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The Glass Magician
The Glass Magician
The Glass Magician
Audiobook6 hours

The Glass Magician

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 4, 2014
ISBN9781491548646
The Glass Magician
Author

Charlie N. Holmberg

Charlie N. Holmberg is the award-winning author of the Numina series, The Fifth Doll, and many other books. Her Wall Street Journal bestselling Paper Magician series has been optioned by the Walt Disney Company. Charlie’s stand-alone novel, Followed by Frost, was nominated for a 2016 RITA Award for Best Young Adult Romance. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a proud BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, owns too many pairs of glasses, and finally adopted a dog. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.

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Reviews for The Glass Magician

Rating: 3.8498942410147987 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not as good as the first. And you don't even need to read the first because this one annoyingly repeats so much of the first! Ceony isn't quite as brilliant or independent -- so worried about being in love and what emory things of her it gets in way of all the details of magic and thinking that took place in book 1. hopefully it improves with the third.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The story was nice, but it was repetitive and too much of "he loves me, he loves me not, it is all my fault"
    I still want to know what happens next.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am so i love with this series so far. Great YA magical realism for young adults.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Goodreads Synopsis: 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.My Review: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for a review. And man, am I glad I requested it. After reading the first book I really wanted to read more, so I requested this one and downloaded it immediately. Delightful is an awesome word for this book, and even though I don't like magic very much, I absolutely loved these books. I think it's one of my new favourite series. The story takes place three months after the last book. At the end of the last one Ceony, the main character and the apprentice to Emery Thane, a paper magician, looked into a fortuity box, and was told Emery's future. It was with her. Since seeing that she hadn't been completely focused on her studies, but instead on her teacher. Most of the book was focused on that, but also her learning new spells, and eventually, another face off with yet another blood magician, and a new addition, a gaffer. Someone who broke their bonds with their own magic element, and chose another one. The one thing they want? Lira unfrozen. Not a good idea, right? So Ceony fights and fights, and fights some more, in the last half of this book. And then Emery Thane fights. I was not expecting a chapter from his point of view, but I was pleasantly surprised on how much I liked seeing things from his side for once. It's an awesome book, and I definitely recommend you check out the series. Thanks for reading.(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    You know how sequels don't often live up to the first book? The Paper Magician was so great that I was afraid the sequel would be disappointing in comparison. However, that wasn't the case with The Glass Magician. If anything, it was better since Charlie N. Holmberg didn't just rewrite the same story with a different scenario. She also didn't make the mistake of rehashing all of the details of the first book before continuing the story. There were short and to the point reminders of past events, which were helpful and always in relation to the current story, and that was it.

    There is so much more that I want to say about The Glass Magician, but I have to keep my mouth shut to avoid spoiling anything. What I can say is that I'm very much looking forward to the final book, The Master Magician. I need to know what happens, and I've been saving up my Amazon credits for choosing the slowest shipping option just so I can buy it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely loved this book. This was the most action filled of the three in the series. But I enjoyed the whole series, but this book the most Ceyone rocks it as a budding magician.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ceronycontinues her internship abd expands beyond herbomde.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I would like this better if there was less gushing over her instructor. A 19 year old apprentice infatuated with her 30-ish teacher, and his returning the sentiment, is gross. The adventure part is fun, though.

    I intend to finish the series. But, probably won't read anything else by this author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wherein Ceony and Emery find themselves embroiled in more shenanigans. The (background) antagonists from the first novel bring themselves to the foreground. Ceony defeated one of their allies and now they want to know how she did it and will stop at nothing to learn her secrets. Everyone around Ceony is a possible target and she takes matters into her own hands to save them as well as herself.This was a lovely continuation of the previous story. The characters are becoming more comfortable and intimate with one another. We are introduced to new characters and side characters from the previous novel are more present in this story.Again this kept me captivated and the narration was as excellent as in the previous audiobook. I feel as though the story gets more interesting as it goes on. Looking forward to Book Three.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Definitely more suspenseful than the first, but it was still a light and entertaining read. I liked it a lot. It's such an engaging series that Holmberg has created. I never would have expected what happened. It was indeed a perfect twist and so exciting!

