Fire Study (Study, #3) by Maria V Snyder

 

Title: Fire Study
Author: Maria V Snyder
Publication: March 2008 by Mira
Pages: 448
ISBN: 9780778325354

Description:  The apprenticeship is over— now the real test has begun. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder—able to capture and release souls—spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her apart. As the Council debates Yelena's fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.…
Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself—and save the land she holds dear.

I Give This Book 4 Stars

While this was a wonderful wrap up to the Study series, I found myself not as engaged as I was with the first two books.  Perhaps the book is not entirely at fault since I was reading it during a hectic time.   But, I found myself skimming sections, realizing I missed something important, and then having to go back and reread.    There seemed to be lots of traveling around in this book, which seemed to distract from the actual story.  Now, there is still some very exciting parts throughout the story.  I still loved the characters.   I enjoyed discovering what an actual Soulfinder is.  I wasn't extremely surprised by the villain, although the extent of the devastation caused was horrible.  I still would recommend this series to anyone.  I will definitely be reading the Glass series by Maria Snyder.  It's set in the same world with one of the characters brough to light in Magic Study (although she's in this one too).

Magic Study (Study #2) by Maria V Snyder

Title: Magic Study
Author: Maria V Snyder
Published: October 2006 by Luna
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780373802494

Description: Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth.
But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life or be her downfall.
With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways and her new-found friends and relatives don't think it's for the better.
Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.
If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies.

I Give This Book 4 Stars!

I am happy to say I loved this book almost as much as the first.  Now, I want you to note that it's only a half star difference...so not much.  I loved reading about Yelena's home land, and her struggle to find her place in it.  All my favorite characters from book one make an appearance in this book, and some new ones added.  I didn't like Leif at first, but he grew on me.  He's got some heavy baggage to bear and it's very evident in his dealing with Yelena.  I particularly loved The Moon Man.  I don't know if the author intended for him to be so humorous, or if it was just the way I read it.  I also really enjoyed Yelena's new found connection with the horses (probably because I have a special fondness for them as well).  The book was fast paced and I loved every minute of it.  So why did I like it slightly less than the first?  Honestly, I don't think I could put my finger on it.  Poison Study just had something extra. 

Poison Study (Study, #1) by Maria V. Snyder

I Give this book 4.5 Stars!

Description: Choose: A quick death and hell or slow poison and hell.  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.

This book was so close to being worthy of 5 stars!  I loved it.  I found myself having to read it at odd times just because I wanted to know what happened (I read while I was cooking dinner even lol).   I really enjoyed Yelena's character.  I thought she was well developed and made the story interesting.  The circumstances in the story were intriguing.  The only reason it didn't get 5 stars, is because I figured out some of the events before they happened.  Not a big deal, but one of them I wish I would have felt the suprise of it instead of figuring it out way before.  I will pick up the next in the series and continue on!