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Magic Study (Study #2)

by Maria V. Snyder (Goodreads Author)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 25,130 ratings · 2,082 reviews

You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster...

With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.

But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to...more

Paperback, 419 pages

Published May 16th 2008 by MIRA Books (first published September 29th 2006)

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Feb 15, 2011 Lyndsey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-high-fantasy, audiobooks, reviewed-2010, reviewed-3-stars, 1st-person, pov-primarily-female, about-school-for-magic

Considering how often Yelena was injured, captured, and beat-to-a-pulp in this follow-up to Poison Study - I felt this picture summed it up best:

There are considerably more DOH! moments in this book, as opposed to the zero in the last book. Quite a few times, I felt myself wanting to smack some sense into Yelena. Especially toward the beginning of the book, she didn't seem to be her reliable calculating and resourceful old self.

Instead of reading, like I did with Poison Study, I listened to the...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-fantasy, author-gender-female, publisher-harlequin, read-in-2011, misc-mary-sue-character, author-nationality-usa, genre-romance, pov-first-person, rating-1-star, set-in-fictional-world, tense-past, reviewed-by-iamfantastikate

Should I read it? No, there is nothing of quality here. Nothing.

What's the short and skinny of it? Part of the official summary is this: "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 newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better." A better summary would...more

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Aug 08, 2010 FlibBityFLooB rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, read-in-2010, witty-i-am-not, husband-enjoyed-book, magic

I read the first couple chapters of this book with growing concern that I would not enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed the first book in the trilogy. However, I am happy to say that I was wrong. Once the storyline for the book was established, I really grew into the action. As with the previous novel, I was enthralled. Definitely a good series. Going to start the next book! :)

Favorite quotes:

"Esau is here with me, but when you mother found out you were missing, she climbed a tree and we can't...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Kay rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: posion study super uber mega fans

Recommended to Kay by: not the talking horse over there

Shelves: gawdawful, fantasy, teens-tweens-and-ya, i-give-up

In the spirit of my review of Poison Study yesterday, I felt compelled to review the second installment of the series...even though I didn't really finish reading it.

That's right, I didn't read all of it. I gave it a serious effort, perhaps up until the halfway mark. But then I skimmed until the 60% mark and dropped it.

I really couldn't get into the book. Yelena and I had never bonded even after the first book, so when she leaves the borders of Ixia to find her family, I found some of the reuni...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Suzanne the Mighty ~Satin Seductress~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, action-adventure, fugly-cover, magic, mages-witches-magic-users

4.5 Stars

Yelena has been banished from Ixia after having discovered that she has forbidden magical abilities and now heads to Sitia to be trained in their academy. She is also meeting her real family for the first time since she was kidnapped when she was 6, but the reunion isn't as perfect as she hoped when she sees the resentment her brother holds for her. Meanwhile a killer has been stalking Sitia, torturing and raping young girls, and it looks like Yelena may be next on his list of victims.

I...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, fantasy, series-dropped-lost-steam

More like 2.5 stars actually, but I am being extremely generous in the memory of "Poison Study."

I enjoyed the first 300 pages of the book just as much as "Poison Study." Yelena's relationship with her family and Zaltana clan, the world of Sitia, the magic lessons, the mystery of a magician serial killer and political intrigue involving a contender to Ixian throne - all these aspects were written very well and in a very engaging manner.

However, right about page 300 to 400 something went wrong wi...more

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Jan 04, 2010 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy, 2009

I am at a complete loss. I found Poison Study to be an amazing book, with an engaging plot, real, intriguing characters and excellent writing. Magic Study begins much the same, until around page 240, and then it takes a nose dive through crazy town. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. For a book that began with a five star rating, Snyder had to work to make this book as non-sensual as it ended up being. Here are a few of my qualms.

Yelena, once resourceful, intelligent, honorabl...more I am at a complete loss. I found Poison Study to be an amazing book, with an engaging plot, real, intriguing characters and excellent writing. Magic Study begins much the same, until around page 240, and then it takes a nose dive through crazy town. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. For a book that began with a five star rating, Snyder had to work to make this book as non-sensual as it ended up being. Here are a few of my qualms.

