Mundie Moms

Friday, September 10, 2010

Book Review- Spy Glass


By Maria V Snyder

Published by Mira
Released August 24th, 2010
Source- the Author
4 stars- I really enjoyed this book

An undercover mission leads to danger, adventure and an impossible choice. After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world. Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has stolen some of her blood - and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or know it could be they are lost forever.

Spy Glass is a great ending for the Glass series. Maria V Snyder included all of my favorite characters from the series, including Valek. His character played a huge part in Opal's character growth. While I wasn't very impressed with her character at the very beginning of the book, I really liked her by the end.

With out giving too many spoilers away, at the end of Sea Glass Opal sacrificed her magic in order to save lives. With the start of Spy Glass, she's mourns the loss of her magic as she feels she's lost who she is and her purpose in life. In order to find her identity she decides to go in search of a getting back her magic and a hidden vial with her blood in it. Like everything that has gone on in Opal's life, the journey to find the hidden vial that the Daviian Warpers stole will be far from easy.


I loved that Maria didn't hold back on the cast of great characters who returned to the story like, Yelena, Valek, Ari, Janco, Nic, Eve, Kade, Devlen, and more, including some new characters. There's no shortage of romance. Opal finds herself torn between Devlen and Kade, and the one she choose was no surprise to me. I know some fans couldn't figure out how she could choose the person she did, but to me, it's something Maria hinted at in Sea Glass. I really liked how Opal's choice is played out and explained, as Kade and Opal and also Opal and Devlen figure out what they really want.

I think Maria V Snyder did a great job in wrapping up the Glass series. She stayed true to Opal's character and voice through out the series. There were times I found myself irritated at Opal, as she does make a few not so stellar choices, but that's part of her character's growth. Spy Glass is full of dark twists, magic, romance and is action packed. If you've read the Magic Study Series and the Glass series, I recommend picking up Spy Glass.

You find out more about the Magic and Glass series on Maria's new site here http://officialmariavsnyder.blogspot.com/

Author Interview with Alexandra Adornetto

Recently I read Halo and I was completely shocked when I found out that Alexandra is only 17 years old. Halo is not her first published book either. I think it's a powerful thing when teens realize they don't need to be a certain age to accomplish something big. I'm clearly not a teen, and I wish I realized that when I was one.

Recently I was able to ask Alexandra Adornetto a few questions about writing and her 1st US debut, Halo.

You're 17, and already an accomplished writer. What sparked your interest in writing? What advice do you have for younger writers?

Growing up I used to love to keep diaries and write poems/short-stories, but the idea of turning writing into a career didn’t emerge until I was thirteen. It was the summer-holidays and all my friends had gone to the beach but I wasn’t allowed to go, so I needed something to keep me occupied. I started writing this story just for fun before realizing it was coming to me very naturally and I was able to keep going! I sent it off to a publishing house (not expecting to hear back from them) and got a call asking if I’d like to turn the book into a trilogy. I’ve been working as an author ever since. The best advice I can give would be, don’t let anybody tell you you’re too young to follow your dreams. Young people can feel like they haven’t got enough life-experience to be authors, but it’s not true. We are all capable of amazing things, if we work hard and truly believe in ourselves. If you are confident and have faith in your abilities, other people will have faith in them too.

What inspired you to write Halo?

I studied a religion class at high-school. Everybody hated it and thought it was boring, but I found it fascinating. I would come out of class and say to my friends: “Hey have you heard about the Trinitarian pattern of divine salvation!” And they would be like: “Who are you? Do we know you!?” The class got me thinking about putting a concept like angels into a novel. Also, I was a bit tired of seeing so many vampire novels on the scene; I thought it was time for a change. In most supernatural themed books, the supernatural characters themselves are fighting destructive urges (like drinking blood!) so I thought it would be interesting to make the supernatural beings genuinely good.

Which character grew the most and were you surprised at the direction in which they developed?

Probably Molly. Originally her character came across as very superficial, not the sharpest tool in the shed! Molly still starts out as a bit of ditz, but slowly starts to realize that she’s attracted to more than just Gabriel’s physical appearance. She can sense an amazing energy within him and she starts to look outside her narrow teenage world. Gabriel makes Molly genuinely want to be a better person and when I started writing her character, she only liked him because of his smokin’ looks!

Halo leaves us on a bit of cliff hanger. Can you give us a little hint at what we can except in the sequel, Hades?

I sure can! As you guess tell from the title, Hades is a bit darker in terms of themes. The drama and action really kicks into high-gear. Jake is back with a vengeance and he’s out to get Xavier. Beth is torn away from the world she knew and thrown into a place where all her nightmares come true. Part of the novel is set in Hell.

We're looking forward to meeting you at the Austin Teen Book Festival. What do you enjoy most about being on tour?

I am so excited to be visiting Austin. I’m working on getting a US work visa at the moment and would love to study at the University of Texas. So this will be a great chance for me to check out the town and the people! The best thing about being on tour is the places you see and the people you get to meet. I love meeting fans – it’s the most rewarding part of being a writer and when you’re on tour its all about interacting with those awesome people who support your work. They tell you their favorite characters and scenes and it gives you such great insight into what’s working well and what isn’t.

Have you read any books lately that you'd recommend to us to go pick up?

I’ve read Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son) which is about a guy who buys a ghost over the internet. I liked the originality of the idea. I’ve just read the Evernight series by Claudia Gray and had dinner with her in Australia. I can say that both book and author are lovely. I’m about to start reading Angelology by Danielle Trussoni which I have heard is very good!

If you'd like more information about Halo, please visit there links here:

It's BlogFest Time!!!


We are so excited to be apart of BlogFest this year!! What is Blog Fest? Well it's a HUGE group of bloggers who are hosting MASSIVE giveaways from September 10th-12th. BlogFest is hosted by fellow blogger A Journey of Books, who has set up a link HERE, so you can keep track of all your entries.


Here's what we're giving away- A SIGNED copy of City of Glass (the new paperback release) and an Audio Book of Clockwork Angel. To enter to win all you have to do is:
* Fill out the form below
* 1 entry per person/per email
* Be a follower of our blog
* Open Internationally (Be sure to read our giveaway policy here http://tinyurl.com/28mobe3)
* Be sure to go to the next stop on the Blog Fest tour here Musings of an All Purpose Monkey

This giveaway ends at midnight on September 12th, 2010.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the CWA audiobook.

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