows easily with the process of the main character (in this case, Opal Cowen)In this one, Opal faces the Council of Sitia for her latest power, the ability to siphon a magicians magic and completely drain them. forever. Along with the fact her kidnapper, Devlen has switched bodies with her friend Ulrick and no one believes her except for the Stormdancer, Kade (heh.. i love Kade... not as much as Valek though) Opal becomes bitter and untrusting as more and more people betray or disbelieve her.This was so excellent, truly it was. I don't want to talk a whole lot about what happened because it was the second in a series......So, know that it got 5/5 stars from me, simply because once again Maria Snyder has created another wonderful story in the spectacular worlds she's made. I can not WAIT for the next/last book. Hopefully Valek will make another appearance ;) ;) ;)??