Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Magic

Paperback: 488 Pages

Published: May 1, 2009

Series: Glass

            1. Storm Glass

            2. Sea Glass

            3. Spy Glass

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

  

My Review:

Opal Cowen is a glassmaker and a magician in training. She isn't like other magicians who have multiple talents, instead she has only one: she is able to trap magic within a glass. So that's the basic story line of this book. I would give you all more details about the plot, but I don't really know what they are. The story has multiple events taking place at the same time and somehow they all connect together, but I just couldn't see it. For the most part the beginning was engaging and did catch my attention. However, I found it to be boring and too long by the middle of the book and when I actually got to the end I struggled to finish this book.

The characters were not bad, but I just wasn't able to connect with them on any level. This is what made this book boring for me. I like books with characters that I can connect with or ones that fascinate me. However, most of the characters in this story were just okay. Plus the romance was little and I was expecting there to be a lot more than what I got. Overall, this book is alright for those of you who like magic and don't mind a book being long. I was just irritated at the amount of pages and details that I had to read because I wasn't getting any information on the actual plot. Even though I did not enjoy reading this particular book the concept was interesting. So if this is something that fascinates you as a reader, then by all means give this book a shot. 

Outside In #2 by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Dystopian

Paperback: 328 Pages

Published: March 1, 2011

Series: Insiders

            1. Inside Out

            2. Outside In

            3. Inside

Rating:★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Me?

A leader?

Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew.

That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again? While still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside.

And something from Outside wants In.

My Review:

I read Outside In a while back and while I was reading this I totally forgot what had happened in the first book. I started this book with low expectations, but turns out it was action packed and suspenseful. The plot portrayed the time after the successful overthrow of an authoritative government. Trella has to figure out how to install order without repressing one group? How to reconcile with former enemies? How to fight against rebels and sabotage? Trella must establish this committee ruling over Inside, but it's difficult to leave old habits behind. Trella is scared to accept the responsibility of being a leader and taking care of her people. So the most important question is: Can the citizens unite as one and fight against a new threat that promises to take Trella and her friends down? Allies are turning into enemies and enemies are turning into allies. It was thrilling to figure out who is on what side. As soon as you made your mind about who is good and who is evil, the plot would twist unexpectedly.

Although, I never seemed to be emotionally involved with the characters. If a death occurred I didn't really care. Also the romance wasn't as appealing. Trella had a young voice and it seemed like a middle grade book and not all the characters were developed. I liked the idea of this secret society, but it couldn't hold my interest for too long. It took a few tries before I was able to finish this book. I was surprised I didn't like this book as much as I liked the first. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.  

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Dystopian

Paperback: 320 Pages

Published: April 1, 2010

Series: Insiders

            1. Inside Out

            2. Outside In

            3. Inside

Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Keep Your Head Down. Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

 My Review:

            "I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own - until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution."
- Goodreads

             After reading this little tid-bit I was sucked right into this book. I mean doesn't it sound so interesting. Who is a scrub? Why are there so many? These are just some of the questions that came to my mind while I was reading this book. Snyder has created a fascinating world of Uppers and Lowers. They are people trying to survive one day at a time. So when Trella accidently starts a revolution all hell breaks loose. Then when you realize they are all actually trapped in a large, self-sustaining cube, that's when things get extremely tense. Who controls this 'gateway" and how did all these people get here? This story reminds me of The Maze Runner by James Dashner because of it's similarity of being trapped with no way out. However, the similarity ends there because this book has a female lead rather than a male lead.

            Speaking of Trella...She is a stubborn, skeptical loner who has a sarcastic personality. Her character is strong and I seldom had a problem with her. And that is very rare with female leads. The other characters in the book were easy to love. My favorite was the Upper boy, Riley. He becomes Trella's ally after some suspenseful events and then later her romantic interest. He is funny, sweet and so YUM, I want to make a banner that says, "I'm on team Riley" and put it next to my other banners. Overall, the plot kept me engaged with it's clever twists and turns. I truly had a blast reading this book!