Yelena, once resourceful, intelligent, honorable, yet a little self effacing becomes an arrogant Mary Sue cutout, who rushes into trouble even when she knows her actions are idiotic because stupid though she may be, and despite her lack of knowledge about magic, naturally, she knows better than everyone else. Even more ridiculous is her anger towards her brother. I would completely understand her anger if it were due to his treatment of her now that they are both adults, he certainly isn’t kind, or for the fact that he never told their parents that Yelena had been kidnapped, but as it were, she is angry with him because he didn’t try to save her when she was taken, as if an 8 year old boy could pose any type of threat to a master magician and his minions. Give me a break.

Valek. Oh how I loved him, in Poison Study, his and Yelena’s partnership was a delight to read. There were well matched, respectful of one another and had a brilliant chemistry and understanding. I was so excited to see how their relationship would progress. I’m still waiting. Valek, once a cunning advisor/assassin, is now reduced to stud stand in who takes order from Yelena. How this mentor became the one being dictated to is beyond me and completely un-interesting to read. Grating is more like it. He even gets captured a few times, which is very un-Valek like.

Yelena’s family…What exactly is Leif’s, Yelena’s brother, problem? Snyder tries to explain it via Moon Man, the Story Weaver (don’t get me started) but it was ridiculous. Who gets kidnapped on purpose? And what mental disorder does Perl, Yelena’s mother, have? While she is clearly a crafty little tree climber, I have a hard time believing she is “formidable” when all she does is make perfume and cower in plants.

The plot, oh where do I start? I’ve lost track of how many times Yelena gets kidnapped. It was pointless and un-necessary. The characters of Goel and Alea served no purpose other than to act as filler. The rest is too bizarre to comment on.

The bad guy. Last time I checked not all bad guys’ rape and torture, yet every bad guy in Snyder’s books do. Very annoying. However, that perfume pump used to defeat Ferde (bad guy) was amusing, but daft. Why not just use one of those ingenious little darts like everyone else. Instead, Yelena storms in with armed with a squirt bottle, lol.

So these are just a few of my issues, there are plenty more, but I can’t bring myself to mention them. If you are reading Magic Study because you adored Poison Study, please be warned. This book pales in comparison and will ruin your view of the characters you love.
(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Harini rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, fantasy, good, ya-lit

More like 2.5 stars actually.

This book takes place after the events of Poison Study and I won't talk about the plot as it would ruin Poison Study for you.

I was a disappointed with this book. ‘Magic Study’ lacks the magic that its predecessor ‘Poison Study’ had. It’s still a good book but its no where close to the brilliance of Poison Study. See that’s the problem, once you know what the author is capable of, you except nothing but awesomeness from her.

The biggest complain I have from this book...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Sath rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, magic, reviewed, on-my-bookshelf, charity-shop-bought, second-hand

Yelena's recent 'outing' as a magic user, has made her outcast from Ixia. Now she returns to Sitia, the country she was born in but taken from as a young child. Yelena rediscovers her lost family and culture, and then goes on to train with the master magicians, to learn to control and develop her new-found magic abilities. But it's not an easy change for Yelena, and many people openly reject her, including her brother, and the would-be king of Ixia, Cahil. And then of course Yelena cannot help b...more Yelena's recent 'outing' as a magic user, has made her outcast from Ixia. Now she returns to Sitia, the country she was born in but taken from as a young child. Yelena rediscovers her lost family and culture, and then goes on to train with the master magicians, to learn to control and develop her new-found magic abilities. But it's not an easy change for Yelena, and many people openly reject her, including her brother, and the would-be king of Ixia, Cahil. And then of course Yelena cannot help but become involved in the search for a psychotic magician who has been randomly abducting, abusing and murdering young children.

I felt that Magic Study was a bit of a let down from the previous novel. The book could have had a lot going for it, the prospect of returning to Yelena's magical country of birth was quite an exciting one, and at first things were fairly interesting, but the story began to fall flat soon enough.