    Ceony is still wonderful and so it Emery. I love their dynamic. The society is also fun. The bits of mannerpunk combined with kissass lady magicians who do whatever they want. It makes me smile with happiness. I am so content, I can barely write a review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely loved this book. This was the most action filled of the three in the series. But I enjoyed the whole series, but this book the most Ceyone rocks it as a budding magician.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have enjoyed this series a good bit because it is so different. Any fans of magic and element bending this series is perfect. It's got the mixture of romance, mystery and adventure that make for an entertaining book.

    Book two revolves around Ceony's continuing education and figuring out how to save the day from two evil magicians. Emery continues to bumble about like an adorable idiot. Overall they are just an adorable couple to watch grow and bond.

    Excited to read book 3!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Traveling in someone's heart changes your relationship - Ceony and Emery are still trying to figure out how exactly theirs is going to look when danger comes calling. Ceony's natural intelligence and gifts come into play, but she also learns the value of humility and trusting others. While much of this series is whimsical and fun, there is a dark edge to the adventures Ceony has been involved in.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm really enjoying this series, it is an interesting magic system!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Truly enjoyed this second book of the series. Fantastic read
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked the beginning of the book as it brought back elements of the last book that I love, however about 75% in I almost wanted to just stop completely. Ceony seemed to turn into this pathetic, whinny, love sick know-it-all girl. It was disgusting. I hate to see a strong heroine in a book just be reduced to something like this.Ceony does something dangerous and makes a mistake that puts people in danger and yet she gets all sulky when people get upset. I almost left it on the DNR list, but I powered through.There is a third and final installment however with how Ceony turned in this one I wonder how she would be in the third book The Master Magician. She need to just understand she is still an apprentice, she doesn't even know all the spells of her craft. I honestly didn't mind the unfurling romance between Ceony and Emery in the beginning. I thought it was cute (even if she is technically his student), but it seemed that it made Ceony not be able to trust that Emery can take care of himself and caused her to make rash and wrong decisions. This book was not horrible by any means however you could say I may be over reacting.I am going to have to think about reading the third book, I almost feel like I have to.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved it so much that I already started book 3.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had read The Paper Magician, the first book in author Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician Series and had enjoyed it quite a lot, enough to look forward with anticipation to the second book, The Glass Magician. However, as I read it, it began to feel like I was reading the story of an entirely different protagonist. Whereas in the first book, the actions of main character, Ceony, if dangerous, had heroic purpose, here she often just seems reckless. Worse, not only do her actions frequently seem to lack direction, she endangers others besides herself. Still, for someone just looking for a light fantasy tale with plenty of action, it’s not terrible, just for me, not enough to make me want to read any further in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Whoo ~ That was amazing.I have to congratulate this book for getting me out of a HORRIBLE reading slump, but also for how amazing it was. I like Ceony, even if she's not the brightest of the bunch (which is strange, since she's supposed to be something like a genius or prodigy).This was a book just like I needed: short, with enough action and romance, and a lot of feelings.Need to grab the last one soon.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book was a fun, quick read; however, I did not like that after the events of book 1, that the POV protagonist still is "taking everything on herself". It just doesn't seem to jive with the first book. That aside, I like that the book delved a little bit, albeit in the background, a bit more into the magical world created for these characters. We actually get to "see" some excellent examples of Gaffer magic (glass magic), for example, and some Pyre (fire) magic as well.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this an enjoyable book. I won't be as critical as some of the reviews because some of them have been harsh. This is a fantasy story and yes it is set in London and yes it is set in the late 1800's. But as all fiction and fantasy books go, the author can take a little bit of liberty with the truth. I found this entertaining. Again, Ceony is irritating in her stupidity that she has to fix everything herself and not let other people, who have experience, handle things. For a first time at writing, Charlie doesn't do a bad job.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    After reading the first book in this series, I felt that there were some promising aspects to the story and some, well, not-so-promising aspects. Unfortunately, I felt that this got worse, not better.

