Thursday, May 25, 2023

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.

 



 


 

 

 

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