Snyder has not created a single interesting 'bad guy' character in this. Everyone that is against Yelena is obviously and openly so, shouting their opinions out in public. And none of them display enough cleverness to be a challenge.

Yelena begins to display a recklessness and insensitivity that I truly would not have expected from her character. She continuously jumps into dangerous situations on her own, and to use her magic without any training or knowledge of the consequences, even to the risk of innocent people's lives. She herself talks about how forcing knowledge out of another persons mind with magic is akin to rape, and she should know, but she continously uses her magic on other people, including mind-reading, without consent. As do the other magic users, who you would believe are the 'good guys' and have enough experience to know better too.

The style of the book is still firmly young-adult, like the last one. But I was shocked that there is even more incidence of adult themes than the last one, specifically rape. I am not going to say that rape shouldn't be mentioned in a YA book, but I think if you're going to use it, there should be some sensitivity in dealing with it. But here rape is just continuously thrown about, perhaps just for sensationalism on the writers behalf.. but I really don't think that's right, especially in a book for younger readers.

Another big disappointment was the relationship between Yelena and Valek. In the previous novel the slow build of their relationship was one of the best aspects. Their relationship was still new when this novel started, it could have made things quite interesting, as Yelena was forced to leave Valek just as they had truly realised their feelings for eachother. But suddenly in this book, it's as if they're an old married couple, Valek is almost wildly out of character, doing nothing but turning up conveniently to hop into bed with Yelena and then do her bidding, repeatedly. Very disappointing in that respect.

It's a shame as this book could have been better, and now it's putting me off YA-fantasy as a whole, and I'm not sure whether to read the 3rd book or not, no great loss since I bought them all 2nd hand (as I do most of my books when I can), but still... disappointed.

See my other reviews of the Study trilogy:
← #1 Poison Study | #3 Fire Study →(less)

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Jan 02, 2009 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While there were a few predictable elements to this storyline, it was still as enjoyable and as easy a read as the first novel. There were a few points where I was a wee-bit annoyed by Yelena, and amazed that a character so smart could be so infuriatingly blind about some things, but I guess that adds to her personality and builds the story.

I was thrilled to see that the story allowed for the reappearance of Janco, Ari and Valek, and was pleasantly surprised by the fourth member of the delegatio...more

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Mar 13, 2009 Sheree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of fantasy and magic

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, own, read-in-2009, reviews

4.5 stars

In the sequel to Poison Study, we follow Yelena, in exile, back to her homeland of Sitia where she is to study under the fourth Magician, Irys. After a reunion with the family that she hasn't seen since she was kidnapped at the age of 6, Yelena travels on to the Citadel to begin her training; to develop, harness and control her magic.

The writing in Magic Study is definitely more refined, descriptive without being tedious and on a whole more enjoyable. There were none of the annoyances...more

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Jan 06, 2008 Karin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finished Magic Study this morning. This is the sequel to Poison Study. In the second book, Yelena attempts to learn how to use her magical powers at the Citadel in the country she was kidnapped from as a child. Going home isn't as easy as it sounds. She hasn't seen her parents or her brother in fourteen years. Irys, the Fourth Magician, is the one who is escorting her and takes her to meet her parents before they head to the Citadel. Yelena's parents live in the trees above a jungle. An intric...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, romantic

3.5-ish

This book was very readable, so much so that I read most of it in one day, and stayed up past my bedtime to finish it. And there are parts of it I really liked - like seeing some of my favorite characters from the first book show up, and watching some badassery go down.

And I really liked the bits with her and the horses - both Topaz and Kiki. Kiki, especially, made me smile, and I liked the Sandseeds and the Story Weaver guy a lot.

But...

A lot of the new characters were annoying me. Leif,...more 3.5-ish

This book was very readable, so much so that I read most of it in one day, and stayed up past my bedtime to finish it. And there are parts of it I really liked - like seeing some of my favorite characters from the first book show up, and watching some badassery go down.

And I really liked the bits with her and the horses - both Topaz and Kiki. Kiki, especially, made me smile, and I liked the Sandseeds and the Story Weaver guy a lot.

But...

