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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
3.5/5 stars!
Okay this was not as good as the first one not by a long run. I absolutely hated the south with a passion. It felt so not Ixia to me. Unfortunately what has happened is that the author wrote Poison Study so well that you fall in love with all of the characters and more importantly you fall in love with the world, or place, and that’s Ixia. It sounds like Yelena doesn’t even go back in the next one either and that’s so disappointing. You hear her and everyone around her talk about how she’s a northerner and how much she wants to go back. Like same! I’m thinking this the whole way through but I held out because I thought they are going to tease me right till the end where she finally reunited in Ixia. But no.
In the first book one of the main qualities of this was that I loved all the characters. Even the side characters I liked and I thought were important and well fleshed out. But none of the characters apart from Irys are actually in this as a main character. Valek, Ari and Janco are only at the very end but don’t say or do much. The commander you see twice only says a sentence and the other characters are not in this at all. The rest of the characters about from Cahill and Goel are completely and utterly forgettable apart from the horses. The horses I enjoyed than 75% of the other characters.
The other thing that bothered me massively was Yelenas heritage reveal was not bad ass Zaltana all powerful magicians I imagined in my head. ( Maybe Batman was to blame) but they were literally just people that lived in trees. That was it. People that lived in trees and made perfume. Wholesome? Yes. Sweet? Yes. Exciting? No.
Cahill was probably the only new character in this I actually liked and I’m looking forward to more of him in the next book. I felt engaged every time I was reading parts that he was in as I felt he added a bit more spice to the book.
The reason this isn’t a lower score is because it defiantly is entertaining. This book is nowhere near boring and has a lot of action and exciting moments. You learn more about the lore and more or the world which was something I felt lacked in the first book. I don’t think I wanted to skip once because it was engaging still. I just hope to god it improves so much for the third book because I feel so disappointed because Poison Study was crazy good.
Okay this was not as good as the first one not by a long run. I absolutely hated the south with a passion. It felt so not Ixia to me. Unfortunately what has happened is that the author wrote Poison Study so well that you fall in love with all of the characters and more importantly you fall in love with the world, or place, and that’s Ixia. It sounds like Yelena doesn’t even go back in the next one either and that’s so disappointing. You hear her and everyone around her talk about how she’s a northerner and how much she wants to go back. Like same! I’m thinking this the whole way through but I held out because I thought they are going to tease me right till the end where she finally reunited in Ixia. But no.
In the first book one of the main qualities of this was that I loved all the characters. Even the side characters I liked and I thought were important and well fleshed out. But none of the characters apart from Irys are actually in this as a main character. Valek, Ari and Janco are only at the very end but don’t say or do much. The commander you see twice only says a sentence and the other characters are not in this at all. The rest of the characters about from Cahill and Goel are completely and utterly forgettable apart from the horses. The horses I enjoyed than 75% of the other characters.
The other thing that bothered me massively was Yelenas heritage reveal was not bad ass Zaltana all powerful magicians I imagined in my head. ( Maybe Batman was to blame) but they were literally just people that lived in trees. That was it. People that lived in trees and made perfume. Wholesome? Yes. Sweet? Yes. Exciting? No.
Cahill was probably the only new character in this I actually liked and I’m looking forward to more of him in the next book. I felt engaged every time I was reading parts that he was in as I felt he added a bit more spice to the book.
The reason this isn’t a lower score is because it defiantly is entertaining. This book is nowhere near boring and has a lot of action and exciting moments. You learn more about the lore and more or the world which was something I felt lacked in the first book. I don’t think I wanted to skip once because it was engaging still. I just hope to god it improves so much for the third book because I feel so disappointed because Poison Study was crazy good.
3.7
starts a bit slow, the first 40% (150 pages) weren't very gripping. poison study had a lot more momentum.
this volume felt like a 'necessary' installment, the part of the story that we had to pass through, like yelena's magical education, but
yelena does come far in understanding her power.
the supporting cast were delightful and added a lot of color to this story; we did meet a lot of characters and many were afforded at least a little 'screentime' for the relationships to take root.
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negatives:
* every antagonist felt a bit flat - and violent/torture-happy
* irys/valek also felt a bit defanged
* does valek have to say love in every sentence?
* i wanted to kick cahil EVERY time he showed up!
positives:
* the worldbuilding & writing in the action sections
* ari & janco
* kiki & the horses
* the zaltanas, including leif
* moon man & the sandseeds
* fisk & the beggars
starts a bit slow, the first 40% (150 pages) weren't very gripping. poison study had a lot more momentum.
this volume felt like a 'necessary' installment, the part of the story that we had to pass through, like yelena's magical education, but
yelena does come far in understanding her power.
the supporting cast were delightful and added a lot of color to this story; we did meet a lot of characters and many were afforded at least a little 'screentime' for the relationships to take root.
