Must Reads #1: "Poison Study 1-3" by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Poison Study Series (Poison Study, Magic Study, and Fire Study)

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Publisher: MIRA Books

Edition: Paperback: 2005

Back Cover Summary: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace--and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...

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Believe it or not, but my grandmother found this book for me. She thought it would be something I would be interested and Oh Boy! was she ever right. See, every now and then you get one of those books that you start and can't seem to put down until it is finished. That’s only happened a few times for me, but I love it when it does happen. I was comparing this book and its sequels to crack cocaine the entire time I was reading them. They just appealed to me that much.

High Notes: Where do I start? I loved the exciting and fulfilling plot. There was intrigue, romance, fantasy, action, mystery, anything and everything you could be looking for. I enjoyed every character, loved how they spoke and developed on their own, like no one had written them, but they really existed. Yelena is just the kind of woman you want to read about. She’s headstrong, intelligent, capable, vulnerable, beautiful, sarcastic, curious, and is perfectly complemented by her counterpart, Valek. I also loved the world Snyder created. I’m always so impressed when a person can build a world from scratch, complete with maps, different tribes, politics, religions, magic, etc. There really isn’t anything I can’t compliment.

Low Notes: Honestly, I loved this book too much to say anything bad about it. Perhaps the only thing I didn’t like was that it ended. However, I will say that this book may not be for everyone. If you’re not into fantasy books or period pieces, you may not be as intrigued as I was or enjoy it as much. Nevertheless, I urge you to try.

Some people may think that fantasy/sci-fi/magical books are of no use because they are not realistic, but there is so much to be said about working the imagination.

Ratings:

Character Development: 5/5

Dialogue: 5/5

Prose: 5/5

Believability: 5/5

Style and Grammar: 5/5

Overall Rating: 100% LOVED IT!!! And trust me, a 100% does not happen that often! The only other books I would have ever given 100% to are ‘Harry Potter’ by JK Rawling and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen.