Brandy's Book Nook: Review Poison Study
Poison Study
by
Maria V. Snyder
✩✩✩✩✩
I read the first 3 books in this series a few years ago, and just finished listening to Poison Study on audio and was reminded of why I enjoyed these books so much. My teen daughter is hooked as well. The covers have been changed more than once, and the international versions have several different covers. I also enjoy the author's newsletter as she occasionally includes short stories of the characters side adventures.
Yelena is pulled from the dungeon, and offered the chance to be the General's new food taster or face the noose. She of course takes the job, but it comes with it's own dangers. She has to be trained by the General's master assassin to detect poisons, and if she survives her training she has to find a way to survive other attacks. You see she killed a man, and his father is out for revenge. In Ixia there are no excuses, if you kill someone even in self defense, it's murder.
There is betrayal, danger, and intrigue around every corner. With Valek, the assassin, watching her every move Yelena walks a narrow path of survival trying to hide her secrets, and also has to survive a plot to kill the Commander. There is a tension through the whole book that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out where the next attack is going to come from, and if Yelena will survive it.
I gave this book five stars because: 1. the tension level. It's pretty rare to have a book keep such a high level of tension through the whole thing without being over kill. 2. the world building. There are layers and layers to the characters in this story. As Yelena learns more about the the people around her and what motivates them there are several surprises. 3. Character growth. Yelena learns and grows through the whole book, and is a different person in the end. This also applies to the people around her. 4. The author's ability to give you just the right amount of detail to the violence and deaths without overstepping the boundary of YA. I would say the more mature end of YA 15-16+. There may be triggers for someone abused as there is a flash back of what caused Yelena to kill but this is the only place where the author really hits that fine line.
You can find it on amazon at the following link, the ebook is a little pricey but you get the paper books for cheap:
www.amazon.com/poison study
There is betrayal, danger, and intrigue around every corner. With Valek, the assassin, watching her every move Yelena walks a narrow path of survival trying to hide her secrets, and also has to survive a plot to kill the Commander. There is a tension through the whole book that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out where the next attack is going to come from, and if Yelena will survive it.
I gave this book five stars because: 1. the tension level. It's pretty rare to have a book keep such a high level of tension through the whole thing without being over kill. 2. the world building. There are layers and layers to the characters in this story. As Yelena learns more about the the people around her and what motivates them there are several surprises. 3. Character growth. Yelena learns and grows through the whole book, and is a different person in the end. This also applies to the people around her. 4. The author's ability to give you just the right amount of detail to the violence and deaths without overstepping the boundary of YA. I would say the more mature end of YA 15-16+. There may be triggers for someone abused as there is a flash back of what caused Yelena to kill but this is the only place where the author really hits that fine line.
You can find it on amazon at the following link, the ebook is a little pricey but you get the paper books for cheap:
www.amazon.com/poison study
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