Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Review originally posted on my blog here- https://kelmacsbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/shadow-study-maria-v-snyder/
So I’m not going to lie, I was very hesitant to read this book and took a bit of a gamble since I really didn’t like Fire Study of Magic Study… But I bought it anyway because of the multiple points of view in the hope that I would get some background info on Valek and Janco and Ari would actually appear…. And I was pleasantly surprised!!
I read this book in about 5 days and enjoyed it immensely. I am a big fan of multiple POV’s in books as I feel it gives you so much more depth not only into the character but into the plot as well. And this time was no difference, having not only Yelena tell the story but Valek and Janco gave you three completely different characters insights and feelings to make the novel rich with info which is what I feel was lacking in the two former books.
I really loved the plot of getting rid of Yelena’s magic as it made her more self aware and a bit more interesting to read about and there is minimal whining from her which made me very happy for that was something that annoyed me immensely in the previous books.
I also got MORE VALEK!!! So much more Valek which is what I really thought was missing in both Fire and Magic Study. We got childhood backstory which was so extremely interesting and then made who he is at the present time so much clearer. And to get his POV meant we got his inner thoughts of Yelena and to just validate that even though he puts his job first; he gets second thoughts and wants to rush to Yelena because he loves her so much and god, that did something to my heart every time he was conflicted like that.
And welcome back to my comedic relief Ari and Janco!! I missed you and your banter so much! Also the addition of Onora, another badass female character made me very happy and I enjoyed her input into the plot immensely… Although the constant calling her Little Miss Assassin grated my nerves ALOT…
And although I totally called the ending of this, I really really enjoyed this novel and I am very happy I gave this series another chance since now I am extremely excited to read the next one (especially because of how this one ended).
So if you were like me and were pretty let down with Fire and/or Magic Study and don’t know whether they should pick this one up, I suggest you should! You get more Yelena and Valek and you get more baddass fighting scenes and so much more Janco and Ari!!
So I’m not going to lie, I was very hesitant to read this book and took a bit of a gamble since I really didn’t like Fire Study of Magic Study… But I bought it anyway because of the multiple points of view in the hope that I would get some background info on Valek and Janco and Ari would actually appear…. And I was pleasantly surprised!!
I read this book in about 5 days and enjoyed it immensely. I am a big fan of multiple POV’s in books as I feel it gives you so much more depth not only into the character but into the plot as well. And this time was no difference, having not only Yelena tell the story but Valek and Janco gave you three completely different characters insights and feelings to make the novel rich with info which is what I feel was lacking in the two former books.
I really loved the plot of getting rid of Yelena’s magic as it made her more self aware and a bit more interesting to read about and there is minimal whining from her which made me very happy for that was something that annoyed me immensely in the previous books.
I also got MORE VALEK!!! So much more Valek which is what I really thought was missing in both Fire and Magic Study. We got childhood backstory which was so extremely interesting and then made who he is at the present time so much clearer. And to get his POV meant we got his inner thoughts of Yelena and to just validate that even though he puts his job first; he gets second thoughts and wants to rush to Yelena because he loves her so much and god, that did something to my heart every time he was conflicted like that.
And welcome back to my comedic relief Ari and Janco!! I missed you and your banter so much! Also the addition of Onora, another badass female character made me very happy and I enjoyed her input into the plot immensely… Although the constant calling her Little Miss Assassin grated my nerves ALOT…
And although I totally called the ending of this, I really really enjoyed this novel and I am very happy I gave this series another chance since now I am extremely excited to read the next one (especially because of how this one ended).
So if you were like me and were pretty let down with Fire and/or Magic Study and don’t know whether they should pick this one up, I suggest you should! You get more Yelena and Valek and you get more baddass fighting scenes and so much more Janco and Ari!!
Arrrggghhh now I have to wait until the next one!!!
It was great to read more about Yelena and Valek, but the overall story didn't feel as tight as I'd like. LOTS of flashbacks about Valek's history training to be an assassin and meeting the Commander, which were cool but halted the paving of the book.
