So let me start by saying how much I appreciate reading this now, as compared to then when I read it at 13. This book is definitely for a maturer audience and I am so thankful for my naivety that I didn’t understand the horrible parts of it, because I’d have been disturbed for days. But this is in my opinion a fantastic book and I’m surprised it didn’t have it’s own fan following.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder was written in 2007. It tells the story of murderer Yelena on the death row who gets a second chance at life by being the poison taster for the Commander of Ixia. Basically she chooses an unexpected death in the future than one at the noose. She trains under the enigmatic Valek, the Commander’s right hand man and from there ensues a gripping story of magic, poisons, adventure and romance. I mean, this book is the full package.

I love almost everything about this book. The language is simple, it’s narrated in first person, from Yelena who is rediscovering a new life after being tortured and then imprisoned for months. She’s narrating life as it passes by her and all the new people she is encountering after her secluded life at the orphanage she lived at prior to the imprisonment.

The plot is extremely gripping. It is a slow build as, Snyder focuses on primarily the world-building before easing into the story and the climax of it. All of it is well thought out and the ends seem to tie together so well that I honestly felt if she had wanted to she could have made it a stand alone novel than a trilogy. The other two books didn’t impress me, and out of the three I adored Poison Study, tolerated Magic Study and skimmed Fire Study.

Snyder introduces a myriad of characters and while she builds some up into ones that come alive around Yelena, I felt a few fell two dimensional. This was okay though, because they play passing roles and so for them to not have been built up the way perhaps Valek and Yelena were, was alright with me. It didn’t take away much from the story. I loved the relationships Yelena develops outside of Valek, especially with Ari and Janco. It was interesting to see the friendships she makes despite being considered a criminal. It shows so much about the character that Snyder has created. The romance was fantastic. By far my favorite part of this book is the romance between Yelena and Valek. It’s so subtle you barely notice it, the story takes precedence, but it rises like a crescendo towards the end and it’s so artfully done from the admiration to the attraction to falling in love. All brilliant.

Poison Study was a four star read for me. And it used to be a five star read for me, but that changed as I’ve grown older. I’ve included why exactly I didn’t like it below but be prepared for a few spoilery details!

I felt the rape scenes were a bit too graphic. I didn’t understand what I was reading at 13, thankfully but even at 17 they made me feel sick. And perhaps that is the intention behind them, but this is a YA fantasy so for the marketed age group it felt too graphic. The representation of a rape survivor is so important, and I wouldn’t have her remove that representation at all, but maybe reduce the graphicness of the scenes and how they were written. My elder sister couldn’t believe this had been penned the way it was in a YA novel and she read this now, at the same time as me.

The age difference between Yelena and Valek really bothered me. It was a 14 year age difference and that was jarring for me while I read the romance so mentally I had to reduce his age to keep the spark alive for me. I don’t enjoy such extravagant age gaps, but once again, it’s something personal.

This year I picked up a few other series by Snyder and (this is my largest complaint more to do with the series than this one book) and I feel like she’s a writer who follows a pattern for her books. The story might differ in detailing but the basic plot remains the same for all her series. For example in the Touch of Power stories it’s about a young Healer who is outlawed and who ends up being taken by a young man to save the Prince of the kingdom. She then falls in love with that man becomes best friends with his two male friends and at the end of the book they are separated. SPOILER – This is basically the outline of Poison Study if you change healer to poisoner and Prince to Commander. It struck me as odd that she would choose to do that. And while it doesn’t effect the series or my rating I thought it was worth mentioning.

But I would definitely read this series. Just the first book is a fantastic ride and worth the time! I just discovered another three books added to the original trilogy and I can’t wait to pick those up! You’ll find me next at the bookstore…