------‐--------------------------------------------------------
negatives:
* every antagonist felt a bit flat - and violent/torture-happy
* irys/valek also felt a bit defanged
* does valek have to say love in every sentence?
* i wanted to kick cahil EVERY time he showed up!
positives:
* the worldbuilding & writing in the action sections
* ari & janco
* kiki & the horses
* the zaltanas, including leif
* moon man & the sandseeds
* fisk & the beggars
Major SA trigger warnings. Didn’t like as much as book 1. Also wouldn’t really describe this as a romance novel
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 stars
Though a little slow starting off and not quite as riveting as it's predecessor, Magic Study is still a-freaking-mazing.
Though a little slow starting off and not quite as riveting as it's predecessor, Magic Study is still a-freaking-mazing.
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
Good plot. Loved the horse talk. Age gap still unsettling
This part was less interesting. A bit gruesome, hectic, many new characters appeared unexpectedly, not necessary had to be included. Valek appeared only in the middle of the book. Despite many new characters, their personalities were not presented to a full extent, like they were not important.
I would say ~3.5/5
I would say ~3.5/5
I liked this book and enjoyed reading it. I basically read it in a day. I did think it was a little scattered, but that was probably inevitable as Snyder builds up her world, and Yelena isn't confined to the castle in Ixia anymore. But that does mean that it wasn't as purely pleasurable as that first book, which was so well constructed and centered. I think this book does manage to avoid second book syndrome.
Things I liked:
*The worldbuilding in Sitia, Yelena's homeland, which she visits for the first time since she was kidnapped from there at the age of six. The clans and their council were interesting, and I liked the effort she made to have them hold a diversity of worldviews, sometimes even with clans or groups.
*The greying of that world that she did, having Yelena be able to appreciate the good in the governments of both Ixia and Sitia, i.e. recognizing that Ixia doesn't have beggars, and that everyone has a job and is secure in housing, clothing, and food, while Sitia has beggars that are looked down upon by the populace, and Yelena is puzzled by them. At the same time, she realizes that the people of Sitia are free to make choices those in Ixia are not because it's a totalitarian society.
*I liked most of the secondary characters, including the new ones. Her relationship with her parents wasn't just a happy homecoming. There were conflicting feelings and memories that didn't match up with reality.
What didn't so much work for me were the conflicts Yelena had to deal with. There is a serial killing magician on the loose, and he was a pretty good villain, actually, and dealing with him forced Yelena to have to face some of her own issues. But she also has conflicts with her brother, who hates her with a passion, and Cahil, the nephew of the king that the Commander deposed, and who hates Valek (Yelena's lover) for killing his family and depriving him of his birthright. He and Yelena are actually friends for most of the novel and you think she's making progress getting him to think rationally and compassionately, but then . Her brother was perhaps the most frustrating. I did not think that Snyder did a good enough job of making that character realize how wrong he was, or even justify why he was so full of hatred and anger. Every time he blamed his kidnapped sister for something, I wanted to punch him. It wasn't fun to read about at all, and when they were acting .
Probably the best thing in the book though is that part of Yelena's powers is that she can develop communication bonds with not just people, but animals as well, and her relationship with her horse, Kiki, was my favorite. FYI did you know that horses name us just like we name them? I wonder what my horse name would be.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]
Things I liked:
*The worldbuilding in Sitia, Yelena's homeland, which she visits for the first time since she was kidnapped from there at the age of six. The clans and their council were interesting, and I liked the effort she made to have them hold a diversity of worldviews, sometimes even with clans or groups.
*The greying of that world that she did, having Yelena be able to appreciate the good in the governments of both Ixia and Sitia, i.e. recognizing that Ixia doesn't have beggars, and that everyone has a job and is secure in housing, clothing, and food, while Sitia has beggars that are looked down upon by the populace, and Yelena is puzzled by them. At the same time, she realizes that the people of Sitia are free to make choices those in Ixia are not because it's a totalitarian society.
*I liked most of the secondary characters, including the new ones. Her relationship with her parents wasn't just a happy homecoming. There were conflicting feelings and memories that didn't match up with reality.
What didn't so much work for me were the conflicts Yelena had to deal with. There is a serial killing magician on the loose, and he was a pretty good villain, actually, and dealing with him forced Yelena to have to face some of her own issues.
Spoiler
He rapes his victims, and when one is left alive, Yelena helps her magically, which involves facing the memory of her own torture and rape.Spoiler
he turns on her because he learns that Valek and she are involved romantically, and be basically becomes a rabid idiot after thatSpoiler
forgiving with each other at the end, I didn't buy into it emotionallyProbably the best thing in the book though is that part of Yelena's powers is that she can develop communication bonds with not just people, but animals as well, and her relationship with her horse, Kiki, was my favorite. FYI did you know that horses name us just like we name them? I wonder what my horse name would be.
[3.5 stars, rounded up]