PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE STUDY SERIES AS FIRE STUDY IS THE THIRD BOOK IN THE SERIES.

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder (UK cover)

Title: Fire Study (Study #3)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira (29th February 2012)
Blurb:

THE APPRENTICESHIP IS OVER
NOW THE REAL TEST HAS BEGUN

When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder – able to capture and release souls – spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.

Honour sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies and enemies. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself – and save the land she holds dear.

Rating: ****  (4 stars)
Review:

Fire Study is the third book in the Study Series, and in it we see Yelena finally come to terms with what she is and what that means for her. Like the previous two books in the series, Fire Study is packed with intrigue and adventure. Once started I found it hard to put the book down.

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Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Magic Study (Study #2)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira (29th February 2012)
Blurb:

CONFRONTING THE PASTCONTROLLING THE FUTURE

With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic – or face death – Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician’s Keep.

But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Not the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges – and Yelena catches his eye.

Suddenly she is embroiled in battle against good and evil. And once again it will be her magical abilities that will either save her life . . . or be her downfall.

Rating: *****(5 stars)
Review:

Having read and enjoyed Poison Study (you can find my review here), I decided to pick up the second book in the series and see if it lived up to my expectations. I tore through Magic Study, and thoroughly enjoyed the read.

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Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Poison Study (The Study Trilogy – Book 1)
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Genre: Swords and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Mira (22nd December 2011)
Blurb:

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 . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

I picked up Poison Study on a whim. I’d seen it around the blogsphere, but not really paid a lot of attention to it.  To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure it would be my kind of book. But, I thought I’d give it a go, especially as it seems to straddle the Adult/ Young Adult market.

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