Sea Glass by Maria V Snyder

The second book in the Opal, the glass magician, series after Storm Glass. I had read her Study series, which I will admit I liked better, and can't wait for the next one. In this book, the sea glass actually played a small role. When Opal is at the coast awaiting training a new set of orb glass blowers, one of the Stormdancers, who capture the storms in the orbs, finds a bunch of sea glass on the shore. She is a beachcomber extrodinaire and gets mezmerized by the sea glass that apparently has magic in it. Opal is the only one who can diffuse the volatile glass before it gets out of hand. In this book, she is a one of a kind magician, in many aspects with glass and blood magic. Everyone who finds out about her, wants her. I did get a little frustrated at her trust issues as I guess you were suppose to. You were mislead to believe she had her act together but makes many mistakes which causes lots of action. The ending very well leads into the next book. This was a good read. http://www.mariavsnyder.com/

A magicians world

If you have read Maria Snyder's Study series, you have to read her Glass series. Book one in the series, Storm Glass, took a plot line from the Study books and came up with a wonderful, enchanting and mystical story centering around Opal. Opal is a student at Magician's Keep, is mostly a family taught glassmaker and trying to learn what her magical powers ultimately will be. She starts off a little bit on the insecure side, thinking she is only a 'One Trick Wonder' but we soon find out she is capable of many tricks. Her first mission is to find out why the Stormdancer's orbs are shattering. With forensic type thinking she deduces the formula for the melt and what is wrong with it. The glass making procedures in this book are extremely fascinating. And I especially loved the insight of storms and their emotional aspects that was described. Opal finds love in a round about way, perfects her craft and then learns shockingly she can be a either a valuable tool or a terrible weapon. The imagery in this book was good and again I loved the story as I did with Maria's previous books. There may have been a part towards the end dealing with the key that I had to reread a couple of times and then still didn't quite get it (yes it was a small detail but got to me anyway) but otherwise this book is a must read. I can't wait to read her next one, 'Sea Glass'. http://www.mariavsnyder.com/ Purchased book and then donated to university library

Magical Sugar Maple

I have really gotten into this new series by Barbara Bretton. The first book, Casting Spells, sets up the scene. A little town, hamlet more like, tucked between two mountains in NW Vermont. It will remind you of Old Salem a little. Anyway, the villagers in this town are all magical beings - vampires, werewolves, witches, fae, silkies, and the list goes on. Chloe, our heroine of our story, is the mayor and half sorceress and protector of the town. She also owns the knitting store in town called Sticks and Strings, where your yarn never gets tangled. In this first book, you get introduced to Luke, a human law enforcement agent investigating the drowning of his friend. It a really interesting tale of how he solves the crime, with Chloe's help and falls in love with her and stays on a police chief. It is a very fun read and a keeper. So I was looking forward to her next one , Laced with Magic, with equal hunger and wasn't let down. Again a very fun read and a keeper. In this one Luke's ex wife shows up in town with delusions of seeing their dead daughter but it was really a diversion on a much larger scale from the fiend who gets dispersed in the first book. A Bad Fae. The story flows well and is very entertaining. Only one disturbing love scene during a earthquake like scene but heh, the whole book leaves you smiling while turning pages. These books are must reads and I hope Barbara keeps them coming.

Fantasy thriller

Every once in a while I will read a fantasy. My favorite author of those is Terry Brooks. But I was intrigued by a synopsis for 'The Knights of the Cornerstone' by James Blaylock. The story centers around a reluctant hero of Calvin Bryson, who is enticed to visit his aunt and uncle in New Cyprus, CA, which is right on the CA and AZ border on an island. Once he gets there, he is drawn into the world of the Knights of the Cornerstone, sort of a templar theme. The whole town are knights and they are guardians of certain holy relics, in this case the Veil of Veronica. The significance of the veil is that Veronica swabbed Jesus's brow as he was in route lugging the cross and was to have taken his pain away onto the veil. As it does supposedly to this day. Bad guys want this veil and all the silver that the knights have been hording. It was a riviting story of good vs evil with a dramatic ending. I did feel that it dumped a lot of details on you but it was a good read anyway. I would be interested if there are more, which I suspect there will be.