    In 'The Paper Magician' one issue I noted was that the villain was completely without depth - she had neither motivation, background, or a clear agenda. I thought that in the second book, we might find out more about her. No. Instead, we continue with two of her henchmen as villains - who are ALSO completely depthless and motivation-less. In addition, the head evil psychopath is a Scary Foreigner! He's Indian! He says a word in Hindi! Now, it is entirely possible to have an excellent villain who is 'foreign.' But when said character has NO character traits other than being 'dark' in appearance and a sadistic psychopath, AND when there are no other 'foreign' characters in the whole book AND when the character's first appearance is immediately predicated by a very weird and awkward moment where Our Hero Ceony sees him lurking across the street right after a bombing and says to herself, 'well, I shouldn't be suspicious of that man just because he looks foreign' but then of course it turns out she SHOULD have suspected him - as she clearly DID - well, it gets problematic. Back in 1870, Jules Verne, in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, did a far better job giving his Indian character believable resentments and motivations...

    In addition to new villains, this story also gives Ceony a friend, Delilah. She is introduced with startling rapidity, and seemingly just for the purpose of illustrating some new types of magic. (Delilah is one of the Glass Magicians of the title). However, it turns out that Delilah is the redshirt here, so don't get too attached - not that you were likely to.

    Another of my major problems with the first book was the romance aspect. At the outset of this book, I was relieved to see that Mg. Emery Thane had not yet reciprocated Ceony's crush on him, and was actually conducting himself in a professional manner. For a minute there, I thought we might actually get a very sensible plot progression about how sometimes crushes are inappropriate and unrequited! Alas, such was not to be. Instead, most of the way through the book, we get an abrupt, jarring scene from Mg. Thane's POV (the rest of the book is all-Ceony, all-the-time)about how he's been - with effort - trying to restrain himself from getting involved until Ceony graduates from her apprenticeship. Sigh. I suspect that the author listened to critics of the first book who said it seemed odd (and makes the romance even more inappropriate) that Ceony's apparently never dated anyone before, because here, one throwaway line is inserted that she did have a high school boyfriend. No, that doesn't 'fix' things.

    Even so - the romance could be salvaged if I was really convinced by the author that these were two kindred souls. But what do we find out in this one POV scene where the master is talking about his student (who, incidentally, is shaping up to be a brilliantly talented, brave magician who shows remarkable insight and initiative in apprehending dangerous criminals?) Well, he likes the facts that she's cheerful, dedicated, beautiful, and most importantly, a good cook. I roll my eyes.

    If that was the only scene where cooking comes up, I could let it slide. After all, it's already been established that Ceony loves cooking and had considered culinary school if the magic thing didn't work out. That's all good. Except for the scene where she's at another bachelor's home, and his lack of gourmet cuisine elicits this: "Ceony determined the man needed to get married right away," and she considers setting him up with her friend. The friend that's also a magician. Because, although women can clearly be magicians, it's also their job to cook for men. Ugh.

    That's nothing, though, compared to the casual, throwaway sexism involving clothing. OK, in the first book, we learn that Ceony was groped by a school administrator. (She dumps wine on him, causing her [she later discovers] to lose a scholarship, but never actually makes a complaint about it.) In this book, we learn that because of this incident, Ceony prefers to wear long skirts, as they're harder to get a groping hand up. Seriously? The answer to sexual harassment is to wear long skirts?!?!?!? Yeah, someone in a position of power over you will totally be put off by the skirt. At other points in this book, we learn that Ceony believes that a knee-length skirt is shockingly short, and that the shortest acceptable skirt is mid-calf. This is also specifically tied in to whether one is a 'liberal' or 'conservative' woman.

