Magic Study

This is one of those books that I just didn't want to put down once I'd started it! The story is so exciting, so well-structured and so creatively written that I literally flew threw it, without even noticing where the time went.

In the second installment of Yelena's story, she has beaten her enemies in Ixia and been released to return home to Sitia and her family, after having spend 14 years being tortured, beaten and manipulated for the various nefarious purposes of others.

And while Yelena is happy about the prospect of finally being reunited with the family she barely remembers, she is nervous about trying to pick up after so long, and she's devastated at being forced - because of her magical abilities - to leave Ixia under pain of execution, because it also means leaving Valek, who she now loves, and wants to be with.

Once back in Sitia, and under the protection of the Council of Magicians, Yelena begins her training to learn to control her magic. But, as usual, things don't go smoothly, and Yelena makes enemies - really through no fault of her own - and becomes involved in a dangerous plot that includes murder and treason.

The best thing about Maria Snyder's books is how she creates a multi-faceted, highly detailed world, in which each character feels completely real to the reader, and where you can completely immerse yourself in the story feeling like you're a fly on the wall the entire time.

I really enjoy these books, including the one I've read from Snyder's other series "the Glass books" and I highly recommend anything by her if you like fantasy/magical/alternate world books.

This book was so interesting I would get irritated each time there would be interruptions to my reading. It was that good. I had to keep reading until the final page. I just had to. If you thought Poison Study was good, Magic Study gets even better.

Yelena is thrown into a brand new situation, and now has to re-adjust accordingly. This brings about a new set of characters, a good solid character development within Yelena, and more Valek (my favorite part!). As in the previous novel, there's mystery and intrigue thrown into the story but the mystery aspect of the book is more violent and much darker than Poison Study. The romance between Yelena and Valek is still there, and it was nice to see them together as they do compliment each other well as a couple. There was an interesting chemistry between Yelena and Cahil - although Cahil acted like a spoiled selfish brat in the end and that does pave the way towards the third book.

It was nice to see Ari and Jaco back, and while they were out of the picture, Yelena's horse Kiki provided some of the comic relief. It was also nice to see Yelena hasn't really changed, although I did notice she had really great comebacks and her wit was still there, sharp as ever. I enjoyed the connection between Kiki and Yelena. Better yet, Kiki's requests for peppermints and apples always generated a smile from me.

I'm not sure if I like Leif or not. I hated him at first because of his treatment of Yelena, and once you found out his dirty little secret, I still hated him even more. As his behavior changed, I'm still not sure what to think about him. I'd have to say, all the characters in the books are very well done and each one memorable so they're not just any character that you'll forget later as you progress further into the book. They had distinct personalities which helps to memorize who is who (as the cast in this book is a bit big).

The fantasy aspect of the book is good and the magic is easy to understand. I liked how characters had a specific specialization in a certain aspect of magic - in that way they're not too overpowered and they have their weaknesses as well. Yelena seems to be the jack of all trades when it comes to magic but her talents also has risks and consequences as well.

Magic Study did live up to its predecessor and achieved more. It had an interesting plot filled with mystery, fantasy, and intrigue but it also featured well written memorable characters (horses included!). The ending prepares the reader for the third book and I'm definitely going to be reading that one soon.

(The Chapters-Indigo website has been deleting my ratings so: I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars/leaves.)

I liked this one. I wasn't sure after reading the first book in the series, Poison Study, given the Mary Sue aspects of the main character. However, I'm glad I gave this series a chance as this book was quite enjoyable.

The world building was very well done and highly imaginative. The plot was, in general, quite exciting.

The book's weaknesses were (IMHO): (i) the plot's tendency to be dominated by Yelena's tendency to 'barrel' or rush/plow through things, (ii) Yelena's status as a definite Mary Sue. Addressing the second point first, to my mind this book (and its prequel) is a good example of the fact that having a Mary Sue in a novel does not automatically ruin said novel (if you can accept that aspect of it). The first point was the only thing I could point to as somewhat problematic in this novel, but even this did not prevent me from enjoying it.

All in all, I tend towards recommending this one.

Similar recommended titles (given here because of the weird problems I've been having with the Chapters/Indigo website and which they STILL haven't fixed):

-Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
-Stardoc #1, by S.L. Viehl
-Stormwalker, by Allyson James

I was not able to put this book down! A wonderful follow up to "Poison Study" with some of the same riveting characters...and a slew of new ones! Snyder has the great ability to pull you into her world without feeling overwhelmed -- a truly enjoyable read.