Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder

Pages: 409
Publisher: MIRA Books
Release Date: 21st September 2007

Other Titles in the Series: Magic Study, Fire Study

Choose:

A quick death

Or slow poison…

Yelena has a choice - be executed for murder, or become food taster to the Commander of Ixia. She leaps at the chance for survival, but her relief may be short-lived.

Life in the palace is full of hazards and secrets. Wily and smart, Yelena must learn to identify poisons before they kill her, recognise whom she can trust and how to spy on those she can’t. and who is the mysterious Southern sorceress who can reach into her head?

When Yelena realises she has extraordinary magical powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death…

Poison Study is something that I wouldn’t normally read. That may be why it took me until about half-way through the book to engage with the characters and enjoy the story.

I don’t feel that I really connected with Yelena, though I did like and care for her. She is the opposite of me in nearly every way which may be why I found no common ground with her. But I did love her strength, bravery and her witty, sarcastic comments. These traits made her a brilliant heroine.

Right from the very beginning, the way that Maria V. Snyder described Yelena’s surroundings captured my imagination. Her beautiful writing and minute detail helped the story to come alive and jump off of the page into my mind. I also loved the magic that coated the world which could be pulled too tight or become too concentrated when the magicians used it. It’s very clever and something that I haven’t encountered before that I really enjoyed.

But Valek was definitely my favourite part of Poison Study. He is your classic bad boy with a heart whom every girl loves. I liked that there was more to him than met the eye and watching him soften towards Yelena made me smile. The supporting characters were also well-developed and each had distinctive personalities that really added to the story.

I really enjoyed Poison Study in the end and I’m looking forward to seeing what Yelena gets up to in Magic Study.

Sophie