The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician #2)by Charlie N. Holmberg
Summary: Three months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.
When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.
The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.
Source: I received a digital copy from NetGalley
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Review:
I enjoyed The Glass Magician and seeing what happened to Ceony after the crazy events of the first book. I was curious as to the nature of her relationship with her instructor after such intimate moments when she trampled through his heart to save him and ended up witnessing things she shouldn’t. I wanted to figure out how Ceony ended up freezing Mg. Thane’s ex wife, the villain in the first book. I wanted to figure out how things went so wrong with her and her thirst for revenge and power.
While The Glass Magician was certain action packed, filled with adventure and Ceony making drastic decisions to try to save the day, I felt as if in some ways, it lacked what I was looking for. First books are great because there is so much that the future books can/should explore. It’s the second books and onward that have a much harder job because they have to fulfill out expectations. In my opinion, The Glass Magician made the world, the magical society, and the characters seem worse instead of better.
I disliked Ceony’s ignorance of magic mixed with her stubborn bravery because I couldn’t figure out what would possess her to think she could actually defeat villains trained in magic she had no clue about. I felt like it made her naïve instead of likeable. I mean, I realize paper turned out to be cooler than she thought, but if it has a reputation of being lame, you can’t just waltz into a villain's lair and just.. paper the crap out of him. It doesn’t work like that. Even if some of her spells were cooler than she expected.
I don’t like how the world is set up and how Ceony makes a discovery by accident that completely shatters the hierarchy and structure of that magical society. I feel like it was too easy of a solution. Her use of some of the glass magic, even in minor ways, bothered me because if magicians are only supposed to bond to one magic, it should limit them completely. I just feel like the second book, despite being better in terms of action, lacked a lot of the elements that I needed. I felt like there were more plot holes and issues with the world when the first book was vague enough to be satisfying.
I do recommend reading the first book and checking this one out, too. It was a fun read full of magic, a little romance, and adventure.
