*Book source ~ Purchased at Audible
From Goodreads:
As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it's time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal's unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn't known she possessed… - powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she's ever known.
Guest Reviewers
T ~ My 16-yr-old son
K ~ My 15-yr-old son
First, we listened to the Study series and really enjoyed it, so we thought continuing in this world be entertaining. Well, it kinda sorta was. We like Opal as the protagonist and some of our favorite characters are back, such as Leif, Yelena, Fisk, Ari and Janco. Unfortunately, no Valek. There are new characters introduced with various results: everyone likes Kade, doesn’t like Ulrich and agrees Devlin makes a good villain. The mystery is twisty, turny and keeps us guessing and the villains are appropriately villainous. The overall story arc is pretty good even though by the end the mystery isn’t really solved and there are some ends not tied up. It is a trilogy, so we know they will be eventually. However, the narrator ruins it for us. Yes, we really, really enjoyed Gabra Zackman’s narration of the Study series, but we were prepared to give Jennifer Van Dyck a fair shot. However, she mispronounced some words, made Janco sound Russian and, in general, we didn’t care for her narration. So we won’t be continuing with the series. K and I have read the books, but T hasn’t. He’s ok with not listening to any more since he’s not a huge Fantasy fan anyway. Plus, Valek is his favorite character and since he won’t be showcased in Opal’s series, it’s no great loss to him.
Quotes:
“Yippee. I’ve been promoted from fire lighter to delivery boy. I’ll write a letter home to Mother. She’ll be so pleased.” ~ Leif
“I know I hated magic for a reason," Janco said.
"Congratulations. This is the first time you've had a VALID reason to hate something," Ari countered. "Remember your campaign against sand?"
"Sand! Horrid little stuff. Gets everywhere. I had a perfectly good argue--"
"Janco." Ari's voice rumbled deep in his throat.
In a heartbeat, Janco switched gears. "Well, this blood magic sounds worse than sand.”
“Everyone grieves in different ways. For some, it could take longer or shorter. I do know it never disappears. An ember still smolders inside me. Most days, I don’t notice it, but, out of the blue, it’ll flare to life.” ~ Opal
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