Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Poison Study

Author: Maria V. Synder

Genre: NA, Fantasy

Series: Chronicle of Ixia # 1

Paperback, 368 pages 

Publication: September 27, 2005
Source: Personal Library
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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...

 

MY THOUGHTS

I was in the middle of a reading slump jumping from book to book and nothing grabbed my attention. I had Poison Study on my TBR for years and decided to read it on a whim hoping to get out of the slump. That certainly did the trick! I cannot believe the book has been out for over 15 years and I’ve never read it! It was so, so good, way better than I expected.

Poison Study follows nineteen-year-old Yelena who recently escaped the noose and was given somewhat of a second chance at life by becoming a poison taster for a high commander. Imagine your life on the line with each bite and sip you took. But that’s not all. A general under the commander wants Yelena gone and won’t stop at nothing until he accomplishes it.

I absolutely loved Yelena. She’s intelligent, resourceful, kind but also doesn’t ever back down from a fight. Yelena’s growth from the beginning of the book till the end was incredible to witness and yet she’s barely tapped into her full powers. Valek, Yelena’s teacher and love interest, was also a great male lead. I enjoyed seeing the slow shift that their relationship took. However, after realizing there was such a big age gap between the two, it didn’t sit too well with me.

This series is beloved by many and although I never read it when it was first published; reading it now shows that this book truly stands the test of time. And oddly relevant in 2023. The current obsession and trend right now is Romantasy or Fantasy Romance (whatever you want to call it) and Poison Study rivals everything currently on the market and out shines them easily. I cannot wait to continue Yelena’s journey and other novels in the Chronicles of Ixia.

 

 

 

 

 

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Title: Divine Rivals

Author: Rebecca Ross

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Series: Letters of Enchantment # 1

Hardcover, 368 pages 

Publication: April 4, 2023 by Wednesday Books

Source: Personal Library
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After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

 

MY THOUGHTS

Divine Rivals was my biggest surprise this year. Why? Because I didn’t know or hear about this book until AFTER it came out! But even then, the synopsis didn’t really sound interesting. And it wasn’t until after being out for two or three weeks did I start seeing the book everywhere. As I scrolled through social media/Book Tok I kept seeing it mentioned repeatedly. The reviewers were glowing and raving about how much they loved the book and how it flew to be their favorite top five books read…EVER. Now I was intrigued! I am so, so glad that I took the chance because I ended up loving this book so much. Without a doubt a five-star read! This was my first time reading a book by Rebecca Ross despite owning three of her recent novels. Divine Rivals follows two young journalists tied together by a magical typewriter in a WWII-like setting. Except the war was among the gods. Upon starting Divine Rivals, I discovered it wasn’t as I expected and honestly the synopsis did a horrible job at capturing the book unless that was its intended purpose? But I guess it ended up being a good thing for me because I was pleasantly surprised at how the story unfolded.

Our heroine Iris’s brother is out fighting in the war, and it’s been months since she heard from him. In her grief she continues writing him letters knowing he wouldn’t hear from her. But someone else did. Iris ends up receiving replies to her letter via her closet from a mysterious person named Carver. What developed over the course of the book was a journey full of grief, love, and discovery. Divine Rivals is a historical fantasy, but it was very minimal on the fantasy aspect. At times I thought it lent more or was confused with its being magical realism. The war scenes were also kept to a minimum, but I didn’t mind. I was more focused on the main couple of the series. Readers were told of fantastical creatures and terrifying gods, but we didn’t see them until middle, end of the book. But in my opinion, it felt more like glimpses. The best part of the book were the main leads and reading their letters to each other. I normally don’t like the letter entry style, but it worked for Divine Rivals. The author also mentioned that the book was intended to be solely from the heroine’s POV but I’m glad she added in snippets of the male lead because it added another dimension to the story. 

Divine Rivals is my first five-star review of the year, and it deserves all the hype and accolades it has thus garnered so far. I loved the enemies to lover trope without the male or female leads needing to be cruel or distasteful to one another which quite honestly is a breath of fresh air when this trope has been heavily exhausted and twisted in some books that I’ve seen. I think the book title sums up the overall feeling one can expect going into this book. I cannot wait until the next book; Ruthless Vows comes out! I need more Roman and Iris!

 

 

 

 

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

Title: The Foxglove King

Author: Hannah Whitten

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Nightshade Crown # 1

Hardcover, 466 pages 

Publication: March 7, 2023 by Orbit Books

Source: Personal Library
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When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

 

MY THOUGHTS

The Foxglove King was one of my most highly anticipated novels of 2023. While I haven’t read Whitten’s other work, I have heard of her books which had mix reviews. Which gave me a bit of trepidation about starting The Foxglove King. But I’m happy to say that The Foxglove King not only met my expectations but also exceeded it. The Foxglove King had all the major tropes such as prophecies, being the chosen one, political court intrigue and a love triangle. I don’t mind tropes when they’re done well and all these tropes in The Foxglove King were tastefully done.

I thought the magic system and political structure in The Foxglove King were fascinating. There is no separation between church and state, they’re basically one entity that governs everyone and everything. In Dellaire there are two types of magic; mortem which is death magic and spiritum, life magic. Most of those sanctioned by the church wield mortem and while it’s said that the Sainted King descendants wield Spiritum, there is so far only one person gifted with the ability. Another interesting thing was poisons, Dellaire’s premier drug choice, it wasn't only prevalent in low society but also in the prestigious courts. The only difference was the rich could extend their life by drinking antidotes to counter act their addictions. I thought this was a clever and unique way to look at poisons. As I haven’t seen it done in any other book.

What made this book for me were the characters. I loved Lore, Bastian, and Gabe. Each character was memorable and well developed. There was so much depth to them, and I liked learning the backstory because it reinforces their person and the choices they made. Lore was a great lead; she may be flawed and scrappy but has a big heart. Gabe had the whole enigmatic brooding male lead down to a pat. I loved it! And Bastian was the court’s most beloved and handsome prince. He was the biggest surprise for me, but I won’t delve too much into it to keep it spoiler-free. While the overall plot of the novel is to solve a mystery there is a slow burn romance playing behind the scenes. I love that the author didn’t go full on out like most of the romantasy these days. The “spice level” is very mild and tamed. I like that it’s just enough to pique the reader’s curiosity and attention. Honestly more tasteful in my opinion. Plus, as a reader I read for character development not looking for graphic smut.

I very much enjoyed The Foxglove King and can’t wait to read the next book in the Nightshade Crown series. It’s been a few weeks since I finished the book and yet I think of the world and characters often. So much so, that it makes me want to do a reread…a feeling I don’t get often when I finish a novel. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy some of the tropes I mentioned above or if you like character driven stories and intriguing world building.