Fire Study (Review)

Yelena Zaltana: Fire Study | Maria V. Snyder

Published by: Mira Books, January 16th 2009

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 441

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

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.…

Honor 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, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

I was kinda disappointed with Magic Study. It took a different direction than I expected, lacked a lot of the stuff I loved about Poison Study, and it it just fell short for me. But Fire Study blew it out of the water. It was so good. It was everything I wanted, and I couldn't put it down.

Fire Study is my favourite book of the series. Every page is filled with action. The romance is perfect. The friendships are fun and fulfilling to read. The stakes are high and intimately personal for Yelena. I loved the addition of the Fire World, and how the danger spread across all of Sitia and Ixia. We even got a few insights into the clans we haven't seen, which I adored, because the world-building in this series is second to none.

I honestly can't find a single fault with this book. I loved everything.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world-building ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

Reading round up (71)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

23rd March

Finished Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter and all the things I didn't like about the first book were improved upon! Only 1 sex scene! And only one use of the word decadent (and even that was decadence, so it doesn't really count.) This book was just what I needed.

I also started Fire Study by Maria. V. Snyder (101 pages read!) which is ALREADY PERF. Somehow way better than Magic Study, so I guess I just didn't like the Keep. I'm really liking Moon Man, and loving Leif (Always loving Leif!)

And I read 12% of Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison, a book I've recently had the urge to read for no good reason. So far Of Sea and Stone is alright, but I can tell it's just set up. Waiting for the good stuff! (Although loving the hate-hate relationship between the two MCs!!)

24th March

I read 51% of Of Sea and Stone and this went in a completely different direction than expected. Hate Nol. Not sure about the story. And I'd like the setting if it didn't have the feel of an ordinary city plonked underwater... And that's not even mentioning how the MC and her situation feel entirely disassociated... (A girl who hs been a slave her entire life, and been punished by her masters, would not just shrug off a mistake. She'd wait for the blows to fall.)

25th March

I finished Of Sea and Stone which wasn't terrible but not good either, and I read 103 pages of Fire Study which is way better than Magic Study but I can't put my finger on what makes it so awesome.

26th March

I started Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich (10% read.) It's a strange mash of futuristic dictatorship and 19th century traditions. I don't see how the US could have reverted to a 1800s society but I don't hate the idea of it.

I also read 72 pages of Fire Study, bringing me to 276. This book just gets better and better.

27th March

Had a strange day today so didn't get much read. I'm at 18% of Rite of Rejection (8% read today) and I don't know where this is going. Part of me likes it, part of me doesn't. I'm on page 396 of Magic Study (120 pages read) and this is perf. Valek almost dying and Lief being angry at Yelena both made me cry but it's still perf.

28th March

Finished Fire Study (45 pages) which was AMAZING. I am so glad I didn't read this series years ago, because now I have more Yelena and Valek to read!! <3

29th March

I read 23% of Death Marked by Leah Cypess which isn't as good as the first book so far :(
I also read Assassin Study by Maria. V. Snyder (15 pages) which was SO DAMN COOL. Valek POV makes my heart do a happy dance.

Books finished this week: 4
Books DNF'd this week: 0

 Witch Hunter | Virginia Boecker

Starborn | Lucy Hounsom

I AM SO DAMN HYPED TO HAVE THESE. ESPECIALLY STARBORN. THE PRECIOUSSSSSS.

I also got these AMAZON FREEBIES:

Divided | Eloise Dyson

Vengeance | AE Watson

Awoken | Sarah Noffke

Snow White Sorrow | Cameron Jace

The Arctic Code

Beauty Awakened

Magic Study

Of Sea and Stone (scheduled for April 1st)

Fire Study (date TBC)

Magic Study (Review)

Yelena Zaltana: Magic Study | Maria V. Snyder

Published by: Mira Books, May 16th 2008

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 419

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster... 

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. Nor 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 of good against evil. And once again it will be her magical abilities that will either save her life...or be her downfall.

I went into this expecting something amazing, but I didn't exactly get it ... sort of. It wasn't as good as Poison Study, although I kind of expected that - a bunch of people had said the same. But it was still so good, compared to a bunch of other high fantasies I've read recently.

This suffered badly from SBS (second book syndrome) though, and felt like it was setting everything up for the next book. I liked it - liked everything about it - but I didn't love it. I didn't exactly warm to the setting; I kinda preferred Ixia. I enjoyed the story, though, and Yelena's training and shenanigans.The characters were as good as book one (maybe the only thing that was?) Irys became pretty cool, and I love Leif, and the way Yelena was around her parents. And the fact that Opal was involved! (Opal, as in the heroine of the Glass series...)

The awesome moments for me were when Yelena was with Valek. Their chemistry and the way they interact just brings this book to life. They saved this book for me, along with Yelena's usual badassery and complexity of emotion.

I liked Magic Study, but I expected more. Still very excited for Fire Study though, because FIRE.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

This book counts toward my Monthly Key Word challenge. 

See my progress on my Read in 2015 page!

Key words: Power (Magic)

Poison Study (Review)

Yelena Zaltana: Poison Study | Maria V. Snyder

Published by: Mira Books, September 21st 2007

Genre: YA, High Fantasy

Pages: 409

Format: Paperback

Source: Purchased

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 powers of her own, she faces a whole new problem, for using magic in Ixia is punishable by death...

There are books that don't live up to your crazy high, three-years-in-waiting expectations, and there is Poison Study.

Whoa boy, this was good. Insanely good. Poison Study was everything I wanted Girl of Fire and Thorns to be - 3D, interesting characters that were both human and more than at the same time, a wonderfully imagined world, a plot that thrilled, and a romance that burned and taunted.

I fell in love with Posion Study pretty early on. Yelena isn't the sort of character you can ignore. She's brave, smart, and pretty funny in parts. And she's not completely hopeless, or helpless, or oblivious. One of my favourite HF protagonists for a long time. And don't even get me started on Valek, or the supporting characters. Or the chilling, vicious villain, or the surprisingly complex commander. Ugh, I just loved everything.

I need time to read Magic Study ASAP.

To sum: a crazy good high fantasy, with amazing characters, a unique story, and a romance that will steal into your thoughts at every opportunity.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