Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Storm Glass takes place in the same land as the original series four years after the events of Fire Study. Instead of Yelena, the main character of this novel is Opal, a glassmaker who was a minor character in Magic Study and Fire Study.

As I said earlier, it's been four years since the events in Fire Study and Opal is now an apprentice at the Magician's Keep, learning and discovering her own magical powers, which are connecting to her glassmaking.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because I had become so attached to Yelena, Valek and the other characters from the previous novels that I wasn't sure how I would feel about them not being the main focus of this novel (in fact, though Valek is mentioned multiple times, he never actually appears in this novel). However, this novel contains the same wonderful writing style and imaginationt that filled the pages of Snyder's previous three novels. Also, beloved characters such as Yelena, her brother Leif, Master Magician Irys and Ari and Janco do make appearances throughout this novel.

Also, I enjoyed the contrast between Yelena and Opal. While Yelena was always strong-willed, confident and determined, Opal is timid, uncomfortable and lacks confidence in her intelligence and magical abilities. And, since I have a great-uncle who was a glassblower I was fascinated by the passages on glassmaking in this book.

This novel was just as good as the previous three, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Opal in the future. The second book in this series, Sea Glass, is set to be released in September.