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crystalide 's review for:
Poison Study
by Maria V. Snyder
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
objectively, this has most of the components for a good book. there are multiple subplots, (a few) compelling side characters, a bit of mystery, multiple antagonists and so on.
however.
this book pissed me off!!!!
first and foremost, the writing style just didn't do it for me. can't quite say why, it just did not make me invested in this story or the characters at all.
valeck was way too open and friendly with yelena straight off the bat, I had zero suspension of disbelief that this guy was supposed to be a super smart and scary spymaster. because why is he literally getting cosy with a prisoner who has openly admitted to murder?? why is he sharing palace secrets and treating her like an equal?? obviously, as a nice and normal person, that's what he would do. BUT, we were told as the reader that he is the big bad guy, and it just didn't match.
majorly weird age gap between yelena and valeck. as a 19 year old, that made me feel so icky. also valeck was not a fun love interest for me, which probably stemmed from him straight up throwing a brick(?) at yelena's head. soooo... yeah.
there was an unnecessary amount of sexual assault in this book that did not aid the story of yelena's character arc at all. also a very strange (imo) representation of a trans character.
this book gets a few points because it did not include a major miscommunication at the end of the book that could have easily been added to create drama- highly appreciate that. but otherwise, I had zero feelings towards this book for the majority of my time reading it.
however.
this book pissed me off!!!!
first and foremost, the writing style just didn't do it for me. can't quite say why, it just did not make me invested in this story or the characters at all.
valeck was way too open and friendly with yelena straight off the bat, I had zero suspension of disbelief that this guy was supposed to be a super smart and scary spymaster. because why is he literally getting cosy with a prisoner who has openly admitted to murder?? why is he sharing palace secrets and treating her like an equal?? obviously, as a nice and normal person, that's what he would do. BUT, we were told as the reader that he is the big bad guy, and it just didn't match.
majorly weird age gap between yelena and valeck. as a 19 year old, that made me feel so icky. also valeck was not a fun love interest for me, which probably stemmed from him straight up throwing a brick(?) at yelena's head. soooo... yeah.
there was an unnecessary amount of sexual assault in this book that did not aid the story of yelena's character arc at all. also a very strange (imo) representation of a trans character.
this book gets a few points because it did not include a major miscommunication at the end of the book that could have easily been added to create drama- highly appreciate that. but otherwise, I had zero feelings towards this book for the majority of my time reading it.