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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a good book, although there were some awkward spots. At times it felt more like a reunion show than a new novel, with characters discussing how old they are and how they're ache and breaky now. I predicted the big "twist" at the end from the very beginning. No, really
I'm excited for the new book but it still isn't as wonderful as Poison Study. But that's a hard act to follow.
I am not a big fan of the cover art, because the way the sun and her make up are, it looks like she only used eye shadow on one eye. It kinda looks ridiculous
Also, there was a horrible snafu with amazon and actually getting my hands on this book. Release date 'guarantees' are not actual guarantees and if they mess it up don't expect them to actually do anything about it. That was frustrating, but thankfully didn't completely ruin my excitement for this book.
Spoiler
Yelena and Valek spend some quiet time together and then she can't use her magic? I was like 'she's pregnant isn't she?')I'm excited for the new book but it still isn't as wonderful as Poison Study. But that's a hard act to follow.
I am not a big fan of the cover art, because the way the sun and her make up are, it looks like she only used eye shadow on one eye. It kinda looks ridiculous
Also, there was a horrible snafu with amazon and actually getting my hands on this book. Release date 'guarantees' are not actual guarantees and if they mess it up don't expect them to actually do anything about it. That was frustrating, but thankfully didn't completely ruin my excitement for this book.
This is such a good book....gotta love Yelena and Valek! I didn't realize how much I missed since I started to read this book and I couldn't put it down. review to come near the 25th of February.
Libro fighissimo, io li adoro Yelena e Valek e non mi ero accorta quanto mi fossero mancati fino a che non ho cominciato questo libro e non ho potuto smettere di leggerlo... La recensione completa arriverá intorno al 25 febbraio, data di pubblicazione del libro.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND HARLEQUIN FOR THE PREVIEW!
Libro fighissimo, io li adoro Yelena e Valek e non mi ero accorta quanto mi fossero mancati fino a che non ho cominciato questo libro e non ho potuto smettere di leggerlo... La recensione completa arriverá intorno al 25 febbraio, data di pubblicazione del libro.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND HARLEQUIN FOR THE PREVIEW!
I was so happy to find out that there would be more Poison Study books. I love Yelena and every single other character in these books. It was a little jarring to have the POV switch but I was delighted to get Valek's and (surprise!) Janco's perspective. It was interesting to see Valek's backstory and how he grew into the formidable assassin that he is. Janco... well who doesn't love Janco? He's most definitely the comic relief.
When I read the last sentence, I threw my head back and laughed. I had suspected the reason why Yelena had lost her magic all along. Even when Yelena and the reader are led to believe a different cause (poison), my suspicions never wavered. The clue was planted a little too obviously but it didn't make me enjoy it any less. In fact, it made the stakes that much higher.
The ending did leave me in agony for the next novel. I'm dying to know what happens next, especially a certain someone's reaction to that last line of dialogue. Like Janco, I wanted to dance a little jig.
Well I guess I'll have to wait until next year. :sigh: Unless I die. That would be terrible because than I'd never find out what happens.
When I read the last sentence, I threw my head back and laughed. I had suspected the reason why Yelena had lost her magic all along. Even when Yelena and the reader are led to believe a different cause (poison), my suspicions never wavered. The clue was planted a little too obviously but it didn't make me enjoy it any less. In fact, it made the stakes that much higher.
The ending did leave me in agony for the next novel. I'm dying to know what happens next, especially a certain someone's reaction to that last line of dialogue. Like Janco, I wanted to dance a little jig.
Well I guess I'll have to wait until next year. :sigh: Unless I die. That would be terrible because than I'd never find out what happens.
As soon as I began reading Shadow Study, I immediately felt a desire to reread the three previous books as soon as I finished (because I can't wait for Night Study. Thank goodness Maria posted that she finished the first draft). This new addition was just as fast-paced and action-packed, with plenty of intrigue across both sides of the border, as its predecessors. It was delightful to see all of our favorite characters, plus some intriguing new ones. The ending was perfect... nicely tied up the main action of this book, but left a tantalizing tidbit for the next!
I followed Maria's recommendation to read her short Ice Study first, which set up wonderfully for the beginning of Shadow Study.
I followed Maria's recommendation to read her short Ice Study first, which set up wonderfully for the beginning of Shadow Study.
While none of the books in this series have come close to topping Poison Study (for me, anyway), returning to Sitia and Ixia is always a pleasure. It's like coming home after a long time away, or meeting up with an old friend. The characters are familiar, but in this book we see facets and parts of them that were only hinted at before.
One of the few things I didn't like about this book was the exposition of Valek's time as Hedda's student. A few flashbacks would have sufficed, but we ended up with the whole story of how Valek became the King Killer. I think if Snyder wanted to write a prequel about his assassin's training, she should have done that, not shoehorned the information into another book. It's almost as if she had two novellas here, and instead of leaving them separate entities, she tried to weave them together into one narrative. It seemed clunky and unnecessary.
And I wanted more of Yelena and Valek together, not apart. Besides a few moments in the beginning and a few more at the very end, there was no romance, just a lot of worry and cryptic messages.
Despite those flaws, I still liked this book, and I've already requested the next installment from the local public library.
One of the few things I didn't like about this book was the exposition of Valek's time as Hedda's student. A few flashbacks would have sufficed, but we ended up with the whole story of how Valek became the King Killer. I think if Snyder wanted to write a prequel about his assassin's training, she should have done that, not shoehorned the information into another book. It's almost as if she had two novellas here, and instead of leaving them separate entities, she tried to weave them together into one narrative. It seemed clunky and unnecessary.
And I wanted more of Yelena and Valek together, not apart. Besides a few moments in the beginning and a few more at the very end, there was no romance, just a lot of worry and cryptic messages.
Despite those flaws, I still liked this book, and I've already requested the next installment from the local public library.
I just love all of Maria V. Snyder's books and loved jumping back into Yelena's story. I loved that we have some new characters in this book. The ending is quite a cliff hanger I will say. I would have screamed if I had to wait a year to find out what happens next. I only wish I had more time to read.
It has been years since I read the Poison Study trilogy. I remember that I really enjoyed the 1st book and then 2nd and 3rd were ok but they lost my interest a bit in the end. Then recently I saw a book on Netgalley and it was called Night Study and so I requested it thinking it was the next book in the series - turns out I missed one, Shadow Study. So I got this book on Audible.
If you have not read the Study series in a while, I would suggest a re-read before this book. I was pretty lost for the first few chapters. The book follows Yelena, Valek and Janco and we get chapters from all these points of view. In the beginning of the book we get some romantic time with Yelena and Valek. Yelena is then attacked and Valek goes back to work to find out who might be behind it. We then follow Yelena as her situation becomes more dire. When we follow Janco, it is while he is on duty.
These books have a lot of politics in them, that is why I recommend reading the other ones again - it was hard for me to remember which city was which and the backstories surrounding what happened to Yelena and Valek before this point. What I liked though was that we get a good amount of Valek's backstory in this book and I love how in love with Yelena he is.
The plot was an interesting one, like a mystery, trying to find out who attacked Yelena and why she is having more issues - I won't say much more though because I don't want to spoil it for new readers.
I am very ready to jump right into the next book though because there was an amazing ending and I can't wait to read on in the series. If you liked the Study series, this continuation offer more but also in more of an adult fee
If you have not read the Study series in a while, I would suggest a re-read before this book. I was pretty lost for the first few chapters. The book follows Yelena, Valek and Janco and we get chapters from all these points of view. In the beginning of the book we get some romantic time with Yelena and Valek. Yelena is then attacked and Valek goes back to work to find out who might be behind it. We then follow Yelena as her situation becomes more dire. When we follow Janco, it is while he is on duty.
These books have a lot of politics in them, that is why I recommend reading the other ones again - it was hard for me to remember which city was which and the backstories surrounding what happened to Yelena and Valek before this point. What I liked though was that we get a good amount of Valek's backstory in this book and I love how in love with Yelena he is.
The plot was an interesting one, like a mystery, trying to find out who attacked Yelena and why she is having more issues - I won't say much more though because I don't want to spoil it for new readers.
I am very ready to jump right into the next book though because there was an amazing ending and I can't wait to read on in the series. If you liked the Study series, this continuation offer more but also in more of an adult fee