No?
Well then, let me enlighten you. It is the best series on the face of the earth.
If I was to summarize it quickly and in a non-spoilery way, I would say something like this:
The story is set in a fantasy world where two countries, Ixia and Sitia, share a border. Yelena, a young woman, is in an Ixian prison because she murdered a man. She is given a choice - either become the Commander's food taster and run the risk of being poisoned, or be hung. I mean, the choice is pretty easy, I think. So she becomes the Commander's official food taster, and is trained by Valek, the Commander's personal assassin who also happens to be the most badass man in the world. Yelena is still in danger because the family of the man she murdered is very powerful and hates her, so she has to learn to defend herself. And then there are a ton of twists and turns and fighting and action and badassery. You need to experience it.
Now, the series is really long and also the order is confusing, so bear with me, let me explain this.
The first three books are Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study.
They also have these covers
...and these random ones
and I couldn't find a matching one for Fire Study. To be honest, I want all of them.
ANYWAY.
I don't think Snyder originally planned to continue the series after the third book, but she did write this other series set in the same world, called Glass. It is comprised of Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass.
They also have these other covers, which are pretty damn cool too
They're perty. Anyway, this series follows Opal and Stormdancer magicians. I read the first book a long time ago and didn't like it because there was a love triangle. I vaguely remember harnessing the power of storms into glass orbs that Opan crafted, but I don't remember the details. A lot happens in the series though.
Then comes the rest of the Study series, Shadow Study, Night Study, and Dawn Study. To be honest, the only title that makes sense of those three is the first, but whatevs, they sound cool. They look like this:
The other covers are
I feel like the second batch is less cringy, but I digress.
So, that second half of the Study series is set seven years after Fire Study ends, and it includes characters from the Glass series and refers to events that happen during that series. I didn't read the whole series so I was a little lost, but if you can't stomach the love triangle, it isn't a huge deal if you skip it. I would recommend at least reading Storm Glass so you have a little bit of an idea of what transpired during that series. The second half of the Study series continues the storyline of the first three books, but does a ton of character building. At this point in the series, Snyder only continued because her fans wanted more storytime with Valek and Yelena. So, of course, she spent a lot of time building those characters, as well as adding and building others. The thrilling action was still present, but I also learned a lot about my babies.
The thing is, Synder is a genius. Her way of writing is very straightforward and efficient, she doesn't spend half a page describing the inside of a room. She quickly tells us what we need to know, which makes us feel like we're analyzing the room as Yelena does. She has this magical ability to suck you into the story and make you feel like you're part of the group, the family, the herd. You fall into their routine, and whenever they make camp you feel like you're going to be assigned watch just like the rest of them. You fall into the rhythm.
Plus, the setting and characters are groundbreaking. The neighboring countries, Ixia and Sitia, are set up and ruled very differently. One can be seen as a dictatorship, the other a democracy. It also showcases racism and prejudice against certain people because of the evil deeds of the few. The different leadership techniques come with different problems and advantages, which are explored in this book. This isn't a political book, it's just how it is, and it opens lanes for discussion. The main character is a woman of color who has PTSD because of the experiences she went through, but she refuses to let that beat her. She becomes a kickass fighter who refuses to be kept behind the lines and away from the action. She is constantly underestimated because she is a woman, and she constantly makes them pay for thinking that. Valek also suffers from PTSD and has lived his entire life closed off. He is the best at his craft because his pain and suffering drove him to be that way. Yelena finds Ari and Janco, and the bond they share is unlike anything I have ever seen. They love each other so much. They share such loyalty and devotion, but their bond isn't romantic, it is purely and without question, platonic. I haven't seen such positive representation of platonic love in a long time. Plus, there are women in positions of power, as well as LGBT representation. This series is truly a gem, and so few people know about it.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting about this. Well, let me answer that.
I have spent the past week staying up until 3am reading the last three books of this series, and finally finished it. And am going through withdrawal. So I have three reviews I have written and are ready to go, but I wanted to preface those reviews with this post. It's been so long since my last review on this series, so I wanted to give you guys the opportunity to catch up.
I am going to put links to the entire series. I will have one that goes to Amazon so you can purchase the books, one for Goodreads, and then one for my review (if I have one) for each book. You can follow the links as you please, no pressure, but I really encourage you guys to check this series out, it will change your life.
To end the post on a satisfying note, here is the entire Study series with matchingand semi cringe
covers
So, that second half of the Study series is set seven years after Fire Study ends, and it includes characters from the Glass series and refers to events that happen during that series. I didn't read the whole series so I was a little lost, but if you can't stomach the love triangle, it isn't a huge deal if you skip it. I would recommend at least reading Storm Glass so you have a little bit of an idea of what transpired during that series. The second half of the Study series continues the storyline of the first three books, but does a ton of character building. At this point in the series, Snyder only continued because her fans wanted more storytime with Valek and Yelena. So, of course, she spent a lot of time building those characters, as well as adding and building others. The thrilling action was still present, but I also learned a lot about my babies.
The thing is, Synder is a genius. Her way of writing is very straightforward and efficient, she doesn't spend half a page describing the inside of a room. She quickly tells us what we need to know, which makes us feel like we're analyzing the room as Yelena does. She has this magical ability to suck you into the story and make you feel like you're part of the group, the family, the herd. You fall into their routine, and whenever they make camp you feel like you're going to be assigned watch just like the rest of them. You fall into the rhythm.
Plus, the setting and characters are groundbreaking. The neighboring countries, Ixia and Sitia, are set up and ruled very differently. One can be seen as a dictatorship, the other a democracy. It also showcases racism and prejudice against certain people because of the evil deeds of the few. The different leadership techniques come with different problems and advantages, which are explored in this book. This isn't a political book, it's just how it is, and it opens lanes for discussion. The main character is a woman of color who has PTSD because of the experiences she went through, but she refuses to let that beat her. She becomes a kickass fighter who refuses to be kept behind the lines and away from the action. She is constantly underestimated because she is a woman, and she constantly makes them pay for thinking that. Valek also suffers from PTSD and has lived his entire life closed off. He is the best at his craft because his pain and suffering drove him to be that way. Yelena finds Ari and Janco, and the bond they share is unlike anything I have ever seen. They love each other so much. They share such loyalty and devotion, but their bond isn't romantic, it is purely and without question, platonic. I haven't seen such positive representation of platonic love in a long time. Plus, there are women in positions of power, as well as LGBT representation. This series is truly a gem, and so few people know about it.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting about this. Well, let me answer that.
I have spent the past week staying up until 3am reading the last three books of this series, and finally finished it. And am going through withdrawal. So I have three reviews I have written and are ready to go, but I wanted to preface those reviews with this post. It's been so long since my last review on this series, so I wanted to give you guys the opportunity to catch up.
I am going to put links to the entire series. I will have one that goes to Amazon so you can purchase the books, one for Goodreads, and then one for my review (if I have one) for each book. You can follow the links as you please, no pressure, but I really encourage you guys to check this series out, it will change your life.
To end the post on a satisfying note, here is the entire Study series with matching
covers
LINKS
Poison Study (Study #1) - Goodreads
Magic Study (Study #2) - Goodreads / Review
Fire Study (Study #3) - Goodreads / Review
Shadow Study (Study #4) - Goodreads / Review
Night Study (Study #5) - Goodreads / Review
Dawn Study (Study #6) - Goodreads / Review
So, did I convince you guys?
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