♥ 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....
♥ Favorite Line(s):
"Exactly," Valek replied. "You have poisoned me."
♥ My thoughts:
I absolutely fell in love with Poison Study. This is the first Maria V. Snyder book I've read, but certainly not the last. The characters, plot, and setting all came together in a book that is now one of my favorites.
The lovely bits>
- The characters> Yelena is one of the strongest, most badass voices I've ever read in. I loved every minute I was in her head and cannot wait to experience her very distinct voice in the rest of the series. Valek is also extremely badass and was probably my favorite character in the entire book. Even though I didn't really love any of the other characters {besides maybe Dilana, the always rainbow-butterflies-sparkle-glitter happy seamstress}, they were all expertly crafted. From the intensely evil Reyad to the just plain bitter Margg, I could picture every character in my head and feel like I really got to know them.
- The plot> I've never read anything like Poison Study. From the focus on poisons, to the odd new world of the Commander's rule, everything seemed pretty original to me. The plot had tons of twists and turns with plenty of raw, uncensored backstory thrown in as well. Such a fun, fast-paced read!
The not-so-lovely bits>
- The world-building> While I loved the feel of the world in which Yelena lives and the settings described were great, I couldn't really figure out how the whole thing was set up or where each of the regions was located. The paperback version {the one I have} has a map in the front so I was constantly referring back to it to keep everything straight, though it was still a challenge for me. The map = godsend.
I think the fact that the only not-so-lovely bit I mentioned was a minor world-building issue shows how much I loved this book.
♥ Summing it up:
Lovelovelove Poison Study. I'm not-so-patiently waiting to get my hands on the second & third ones because the book was made of unicorn tears, rainbows, and children's smiles*. I'd recommend it for everyone!
*FYI, this means: epicly awesome things and whatnot.
P.S. Have you noticed my newest link in the sidebar? Click on "To Swap" to see the books I'm trying to swap for new ones. Also, don't forget to enter my contest and vote in the poll at the bottom of my blog!
Happy Monday!
"Creature Fear"-Bon Iver,