*Book source ~ Purchased on Audible
Yelena finds herself targeted for assassination and loses her magic, Valek finds himself at odds with the Commander and the Power Twins are trying to keep things together. Smuggling is rife, plots are thick and tricky and it’s hard to decide who to trust.
Guest Reviewers:
T ~ my 16-yr-old son
K ~ my 14-yr-old son
Yelena, Valek and the gang are back. Told from three POVs (Yelena, Valek, Janco), the story switches back and forth between them as they deal with current events. A lot of Valek’s story consists of flashbacks on how he became the man he is today. We loved his portion because as T put it: Valek is effing awesome! K & I have to agree. Janco is always good for amusement and we’re mixed about Yelena. We mostly like her but there are times we seriously want to bitchslap her for doing stupid shit. Seriously. The alternating storylines were ok. We think it was a bit frustrating to get to a good point in one arc only to have it slip to the next and then the next. Grrr. Overall though we did enjoy having all three arcs come together in the end. And I have to tell you that K called that ending about 1/3 of the way into the book. That boy is too smart for his own good. LOL Oh, and that ending? Holy shit! As for the new characters, we’re reserving judgment. I kinda like Onora, but I don’t trust her. Yet. The Commander has me worried, K and T aren’t with T saying that he believes the Commander is incorruptible. I’m not so sure. Again, I’m worried where this story is heading. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Favorite Quotes:
Yelena to Onora about Janco: “ He grows on you. Sort of like a barnacle.”
Valek to Yelena: “We should make a list of who doesn’t want to kill you, love. It’d be shorter.”
I’d be offended, but it was actually a good idea.
Valek had learned the best way to distribute information was to classify it as secret.
Yelena finds herself targeted for assassination and loses her magic, Valek finds himself at odds with the Commander and the Power Twins are trying to keep things together. Smuggling is rife, plots are thick and tricky and it’s hard to decide who to trust.
Guest Reviewers:
T ~ my 16-yr-old son
K ~ my 14-yr-old son
Yelena, Valek and the gang are back. Told from three POVs (Yelena, Valek, Janco), the story switches back and forth between them as they deal with current events. A lot of Valek’s story consists of flashbacks on how he became the man he is today. We loved his portion because as T put it: Valek is effing awesome! K & I have to agree. Janco is always good for amusement and we’re mixed about Yelena. We mostly like her but there are times we seriously want to bitchslap her for doing stupid shit. Seriously. The alternating storylines were ok. We think it was a bit frustrating to get to a good point in one arc only to have it slip to the next and then the next. Grrr. Overall though we did enjoy having all three arcs come together in the end. And I have to tell you that K called that ending about 1/3 of the way into the book. That boy is too smart for his own good. LOL Oh, and that ending? Holy shit! As for the new characters, we’re reserving judgment. I kinda like Onora, but I don’t trust her. Yet. The Commander has me worried, K and T aren’t with T saying that he believes the Commander is incorruptible. I’m not so sure. Again, I’m worried where this story is heading. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
Favorite Quotes:
Yelena to Onora about Janco: “ He grows on you. Sort of like a barnacle.”
Valek to Yelena: “We should make a list of who doesn’t want to kill you, love. It’d be shorter.”
I’d be offended, but it was actually a good idea.
Valek had learned the best way to distribute information was to classify it as secret.
I love this story :D Yelena and Valek are amazing, and I aspire to be them with my SO.
This was another great instalment in the Study series :D I like the skip in time, but it was a bit confusing at the beginning because not a lot about what had happened in the six years since the last book was explained. Once I caught on, I was in it and it was soo good! :D
Thumbs up!
This was another great instalment in the Study series :D I like the skip in time, but it was a bit confusing at the beginning because not a lot about what had happened in the six years since the last book was explained. Once I caught on, I was in it and it was soo good! :D
Thumbs up!
