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Poison Study Study Book 1 Maria V Snyder Books

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Poison Study Study Book 1 Maria V Snyder Books

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The author starts us off with a character that is doomed to die, but is given a sort of second chance when she is selected to be the Commander's new food taster. The Commander has overthrown the old king and now instead of earldoms, there are districts. Instead of lords and ladies, there are generals. Nothing is done without his knowledge and permission. The people of each district are identified by the uniform they wear. Everyone is trained in some sort of occupation and has access to food, shelter, and education. While people have more, not everyone is happy with this new hierarchy, hence the need for a food taster. The old one had died and the law states that the next prisoner scheduled to be executed be offered the job. This is where we meet our main character, Yelena. She is in the dungeon for having committed murder of a general's son, and when offered the chance to stay alive - although in another form of prison - she accepts the offer. Her trainer in detecting these poisons is Valek, a very hard-assed man in charge of the Commander's safety and security.

One of the things I liked about this book is the utter lack of insta-romance. Yelena yearns for freedom, not a man. She is rather independent, doesn't always follow directions like a meek kitten just thankful for the chance to stay alive, and when she gets tired of having to rely on others to pull her out of dangerous situations, she risks trouble by befriending two soldiers (Ari and Janko) to help her learn to defend herself. Yelena is also a bit of a mystery. Her back story is not immediately given. The author presents us with brief flashbacks at the abuse she received at the orphanage run by one of the Commander's generals, but the full story isn't filled in until close to the end of the book. Clues are given, but I wasn't completely sure if any of my guesses were correct until Yelena chose to tell her story to Valek. More twists and turns are part of Yelena's story as she deals with the ghosts (some literal) of her past, a stranger from the bordering country of Sitia, and becomes dangerously close to the man who wants her dead.

I really enjoyed the big brother - little sister relationship Yelena shared with Ari and Janko. They first cross paths when Yelena is allowed to 'escape' as part of a training exercise and Valek's men are ordered to find her as part of their training. The longer she stays gone, the worse it looks on the men, and that rebellious spark in Yelena makes her want to show up Valek and his troops. I love this about her. She may be stuck in a situation where she could be killed for revenge by the general whose son she killed, or when tasting the Commander's food for poison, but she still finds a way to LIVE as much as possible. Her escape attempts are numerous, and some quite amusing, as Valek always seems to be one step ahead of her. The banter between these two offers some of the most enjoyable parts of the book.

If you are looking for a new series, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. The pace is well set, the characters develop and fill in as the story moves along, and as a reader you come to care about the main characters. The author resolves quite a few mysteries by the end of the book, but sets up a whole new batch for the next book in the series. She does it in such a way that you do not feel cheated or strung along, or worse yet, like the author has stretched out a plot line way too thin in an obvious effort to drag out a story for a three book series when it actually should have been nothing more than a short story.


Tags : Amazon.com: Poison Study (Study, Book 1) (9780778324331): Maria V. Snyder: Books,Maria V. Snyder,Poison Study (Study, Book 1),MIRA,0778324338,Romance - Fantasy,10003581,115026X,20070301,707220,AMERICAN LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Canada,FICTION Fantasy General,FICTION General,FICTION Romance Fantasy,Fantasy,Fantasy - General,Fantasy;Medieval,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction-Fantasy,GENERAL,General Adult,Monograph Series, 1st,RomanceGothic,Romance: Gothic

Poison Study Study Book 1 Maria V Snyder Books Reviews

I'd give this 3 1/2 stars but I don't think that's possible for right now. I'll try to be as vague with this review as I can so that people can read it before reading the book and still understand what's happening.

Overall, I'd say it's a solid book and an enjoyable read. There were things I really liked about it and things that really bothered me as I read it. I doubt anyone would pick up this book and be mad they read it, unless darker and heavier subject matter doesn't sit well with you, in which case I would not recommend. Snyder does not shy away from some really intense subject matter that includes such triggers as torture, murder, rape, and mind control. Generally speaking, I think she deals with these issues as well as could be expected in a short, relatively fast-paced book.

The good
The story itself is really interesting, with a unique plot, an interesting world, and characters that are not necessarily very complex but are also certainly interesting and generally not cliche. The scope of the story does not leave room for all characters to be explored and developed, but where developing happens it was done well.
The biggest plus for this story is the way it deals with a transgender character, who is never identified as such given the setting of the story, but who, nonetheless, was born female and lives as a male. The author (and characters who discover the truth about the transgender character) handle this very well, always using the correct pronouns (he/him) even after the discovery and even, impressively, choose not to make a big deal out of it, but rather accept wholeheartedly that some people are just born in the wrong bodies. It was an interesting and wonderfully handled plot point that I applaud Snyder for.

