{Review} Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder

Dawn Study
by Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study #6
Pages: 480
Release Date: January 31, 2017
by Mira

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Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond and a family that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.

Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.

With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything.

{Review} Night Study by Maria V. Snyder

Night Study
by Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study #5
Pages: 444
Release Date: January 26, 2016
by Mira

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Ever since being kidnapped from the Illiais Jungle as a child, Yelena Zaltana's life has been fraught with peril. But the recent loss of her Soulfinding abilities has endangered her more than ever before. As she desperately searches for a way to reclaim her magic, her enemies are closing in, and neither Ixia nor Sitia is safe for her anymore. Especially since the growing discord between the two countries and the possibility of a war threatens everything Yelena holds dear.  

Valek is determined to protect Yelena, but he's quickly running out of options. The Commander suspects that his loyalties are divided, and he's been keeping secrets from Valek…secrets that put him, Yelena and all their friends in terrible danger. As they uncover the various layers of the Commander's mysterious plans, they realize it's far more sinister than they could have ever imagined.

{Review} Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder

Shadow Study
by Maria V. Snyder
Series: Study #4
Pages: 410
Release Date: February 4, 2015
by Mira

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Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But She'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek’s job and his life are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret—or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is—while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers.

Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous…

Study Series: Have You Heard Of It?

Have you guys heard of the Study series by Maria V. Snyder?

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.

{Review} Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Scent of Magic
by Maria V. Snyder
Series: Healer #2
Pages: 414
Release Date: December 18, 2012
by Mira (an imprint of Harlequin

Goodreads / Purchase

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

SPOILERS!  THEY WILL BE MARKED AND WHITENED OUT SO IF YOU WANT TO READ THEM HIGHLIGHT THE PLACE THEY ARE!

I'm not sure how to even begin this review. This is the kind of book that is hard to find the right words for. Amazing would be one, I guess.

 

This book was very different than the first book, Touch of Power, in that it was written from to POVs, Kerrick's and Avry's. This was a good thing and a bad thing, in my opinion. Well I guess they're both bad in a way. The good/bad thing was it enabled Snyder to make every chapter ending a cliffhanger and then force us to read the other person's point of view while still needing to know what happens with the cliffhanger. So that was pretty painful. But then the really bad thing was the fact that Kerrick's POV was much less interesting than Avry's. However, his POV still met up with the story so it was okay in the end. And that's a minor when you think about it.

I did notice that Synder's writing improved from the first book. It was much less choppy and flowed more. As usual her story was intricate and breathtaking. The action scenes were described so vividly that it was like I was right there in the story. The humor added a lot to the book as well, especially in the end.  [SPOILER: The ending of this book was really dark because at that point Avry had lost pretty much everyone she loved and there was no hope for her, she'd given up. It was a very vulnerable and deep part of the book and not at all a place for humor, you would think. But by adding the humor, Synder showed a whole different side to the despair. ]

I was really impressed with how Synder was able to stage everything. After the first book there are a lot of things left to be explained, [SPOILER: the most important being how does Tohon reanimate his soldiers? ] Throughout the book more mysteries were added that Avry had to figure out, and I was absolutely amazed at how Synder was able to stage and explain these mysteries to that I, as the reader, figured them out with Avry.

And then there were the partS of the book that literally had me screaming and yelling. There were so many twists in this book, and I never saw them coming. The ending had me screaming the most. I couldn't believe all the twists and betrayals and I was just sitting on my bed yelling for like 5 minutes straight as I read each twist. It was an absolutely amazing ending and it was funny in a way to see each part of the game to win the realms in the same place at the same time. It was very interesting to see how they worked and who they worked for and how they strove to survive.  [SPOILER:  And then of course you have the last 2 pages which...broke my heart. KERRICK CAN NOT FREAKING DIE! ]

The ending to this book was very open and set up a grand finale for the next book. [SPOILER:  From what I can tell you have Kerrick, Avry, Flea (who can unfreeze people), Quain (who was frozen but Flea unfroze him), Loren, Estrid, and Belen (who is frozen somewhere) vs Tohon, Sepp, and Jael vs Celinna and Wyn. Or maybe Celinna and Wyn are with Tohon, I don't know. The there are the wild cards like Estrid and her army (I'm assuming Flea will unfreeze them) and the northern tribes as well. ]  This next book is going to be fucking crazy.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love his cast. Avry and Kerrick are so perfect together and I ship them 100%. Their ship name is KAVRY. Yep. Their romance is so beautiful and awesome and they just fit together perfectly. They are both very strong, willful, loving, and protective, and willing to sacrifice for the greater good. That might end up being a problem though because one would be with out the other. NO EMILY DON'T THINK LIKE THAT!

I feel like I have to mention Avry's sister Noelle because that girl is sneaky and lying and I don't like her. Tohon is evil as usual. [SPOILER:  Flea, I'm so glad you're back from the dead. Belen, we better get you back. ]  Loren and Quain...I know it's hard, but just try to behave please ;P

I absolutely cannot WAIT for the third book. Like is said, that book is going to be absolutely crazy and I'm kind of scared, honestly. [SPOILER: The first thing that better happen though is Kerrick better be healed. ]

5 stars



Review: Magic Study

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Series: Study #2

Pages: 443

Format: Paperback
Rating: 4/5

Summery:
A lesson in loyalty--a master class in intrigue.

So far, I've managed to survive.  You would think after being kidnapped as a child, imprisoned in my teens and  released to become a poison taster, I would have endured enough.  But no.
But no.  The discovery of my magical abilities--powers forbidden in Ixia--has resulted in an execution order.  My only chance is to flee to Sitia, my long-lost birthplace

But Sitia in unfamiliar.  I'm treated like an enemy--even by my own brother.  Plus I can't control  my powers.  I want to learn about my magic, but there isn't time.  A rogue magician has emerged and I'm targeted as his next victim.

Review:
It is really hard to write a good and long review for a good book because you can't go on and on about how this main character was a wimp or that cute guy wasn't cute at all.  So, this is going to be a very short, probably not very good review. :P

I love this story line!!  I just love it.  It is so amazing, and so complex.  I don't know how Snyder gets Yelena out of all these positions she's in.  First she was poisoned, now someone's after her.  I just mean, WOW.
I LOVE VALEK!!  I LOVE VALEK, I LOVE VALEK!!  He is SOOO sexy and cool and nice.  Why can't I have a sweet ninja for a boyfriend? :P

I love Kiki.  She made me laugh.  Everytime she saw Yelena she was just like "Apple?"  So funny.
I hate Ferde.  Hate, hate, hate him.  The little slime ball.
I didn't like Lief in the beginning, but he got a little better as I read.  But I'm still not a huge fan of him.
I love Ari, I love Janco, they're so funny.
And, last but not least, I love Yelena.  I love that she's a powerful magician, that she can take care of herself, has all these concealed weapons and knows how to use them.  She's the perfect main character for this book, and the other books in the series.

I own Fire Study, so instead of wasting time ranting over Valek, I'm going to go grab my copy and finish this amazing series once and for all!  Which I'm a little sad about because I won't have more books to read.  But I own the series, so I guess it's okay. :P