You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster...
With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the fam...
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reviews
Feb 15, 2011
Lyndsey
rated it: 
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 S More...
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 S More...
6 comments
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Feb 01, 2012
Kay
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
3 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 06, 2012
Suzanne the Mighty ~Satin Seductress~
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 09, 2010
Tatiana
rated it:
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 a More...
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 a More...
14 comments
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(28 people liked it)
Jan 04, 2010
Heather
rated it: 
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, intelli More...
Yelena, once resourceful, intelli More...
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(24 people liked it)
Oct 29, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
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 t More...
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 t More...
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(4 people liked it)
Mar 13, 2009
Sheree
rated it: 
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 More...
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 More...
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(9 people liked it)
Jan 06, 2008
Karin
rated it:
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
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(5 people liked it)
Jan 18, 2011
± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ±
rated it:
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...
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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...
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(4 people liked it)
Nov 02, 2011
Cortney
rated it:
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.
Magic Study is pretty much a watered down version of Poison Study, minus Valek.
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Apr 14, 2011
Libby
rated it:
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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Feb 03, 2012
Prangon
rated it:
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 More...
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 More...
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(1 person liked it)
Sep 12, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
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 More...
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 More...
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Nov 21, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
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 t More...
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 t More...
4 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 20, 2011
Galla
rated it:
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 wa More...
Poison Study wa More...
3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 03, 2011
Lisa O.
rated it:
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 Le More...
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 Le More...
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Mar 03, 2011
Jackie
rated it:
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
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 25, 2009
Alaine
rated it:
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 r More...
During this story Yelena's powers develop and she discovers her magical abilities. The suspense is cleverly woven r More...
Apr 01, 2009
Mimi
rated it:
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 wel
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Jun 02, 2008
Trin
rated it:
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
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(3 people liked it)
Aug 09, 2011
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...
Snyder still also focuses on sexual intercourse to hide the plot of the story. Yelena has intercourse with Vale More...
Jun 15, 2011
Ioet
rated it:
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
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Jun 15, 2011
Odd
rated it:
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
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Jan 26, 2012
Debbie
rated it:
3.5 stars
After waiting soooo long to read Poison Study I loved it so much that I dived into Magic Study right away despite my toppling pile of other books I need to read and review. While I enjoyed it I still think Poison Study was by far the better book.
I was dreading that we wouldn’t see Valek as much being as Yelena was going back to her homeland where Valek is pretty much viewed as a demon. I was happily surprised to see Synder managed to work him in and have some inter More...
After waiting soooo long to read Poison Study I loved it so much that I dived into Magic Study right away despite my toppling pile of other books I need to read and review. While I enjoyed it I still think Poison Study was by far the better book.
I was dreading that we wouldn’t see Valek as much being as Yelena was going back to her homeland where Valek is pretty much viewed as a demon. I was happily surprised to see Synder managed to work him in and have some inter More...
Jan 23, 2012
Emily
rated it:
Why I picked it up: It's a sequel. Book 2 in a trilogy, to be exact.
Yelena has been returned to the family she was stolen from when she is six. Her home country of Sitia is foreign to her, but she cannot return to Ixia. She must learn to control her magic as gets reacquainted with her family and her homeland.
I wish I could give this book 3 1/2 stars and I'm still undecided if I should round up or down. I really like Yelena and am glad to spend more time with her, and More...
Yelena has been returned to the family she was stolen from when she is six. Her home country of Sitia is foreign to her, but she cannot return to Ixia. She must learn to control her magic as gets reacquainted with her family and her homeland.
I wish I could give this book 3 1/2 stars and I'm still undecided if I should round up or down. I really like Yelena and am glad to spend more time with her, and More...
Jan 07, 2012
Naynay
rated it:
I can see I am having a love, hate relationship with this series. Let me start by saying I liked it alot better than POISON STUDY, but I still had my issues. I was going to give MAGIC STUDY three stars but as I sat staring at the book and realized I fell in love with the characters this time around. And I was more enchanted with the studies of Magic rather than Poisons.
Yelena I found was much better in MAGIC STUDY. In this book she knew what she had to do and did it without the constant sh More...
Yelena I found was much better in MAGIC STUDY. In this book she knew what she had to do and did it without the constant sh More...
Jan 04, 2012
Shweta's Book Journal
rated it:
Books picks up from where the first book Poison Study leaves. This one is about Yelena's life in Sitia , where most of the magical folk live. Her journey involves getting to know her family , start to understand what magical powers she possesses and along the way fight off a few troubles which seem to follow her wherever she goes.
It had quite a few new characters like Yelena's brother Lief who seems to hate the idea that his lil sister came back from Ixia , a young man Cahil who More...
It had quite a few new characters like Yelena's brother Lief who seems to hate the idea that his lil sister came back from Ixia , a young man Cahil who More...
Dec 11, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
At the end of Poison Study I wanted to retell the story line, I wanted to reread the book, I wanted to read this one so badly I thought I'd cry until my book BFF whipped out Magic Study (I'm borrowing the series from her). The book is a little weak the whole way through, <spoiler> starting with a brother that doesn't make sense and Yelena not spending enough time with her family, to a villain who is Reyad x 10 to Yelena constantly ignoring the advice of her mentor and causing herself to ge
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Dec 03, 2011
Emerald
rated it:
YOU KNOW YOUR LIFE IS BAD WHEN YOU MISS YOUR DAYS AS A POISON TASTER…
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…
Despite the turmoil, she’d eager to start her magic training – especially More...
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…
Despite the turmoil, she’d eager to start her magic training – especially More...
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Sep 26, 2011
Kimberly
rated it:
After reading Poison Study, I began Magic Study with high hopes. It didn't fulfill them. I liked the beginning conflict of Yelena having to learn to fit in with her family and to control her magic, and wished that theme didn't get so overpowered with tracking down the mass mudererer. Which brings me to the next problem. The villain was totally unoriginal. After Poison study, I expected a whole new type of villain, but Snyder didn't have enough creativity for that. The villain of Magic Stud
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