I love the multiple characters stories. I think that's what keeps me coming back to these stories. It keeps me from getting bored of a book. The mystery also heightens my interest. Overall, I really liked the story, the characters. I think the only parts I got bored of were the ones with Jaco and the mission to find the smugglers. But it all tied in together rarely well in the end. Nice cliff hanger too.
Ugh the Commander is the worst. But totally saw that ending coming. I'm actually pretty sure that's why her magic is blocked. Totally not fair to end on that note though. I need the next one now! :/
I'm a fan of the original Ixia trilogy (although not the appalling Opal Cowan trilogy) so I really enjoyed this. I'd suggest that readers start with Poison Study and work through the lot, this wouldn't stand on its own especially well. That said, Snyder's writing has matured and is less full of irritating asides like 'jealous? Who me?'. The voice is still there and still fresh, so this is a light, entertaining fantasy read. If you are looking for epic fantasy then this is probably not going to be meaty enough for you. But a few hours easy, entertaining reading? This is your book.
It's told in 3rd and 1st person, divided into the the three POVs of Yelena, Janco and Valek. I came around on giving Valek a voice but I still thought Janco's POV was a waste of time when I got to the end of the book. (The three previous books were all told in single, first person POV). It was more annoying than a complete deal breaker. Janco didn't sound distinctly different to the MCs and his chapters could have been covered by them without losing anything. Otherwise the pacing was good, Yelena was the resourceful, brave and pig-headed heroine we've come to love.
Aside from Janco's POV, my main niggles were that this book telegraphed its big reveals a mile off - seriously I don't think even one of them surprised me - and also that it's clearly set up for a big reveal at the end to enable the start of the next book. Possibly one of the clumsiest cliff-hangers I've ever seen added to which I'd worked out the ending about six pages in. It detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book for me slightly because it felt lazy. You can foreshadow without sign-posting in neon. That said I totally want to read the next book and enjoyed this almost as much as the original trilogy despite niggles. You wouldn't read Snyder's books for an all-encompassing fantasy world or for fine literature but it's definitely amongst the finer kind of pop-corn book.
It's told in 3rd and 1st person, divided into the the three POVs of Yelena, Janco and Valek. I came around on giving Valek a voice but I still thought Janco's POV was a waste of time when I got to the end of the book. (The three previous books were all told in single, first person POV). It was more annoying than a complete deal breaker. Janco didn't sound distinctly different to the MCs and his chapters could have been covered by them without losing anything. Otherwise the pacing was good, Yelena was the resourceful, brave and pig-headed heroine we've come to love.
Aside from Janco's POV, my main niggles were that this book telegraphed its big reveals a mile off - seriously I don't think even one of them surprised me - and also that it's clearly set up for a big reveal at the end to enable the start of the next book. Possibly one of the clumsiest cliff-hangers I've ever seen added to which I'd worked out the ending about six pages in. It detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book for me slightly because it felt lazy. You can foreshadow without sign-posting in neon. That said I totally want to read the next book and enjoyed this almost as much as the original trilogy despite niggles. You wouldn't read Snyder's books for an all-encompassing fantasy world or for fine literature but it's definitely amongst the finer kind of pop-corn book.
This was such a great reintroduction to this world. New adventures and all my fave characters back together (except there was no Kade and I am honestly quite upset about this).
This is different from the other books in the series however, as we not only get Yelena's perspective, but also Valek's and Janco's. And guys, you don't know how much I wanted more Valek POV. Because not only do we get his perspective, but we also get flashbacks to him learning to be an assassin and meeting the Commander and killing the old king. It was the best.
And speaking of the Commander, he better have a damn good explanation for all of this.
This is different from the other books in the series however, as we not only get Yelena's perspective, but also Valek's and Janco's. And guys, you don't know how much I wanted more Valek POV. Because not only do we get his perspective, but we also get flashbacks to him learning to be an assassin and meeting the Commander and killing the old king. It was the best.
And speaking of the Commander, he better have a damn good explanation for all of this.