Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Published by Mira

Length: 416 pages

Yelena has been through hell in the last few years. Orphaned and taken in by a power-hungry sadist, she was the victim of cruel experiments to uncover and hidden power she may contain. When Yelena finally snaps, killing her captor, she is imprisoned for a year and expects the noose. When she is offered a position at the castle instead, she knows it would be foolish to accept, but more foolish to decline. She becomes the Commander's new food taster, learning to detect poisons and foil assassinations, an occupation that comes with a heavy load. She expects the certain death by poisoning, but does not expect the danger that seems to plague her in every aspect of her life, down to the castle servants. A startling truth surfaces, one she has been dreading to face, and she has to come to terms with her abilities as well as protect the Commander. With murder attempts following her like shadows, she is unsure how her life will end happily. She recruits new friends and an amazingly skilled trainer, Valek, to help her find peace when her world is not threatening, but beginning to collapse.

I LOVED IT!!! It's one of my favorites this year, for sure. Just when I needed an amazing heroine and addictive new world, I found this book on Kindle and read it in 2 days. I got sucked in to the trauma that plagued Yelena, and at the same time knew she was strong enough to handle anything. She is my favorite type of heroine, determined and strong, so independent it almost gets in the way. When I read about her horrific past I wanted to cry for her, but Yelena never pouted. Instead, she put on a stone-cold face and took it like a woMAN. When she is offered the job of poison-tester, she takes it and runs, and soon becomes the best poison taster, impressing everyone. It isn't long before everyone trusts her, save the goons who keep trying to murder her.

When you combine the poison-tasting, the vengeful father of the man Yelena killed, magical abilities, Yelena's back story, a plot against the castle, plus Yelena's progress through the castle ranks, you get a lot going on in the story. There was never a dull moment, and I couldn't ever find a good place to put the book down (which lead to some sleep loss, yes).

The writing was very well done! I can't exactly pinpoint the way Snyder did it, I'm no expert, but it felt very real, and I connected very easily with the story. It was fairly easy to read, but it wasn't dumbed down. It flowed and her word choice was intriguing but natural. I especially liked all of the snippy remarks Yelena threw in.

I don't want to say too much and ruin it, so I will leave it at that. Poison Study was excellent! I can't remember the last time I was sucked into a story like this one! There are two more books that I cannot wait to devour: Magic Study and Fire Study.

5/5 !!!!