A lot of the new characters were annoying me. Leif, of course, and Roze, who'se just a total bitch right off the bat for no real reason. Even Perl annoyed me with her unrealistic expectations.

But the thing that annoyed me the most, I think, was just the repetitive nature of the story. As Dawn said: "Problem crops up, Yelana defies authority, she's probably caught and tortured, magic saves her, rinse and repeat."

(view spoiler)

Anyway, there were a lot of things that irritated me about this book, but none of them were enough to make me want to put the book down, and there were also things that I enjoyed about it.

I do hope, though, that the concluding book is a little less repetitive in plot elements, and that some of the secondary characters are a) more consistent and b) more prevalent.(less)

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Nov 02, 2011 Cortney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: badass-female, badass-male, boring-at-times, fantasy, magic, so-disappointed, series-dealbreaker

Ms. Snyder you know Valek is the badass that we all love and can't get enough of, so why make us suffer through 250 pages before he finally shows up. I couldn't even enjoy the story because all I kept thinking was, "Where the hell is Valek?"

Magic Study is pretty much a watered down version of Poison Study, minus Valek.

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Feb 02, 2011 Libby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, read-in-2011, fantasy-epic-and-series

Another enjoyable read - I found the first half of the book to be better than the second. The second half was pretty cookie cutter. However, I still appreciate the creative world building and consider this series to be one of the better ones in the light-reading-fantasy-paranormal-romance-adventure category :-)

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Jan 13, 2012 Prangon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, fantasy, urban-fantacy, read-in-2012, borderline-ya-adult

2.5 stars

After reading something as good as Poison Study my expectation for this series was YAY high, but unfortunately my expectation for the sequel was actually too high. Magic Study mainly focused on Yelena's magical ability and training her while figuring out who is out to kill the young magicians in Sitia.

Magic Study introduced allot of new character and I felt like they kept appearing to fill the void of the other character from Poison Study. Yelena seem to find her entire family and they...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Jessica Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bored-me-to-tears, bleh

I did end up reading this, more out of curiosity than anything. Turns out I should have listened to Tatiana's wise, discerning reviews.

Magic Study pales in comparison to its predecessor. I know sequels are supposed to suck compared to the first book in a series, but to fall from the decently written Poison Study to this disappointment is mind-boggling. Snyder has proven she can write with clarity, formulate a plot, and craft interesting characters (Yelena being the one exception), so why in Magi ...more I did end up reading this, more out of curiosity than anything. Turns out I should have listened to Tatiana's wise, discerning reviews.

Magic Study pales in comparison to its predecessor. I know sequels are supposed to suck compared to the first book in a series, but to fall from the decently written Poison Study to this disappointment is mind-boggling. Snyder has proven she can write with clarity, formulate a plot, and craft interesting characters (Yelena being the one exception), so why in Magic Study have these elements been screwed, burned, and fucked beyond recognition? The plot seemed to be a complete ass-pull on Snyder's part, with far too many characters populating the story. Most of them played the smallest roles that could have easily been loaded onto another character without affecting the storyline any. Valek proved to be the sole bright spark in this entire book, and he isn't there for most of it!

Don't get me started on Yelena, though I indulge myself in tearing shreds out of her this once. Beware spoilers for the first book follow. (view spoiler) Strike one against her. I can't stand characters with rare powers because authors tend not to express this concept in an innovative manner. Wouldn't it be more creative for a protagonist to possess a common power and find other ways to use it, or overcome the obstacles that come from it being common knowledge? That would make for interesting reading.

This novel just felt stale, too fanfiction-y. Too much filler padding the lack of storyline, as if Snyder believes it's the only way for readers to get to know characters instead of integrating characterisation into plot-relevant scenes. While her writing style isn't bad, it's taken on a more commercial feel, losing what made Snyder's writing her own. I hate it when otherwise good authors go down this route. They're more focused on churning out the next book than ensuring their words flow from the deepest parts of themselves.

