Spy Glass (Glass, #3) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Mar 04, 2010 Samantha rated it did not like it

Shelves: not-for-me, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ****SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS STORIES*****

No, no, no. This one didn't work for me on sooo many different levels, which is disappointing. It's only because I am a fan of this author's other stories that I have trudged on, hoping for a shift.

First there's the totality of the character that is Devlen. He has tortured (both mentally and physically) Opal in the past and now it's been put off to something he did because of blood magic. Let's just insert a convenient 'soul-reader' to instantly say that ****SPOILERS FOR THE PREVIOUS STORIES*****

No, no, no. This one didn't work for me on sooo many different levels, which is disappointing. It's only because I am a fan of this author's other stories that I have trudged on, hoping for a shift.

First there's the totality of the character that is Devlen. He has tortured (both mentally and physically) Opal in the past and now it's been put off to something he did because of blood magic. Let's just insert a convenient 'soul-reader' to instantly say that a certain character is no longer 'bad' and hello, easy-street! I don't care what kind of magical stupor you're under that would cause bad behavior, memories of torture alone would never allow me to interact with that person. Never ever, ever, seriously Ever. I've seen the various reviews/comments here on Goodreads on whether Opal was raped by Devlen and it's fine if you don't think so call it what you want. Of course in reality we're never going to have people conveniently switching souls and then pretending to be your significant other. For me the fact is, Opal thought she was with Ulrick, and that she consented to sex is secondary to the fact that he wasn't Ulrick. It doesn't matter if she enjoyed being with Delven-in-a-Ulrick-suit, she didn't know it was really the man who inhabited her worst nightmares and caused a lot of her feelings of inadequacy. Don't be too surprised here, but even creeps can act nice to their victims to get the results they want. I know, crazy right? If I were Opal I would have felt totally violated, my trust in my own judgement would have been in shambles…sound like Opal at all? Maybe I should have stopped reading after Opal comments on Yelena's 'readings' on Devlen, because obviously it's enough to leave me disgusted.

Yet I continued on because I thought there would be a story in here somewhere. A story that showed Opal coming into her own person. Yet throughout most of this story that is still painfully absent as we are forced to accompany her through a sham of a plot to obtain her missing blood. And even though that's the focus of the plot, it meanders here and there with no direction other than to insert convenient events to recollect upon later in the story. It felt like I was reading something completely different by last third of the book and not in a good way.

Then there's the generally unenjoyable dialogue and childish, petty characters across the board. These are Snyder's characters and I've liked them in the past (especially in Yelena's series), but this time even though they had the same names and were supposed to be the same people, some didn't sound like themselves. They seemed out of character to me, especially Valek in this one, but then again I'm only one reader and I'm sure some will be fine with it.

So anyway in the interest of finding a balance between brevity (fail) and getting this stuff off my chest, I'm ending it here. I wouldn't read anymore books about Opal if you paid me and I hope that if Snyder continues to write in this world it will not result in the overwhelming disappointment I have had in this series. ...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Roshio rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, cool-heroines

So this is more a 3.5 than a 3. Probably the weakest of the trilogy, but a good nice end to the series. What brought down the rating is the absolute mess of the plot where she is involve in so many plots etc. that it becomes a little bit unbelievable (this happens in the previous books as well, but it was more prominent in this book). The end also held a bit of shock for me (view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Swiftsea rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I confess to reading until Chapter 13. Then after finding out Opal cheats and ends up with Devlen, I scanned to Chapter 30. What in the world was all that about?

Usually, I don't skip chapters. Unfortunately I just happened to this time round due to the painfully long chapters regarding Opal's involvement in Fulgor. Atleast 25 pages of the book consisted of people questioning her reasons of heading to Fulgor and in response, all they would get is vague replies as Opal had to retain her suspicion ...more

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Jun 23, 2010 Literary Ames marked it as own-but-unread · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, arc, unread-hardcopy, fantasy, kindle-other-sources

17th Sept 2010

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Mar 15, 2011 Nairabell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star, read-in-2011, signed-books, fantasy

Opal Cowan sacrificed her powers in the showdown at Hubal to save those she loves. Now immune to magic, Opal is an outsider looking in at the life she reliquished. But when Opal begins to work with glass again she discovers a new skill - her creations now flash in the presence of magic. Opal learns that some of her stolen blood may still be out there, and she sets off to discover whether she can find it and regain her powers or if they are lost forever.

This is the third book in the Glass trilog Opal Cowan sacrificed her powers in the showdown at Hubal to save those she loves. Now immune to magic, Opal is an outsider looking in at the life she reliquished. But when Opal begins to work with glass again she discovers a new skill - her creations now flash in the presence of magic. Opal learns that some of her stolen blood may still be out there, and she sets off to discover whether she can find it and regain her powers or if they are lost forever.

This is the third book in the Glass trilogy (after Storm Glass and Sea Glass), and I started reading it straight after I finished the last volume which ended on a massive cliffhanger. I couldn't wait to get stuck in, but I never expected such a twisty turny rollercoaster of a plot.

Opal begins the book moping about the loss of her powers, but when Valek comes to visit her she realises that her powers might not be as lost as she thought. This sets her off on a madcap journey across Sitia, and the plot has loads of small storylines that run parallel to the main. Maria V. Snyder is an incredible writer and Opal's journey is really well written. The plot goes in so many different directions that it could have ended up seeming like Opal randomly wandered off on tangents, but it flows really well.

The romance based storyline took a few turns I didn't see coming, but I think Opal ended up with the best person for her in the end. However, there isn't much focus here as the book follows Opal closely so if you're looking for a detailed romance this isn't the book for you.

I loved how Valek took a large role in the book, and welcomed the return of Ari and Janco. However, the stand out character for me was Opal's mother - especially her reaction to Opal when she arrives home just days before Mara and Leif's wedding. It's both brilliant and hilarious.

All in all this was an awesome read, and I thoroughly recommend the entire trilogy to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50 ...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Jen (jlkish) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I really enjoyed this final book in Opal's trilogy, even more so than Sea Glass

I truly love both trilogies set in Sitia and Ixia, and I really hope there'll be more books set in this world. ...more

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May 18, 2011 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: maria-v-snyder, read-may-2011

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Lots more intricate plot twists, action & character growth in the final installment of the Glass trilogy.

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Jun 17, 2010 Ebby Wilhelm rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: odd-special-power, fantasy, elemental

A wonderful end to this series. This was another one that I could not put down once I started because there was a lot going on and I wanted to find out where it ended. If you've read the first two, this one will complete the circle. I'm hoping down the road there will be another triology about someone we meet in this one. ...more

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