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

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...

Well, hello new favorite book series! This book was awesome.

Reasons Why Poison Study Is Awesome:

1. First and foremost, YELENA.

She is strong, ruthless, independent. She doesn't trust anyone, and she doesn't rely on anyone besides herself. She's not totally kickass, though. She's vulnerable and she has her weak spots. Girl's been through a lot, and I mean A LOT. But in the end, she doesn't let it get her down, and I love that.

2. HOLY PLOT TWISTS, BATMAN!

Poison Study had me guessing constantly. It kept me on my toes, and I never saw any of the twists and turns coming. It was fast-paced, and I truly had a hard time putting it down. Every time I'd think, "Just one more chapter...," BOOM! Something else would happen, and I'd just keep reading.

3. Characters, characters, characters!

Besides Yelena, even the rest of the characters were written very well, and I ended up feeling like I knew them. Valek = LOVE. Enough said. I'll let you experience that one for yourself. Ari and Janco were like the two older brothers I wish I had. They were fun and loyal, and they added spunk to the story. The "bad guys" were the kind you love to hate. Even the Commander was cool, and there was more depth to his character than I had originally thought.

4. Maria V. Snyder's world-building skills.

I'm not sure that this will make any sense, but my favorite kind of world-building, when it comes to fantasy novels, is when the author doesn't spend too much time justifying or describing their new world. The world and structure of Ixia just is. Maria V. Snyder tells you what you need to know and gives you just enough detail for you to be able to imagine it, but she doesn't force it on you. Like I said, Ixia just is. And that's what makes it believable and easy to slip into the story.

This definitely has to be one of my favorite Goodreads finds, and it comes with my highest recommendation. I recommend this to fans of fantasy and older YA readers (there is some heavy stuff in this book). Seriously, if you haven't read this yet, go out and pick up a copy. Trust me!

5 / 5 

Check it out: 
Goodreads page 
Maria V. Snyder's website