So, in conclusion, I urge you to read over Magic Study with a critical eye. I further urge you to savour Poison Study for what it is - whatever magic you found dies in its sequel.(less)

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Nov 21, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: harlequin

Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

As Yelena arrives in the Zaltana homestead, her parents welcome her with open arms. She is reunited with those she once knew but not everyone is as accepting. Some members of the clan, including her older brother Leif, suspect her of being an Ixian spy because she's "different". Magic Study follows Yelena's journey of exploring her magical abilities and deciding what's more important to her - the friends and man she loves in the North or her family...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books

The thing about Magic Study is that it was pretty much pointless. It is basically just, Yelena knows a lot of magic. The end.

Take note, young adult authors: I am sick to death of you all just writing filler second novels, just because you want to have a trilogy. My advice? If you can only think of enough material for two books, only write two books!! (Once again, I am definitely not going to mention a certain book I'm referring to, because I'm sure my friends are sick to death of hearing me go...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Galla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After being exiled from Ixia because of her magical abilities, Yelena arrives in Sitia to meet her family and train in magic use. Her mother and father welcome her with open arms, but her brother Leif is convinced she is now an Ixian spy, and he's not alone in his mistrust. Meanwhile, there's a mysterious magician on the loose in Sitia who is brutalizing and murdering young women, and Yelena becomes embroiled in the efforts to stop him--at huge risk to her own safety.

Poison Study was a great op...more After being exiled from Ixia because of her magical abilities, Yelena arrives in Sitia to meet her family and train in magic use. Her mother and father welcome her with open arms, but her brother Leif is convinced she is now an Ixian spy, and he's not alone in his mistrust. Meanwhile, there's a mysterious magician on the loose in Sitia who is brutalizing and murdering young women, and Yelena becomes embroiled in the efforts to stop him--at huge risk to her own safety.

Poison Study was a great opening to this series, but the sequel is disappointing. The most basic problem for me was that Yelena's acquisition of new, powerful abilities overshadows her growth as an actual character. It's as though Yelena pays for her new abilities with IQ points. The basic formula in this novel is that someone's in trouble, whether it's Yelena or another character, and Yelena defies advice, orders, common sense, and reasonable expectations of failure in order to come in and save the day. When things look their bleakest, Yelena reaches deep inside herself and pulls off a magical MacGyver solution. Failing that, she mentally connects to her lover Valek, who supposedly has no magical abilities of his own, and borrows his strength to see her through.

It sounds cheesy because it is.

Poor Valek. He was a great character in the first book. He's an assassin, a combat expert, a strategist, a brilliant adviser. Here, his primary talents are showing up in Yelena's room for sex without being detected by guards, and serving in some mysterious way as mental magic food for Yelena (how or why this works is never explained).

While I think Snyder was trying to go for an emotional growth arc for Yelena as she resolves her issues with her brother Leif, the actual resolution process seemed facile and hollow. Leif spends the majority of the book being a huge asshole. A primitive mystic shows Yelena that Leif feels crushing guilt about his status as an asshole, which somehow fixes everything, and the two siblings begin to reclaim their lost childhood time by bantering as if they'd never grown up. Then there are lines like this:

"You are afraid." Leif challenged.
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Then prove it."

Sigh.

My favorite character in this book was Yelena's new horse. The horse was awesome, even if she was named Kiki.

Part of why I feel so let down by this book is that this series had huge promise. I'm not sure whether or not I'll feel optimistic enough to pick up the final book in the trilogy at some point, but you never know what might happen on a glass-half-full kind of day. (less)

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Dec 20, 2010 Lisa O. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

My expectations for this book were so low it is quite a surprise that, thankfully, they were exceeded. True, it is not as good as Poison Study but i enjoyed reading on about Yelena Zaltana and i am going to find out what happens next - and reviews for the final installment are even worse.