The not so good
The romance in this book was, at least at first, expertly handled as far as YA novels go. The build up of the attraction between the couple was slow and subtle, but obvious enough that the readers were aware that a relationship might be possible. However, once the book started towards its climax, this story line shifted into the far-too cliche, uninteresting world that most YA novels get stuck in where the main character needs to be told by other characters that her love interest has an obvious "thing" for her and then, at the least oppurtune moment when it barely makes sense for the plot and actually takes away from the action, the relationship begins and shifts from, "I have feelings for you" to sex to declarations of love in exctly two pages, which felt rushed and forced and was extremely disapppointing given how well the initial build up was orchestrated.
The dialogue also left far too much to be desired in this novel, with all characters speaking in generally the same manner, using the same vocabulary, and saying the same sorts of things, no matter their walk of life or purpose. Too much of the plot was delivered through dialogue, as almost every explanation about anything important came from a conversation and usually in a way that didn't make sense. Characters in this story were WAY too willing to answer the "why" with a super long and involved and way too real explanation that, more often than not, just felt forced and wrong. Why would a stranger tell someone they just met absolutely everything important that they know? It didn't work for me, and the preveleance of this kind of dialogue made it really hard to distinguish personalities among the more minor characters who don't get a lot of development. Anything unique about them was attached to them by the narrator, who had to add on personality descriptors to every chracter since the author failed to give them distincit personalities by their speech or actions.

Again, overall, an enjoyable read, but one that was certainly flawed and does not stand out to me as a particularly well-written piece. I will probably read the sequels, but I'm not dying to, which is always a sign to me than an author hasn't quite delivered.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The author starts us off with a character that is doomed to die, but is given a sort of second chance when she is selected to be the Commander's new food taster. The Commander has overthrown the old king and now instead of earldoms, there are districts. Instead of lords and ladies, there are generals. Nothing is done without his knowledge and permission. The people of each district are identified by the uniform they wear. Everyone is trained in some sort of occupation and has access to food, shelter, and education. While people have more, not everyone is happy with this new hierarchy, hence the need for a food taster. The old one had died and the law states that the next prisoner scheduled to be executed be offered the job. This is where we meet our main character, Yelena. She is in the dungeon for having committed murder of a general's son, and when offered the chance to stay alive - although in another form of prison - she accepts the offer. Her trainer in detecting these poisons is Valek, a very hard-assed man in charge of the Commander's safety and security.

One of the things I liked about this book is the utter lack of insta-romance. Yelena yearns for freedom, not a man. She is rather independent, doesn't always follow directions like a meek kitten just thankful for the chance to stay alive, and when she gets tired of having to rely on others to pull her out of dangerous situations, she risks trouble by befriending two soldiers (Ari and Janko) to help her learn to defend herself. Yelena is also a bit of a mystery. Her back story is not immediately given. The author presents us with brief flashbacks at the abuse she received at the orphanage run by one of the Commander's generals, but the full story isn't filled in until close to the end of the book. Clues are given, but I wasn't completely sure if any of my guesses were correct until Yelena chose to tell her story to Valek. More twists and turns are part of Yelena's story as she deals with the ghosts (some literal) of her past, a stranger from the bordering country of Sitia, and becomes dangerously close to the man who wants her dead.

I really enjoyed the big brother - little sister relationship Yelena shared with Ari and Janko. They first cross paths when Yelena is allowed to 'escape' as part of a training exercise and Valek's men are ordered to find her as part of their training. The longer she stays gone, the worse it looks on the men, and that rebellious spark in Yelena makes her want to show up Valek and his troops. I love this about her. She may be stuck in a situation where she could be killed for revenge by the general whose son she killed, or when tasting the Commander's food for poison, but she still finds a way to LIVE as much as possible. Her escape attempts are numerous, and some quite amusing, as Valek always seems to be one step ahead of her. The banter between these two offers some of the most enjoyable parts of the book.

If you are looking for a new series, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. The pace is well set, the characters develop and fill in as the story moves along, and as a reader you come to care about the main characters. The author resolves quite a few mysteries by the end of the book, but sets up a whole new batch for the next book in the series. She does it in such a way that you do not feel cheated or strung along, or worse yet, like the author has stretched out a plot line way too thin in an obvious effort to drag out a story for a three book series when it actually should have been nothing more than a short story.