    At this point, I felt like the setting in general began to be an issue. I know that some reviewers had an issue with it in the first book, pointing out how it didn't feel 'period' or 'English.' For the first book, I gave all that a pass, just telling myself that it was in an alternate-world fantasy setting. However, this book makes it more specific - I could no longer ignore that this is explicitly supposed to be England at the end of the 19th century. The referenced skirt lengths simply do not match British fashion of this time period, OR cultural attitudes of the time.
    It's not just the skirts... it's the guns. (and oh so much more).
    It's already been established that Ceony owns a gun. Here, she makes a comment that when she's stressed out, she likes to go shooting. OK, at this supposed place and time period, an upper-class woman might have hunted with a gun. But it's already been established that Ceony's family is supposed to be poor. (Although, when we meet them, they seem like an American middle-class family in every way). And the gun attitude is just... yes, American, Conservative, Middle-Class. It jars the reader right out of the story. The amount of research the author did into the social issues and political divisions of England at the time: ZERO.

    Oh, and then there's a brief scene where we get magically transported to French-speaking Belgium - where everyone talks like they're in a first-year French textbook. And... well, I am driven to provide a quote here:
    ..."she found another sign, this one reading "Zuydcoote un kilometre au sud-est." She imagined "kilometre" meant kilometer, but she couldn't piece together the rest."
    Bear in mind, Ceony is NOT supposed to be a mentally disabled character. Also, if you are one kilometer north-west of Zuydcoote, you are actually in the water off the coast of France, not in Belgium. Just saying.

    However - all of these issues are mere quibbles compared to my main problem with the book. Which is the ending, and what it all hinges on. The author has created a world and a whole magical system based on the concept that every magician must choose one focus - one man-made substance to irreversibly 'bond' to. In this book, Ceony defeats the bad guys - who've been looking for a way to get around this limitation for decades, apparently - by accidentally figuring it all out. But what she figures out is painfully easy and obvious. I mean, it is literally the first thing someone would try. I found it totally unbelievable on a logical level. In addition, after establishing certain rules for your narrative, it makes no sense to just suddenly throw them all out the window. It's a step worse than deus-ex-machina - it's more like: "Everything I told you earlier and asked you to suspend disbelief for? Forget it! It's just not true!"

    Well, this turned out to be quite an essay. I'm pretty sure I'm done with this author.

    Book provided by NetGalley and 47North. Many thanks, and, clearly, my opinions are solely my own.

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was eager to read a new adventure of Emery and Ceony but, although the novel is once again enjoyable, it lacks the sparks of the first one. Furthermore, the problem that I had found in the first book returns in this second (the author simplifies situations -or in this case make Ceony take bad decisions- to make easier for her carry on the story). I will surely read the third book because I've grown fond of Ceony, Emery and our lovely paper dog but the author needs to learn to not take the easier path to bring her characters where she wants.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In this volume of the Paper Magician trilogy we find that Ceony and Emory's relationship is slowly continuing to grow and other people are starting to notice. Lira's compatriots are also looking for Ceony to figure out what she did to Lira and how to see if they can change their magic bonds as well.

    This volume had a couple of problems for me. I find it difficult to believe that the person who is at the center of an investigation would not be told at all what was being done to protect them/take care of the problem. Of course people are going to try and take matters into their own hands if they feel they aren't being taken care of b/c they aren't being told what is done; granted normal people would not go to such extremes. I still found the world building interesting and clever and had high hopes for some of the new characters introduced (although found it strange that one had never been mentioned before) and was disappointed with how that character ended up being treated.

    I will still read the last book b/c I want to read about how Ceony and Emory finally get together.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The writing style seemed a little different at the beginning of The Glass Magician, but I felt it smoothed out quickly and the storyline moved along quite nicely. I was absorbed by the story and enjoyed the growing, somewhat, relationship between Ceony and Emery.

    I'd like to just step aside here for a moment to discuss some criticisms about how quickly the feelings between Ceony and Emery developed, as well as the accusation of Ceony as a "Mary Sue" type of character. First of all, she has walked through his heart. His HEART--both at an anatomical and emotional level, and she's not sure how much he knows of what she saw and/or felt. Some people connect very quickly--believe it or not, it happens in real life too. For someone as inexperienced as Ceony, her reactions are completely normal, and she doesn't fall apart into puddles of goo and swoon just to get his attention. When she gets hurt, it's because she was doing something that yes, was a bit on the rash side, but she doesn't run around flailing her arms crying out, "Oh, Emery, Emery, SAVE me!" before falling into a dead faint. She is resourceful, and prepares herself to the best of her ability. She may get herself in stupid, dangerous, positions, but she doesn't go into them unarmed. She's incredibly impulsive, but not, I think, a Mary Sue. She is far from helpless. Delilah had a lot of chutzpah as well, and Ceony won't forget that incident.