I've grown fond of the world created in this series and it was nice to read about Sitia. You hear talking about it in the first book, so i wanted to know more. More about Yelena's family - i liked Leif even thou...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-75-book-challenge, books-i-own, 2011-read

I give this one 4.5 stars. I found the story captivating, but a few things annoyed me in this one that weren’t present in the first book. Yelena is still a kickass heroine but now that she has some control over her magical abilities and has become a great fighter her attitude has become much cockier. I understand having confidence in her abilities, as she should have but going off on her own because she’s thinks she’s the only one that can defeat the enemy is just stupid, especially when she is...more

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Feb 25, 2009 Alaine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favourites, fantasy-sci-fi

Magic, romance, adventure, empowered women, mystery, suspense...there is a little of everything I enjoy all wrapped up in one great book. This is the second book in a series of three. The first book, Poison Study, I liked but I think the author really picked up the pace in this book. It only took about 25 pages to get into this story and after that, I was totally hooked.

During this story Yelena's powers develop and she discovers her magical abilities. The suspense is cleverly woven right through...more

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Apr 01, 2009 Mimi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was completely disappointed with this book. I really enjoyed reading the first in the series, Poison Study by an author who went to school for meteorology then decided she liked to write novels better. can you tell why i love that??? but this book was a complete disappointment. None of the tension was there between the heroine and her hero. The conflict was too convoluted, and the resolution left me still feeling unresolved. And before i make this next statement allow me to say that a well-pla...more

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Jun 02, 2008 Trin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, american-lit

Like its predecessor, Poison Study, this book is not very well-written, but still quite entertaining and fun. I liked it less than the first book in the series, mostly because the best characters—Yelena’s love interest, Valek, whom Snyder succeeds in making seem genuinely dangerous (in an admittedly “fanon version of Snape” sort of way); and Yelena’s buddies, the “we’re totally doing each other” duo of Ari and Janco—were absent for the first half of the novel. By herself, learning about her spe...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Beth Cato rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in, 2011, fantasy, study, series

Yelena was raised in an abusive orphanage and grew to become the commander's food taster. She discovered two things: she was not an orphan but kidnapped, and her growing skills in magic are illegal within her adoptive home of Ixia. She travels to the south to a homeland she can't remember. Her reunion with her family isn't all joy and mirth, nor is she openly welcomed as a student of magic in the capital. A series of murders draws her attention and she applies her magic in tracking the killer......more

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Aug 09, 2011 Amery Xu added it · review of another edition

Snyder certainly is doing a better job at conforming with the time setting in the novel by masking modern inventions with more primitive solutions. One of Esau's inventions (spinning flower blades) can easily be recognized as the modern fan. However, many of the items (particularly when it comes to Valek) still leaves me unconvinced that such an item could exist in the novel's setting.

Snyder still also focuses on sexual intercourse to hide the plot of the story. Yelena has intercourse with Vale...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Ioet rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been debating whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. On the one hand, MAGIC STUDY held my attention unwaveringly. I swept right through, oohed and aahed when crazy things happened, and all that jazz. On the other hand, whenever I really took a step back and looked at what I was reading, I just didn't know where the appeal came from![return][return]The return of some old characters from the first novel is a little disappointing, maybe because there's no conflict at all with them; the real confli...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Odd Oddtest rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, socialism

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Apr 26, 2013 Phae Grande rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sub-par-young-adult, why-did-i-read-this

I read all three books back to back. Admittedly I was really bored and was just raiding my little sisters bookshelf for something interesting.

Poison study had an interesting concept, and I liked parts of it. Yelena's relationship with Valek seemed... fabricated. I didn't feel any sparks between them, when she drunkenly tried to seduce him, after others had pointed out that hey they were hot for each other, I was like 'huh what?'. At no point did she seem to admire either his looks, personality o...more

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About Maria V. Snyder

Maria V. Snyder earned an MA in Popular Fiction Writing from Seton Hill University. Her freelance articles appear in magazines and newspapers, and she enjoys teaching fiction writing classes at the local college.

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Quotes from Magic Study

“Living is a risk," I snapped at him. "Every decision, every interaction, every step, every time you get out of bed in the morning, you take a risk. To survive is to know you're taking that risk and to not get out of bed clutching illusions of safety.” — 239 people liked it

“He made a weak attempt to look innocent, but I knew better. "Should I guess how many concealed weapons you have or should I strip search you?"
"A strip search is the only way to be absolutely certain." Valek's deep blue eyes danced with delight.” — 183 people liked it

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Magic Study (Study #2)

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