Friday, December 21, 2012

Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder




Book Summery (Via Goodreads): About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

Book Review:
Words can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book! I have been meaning to read Snyder's work for a while. I actually started reading Storm Glass first, but found myself a little lost in the world building and characters. There were several references back to the Poison Study series, so I stopped reading Storm Glass, and started on Poison Study. What makes this book so successful is the main character Yelena. She is strong and feisty, while conscientious at the same time. This makes for a well-rounded character. My favorite scenes are those with Valek. They balance each other nicely. The plot provided one surprise after another. I remember thinking "I don't know how Yelena is going to survive this" quite often. Snyder did an excellent job on the world building. I was completely swept away to another place and time. Overall, this was a strong start to the series. I've already started on the sequel Magic Study.

Favorite Quote:
"Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It's called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don't do it halfway."

Cover Art Commentary:
This book has many covers, but this is my favorite! Love the stairwell and Yelena disappearing around the corner!

Rating:

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