    The romance aspect, for me, did not detract from the rest of the story, which is exciting and original, and I am very much looking forward to the next one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the second book in Holmberg’s trilogy about Ceony Twill, an apprentice magician. Set three months after the events in ‘The Paper Magician’, we find Ceony falling more in love with her teacher, Magician Emery Thane, feelings which she thinks he doesn’t reciprocate. We also find Grath Cobalt, partner to the evil Lira who Ceony froze, set on getting the secret of how she did the freeze out of Ceony so he can reverse it, and he’s willing to kill her family and friends to get it. Meanwhile, an Excisioner – a blood magician- is targeting magicians, seeking to increase his powers. This book took a departure from ‘Paper Magician’ in that the first novel is told all from Ceony’s point of view, while ‘Glass Magician’ also shows Thane’s POV in one instance. ‘Glass Magician’ also has Ceony in a constant fret over how Thane feels about her- she manages to convince herself through much of the novel that she is.. unworthy.. somehow. While I realize she’s a teenager experiencing her first love, it seems odd in a person who is pretty darn resourceful and brave. I also found it annoying that she felt the entire problem with the two renegades was entirely her fault, and that only she should be at risk fixing it. This feeling leads her to rush into situations that lead to her needing rescue, rather than her solving things. In fact, it seemed like every female in this story ended up needing rescue. Ultimately she solves one of the problems on her own- in brilliant fashion- but the first part of the book made me feel like giving up on her. Once again, it’s the author’s creation of a new kind of magic that impressed me the most. In the first book, it was how many ways paper could be enchanted even though it didn’t seem like a strong material. In this book, it’s glass that’s used in ways I’d never thought of. Of course I’ll read the third one- and hope that Ceony settles down some.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In THE GLASS MAGICIAN, Ceony has to face the consequences of the invents of the first book. She is still being pursued by Excisioners. She is also dealing with confessions she made to her mentor Emery Thane in the first book.This book is also filled with adventure as Ceony is determined to take responsibility for her actions and not let anyone else face the danger that she thinks is hers to face. Her actions put her in a lot of danger and she often seems, and is, over her head as she faces villains with a lot more power and experience than she has. I really enjoyed the new information about a glass magic. But I also enjoyed the new things Ceony is learning as a paper magician. I like the way the romance between Ceony and Emery is growing even though Ceony thinks it is not progressing nearly fast enough. I also liked Ceony's friendship with her fellow apprentice Delilah.This is an engaging series and I hope that more books will be coming in it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Goodreads Synopsis: 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.My Review: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for a review. And man, am I glad I requested it. After reading the first book I really wanted to read more, so I requested this one and downloaded it immediately. Delightful is an awesome word for this book, and even though I don't like magic very much, I absolutely loved these books. I think it's one of my new favourite series. The story takes place three months after the last book. At the end of the last one Ceony, the main character and the apprentice to Emery Thane, a paper magician, looked into a fortuity box, and was told Emery's future. It was with her. Since seeing that she hadn't been completely focused on her studies, but instead on her teacher. Most of the book was focused on that, but also her learning new spells, and eventually, another face off with yet another blood magician, and a new addition, a gaffer. Someone who broke their bonds with their own magic element, and chose another one. The one thing they want? Lira unfrozen. Not a good idea, right? So Ceony fights and fights, and fights some more, in the last half of this book. And then Emery Thane fights. I was not expecting a chapter from his point of view, but I was pleasantly surprised on how much I liked seeing things from his side for once. It's an awesome book, and I definitely recommend you check out the series. Thanks for reading.(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)