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Poison Study

(Poison Study #1)

Maria V. Snyder (Goodreads Author)

4.11 · Rating details · 142,074 ratings · 11,765 reviews

Choose: A quick death… or slow poison...

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 ...more

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Paperback, 427 pages

Published March 1st 2007 by Mira (first published September 27th 2005)

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· 142,074 ratings · 11,765 reviews

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Feb 25, 2015 Sasha Alsberg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

SO SO SO SO GOOD! Yelena was amazing and had such great character development in the story. The romance took the back seat in the book and instead focused a lot about the conflict at hand. So good and Valek....SWOON!!
I just got the second book in the trilogy Magic Study and cannot wait to read it!
I'll be talking about Poison Study in my March Wrap Up video!

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Jul 15, 2014 Katerina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, assassins

“Poisoned, pursued and living with a psychopath. Not what I would consider the good life. Death has its perks.”

Well living with ~~a psychopath~~ Valek is a perk in my humble opinion.

The story
Yelena is waiting to be executed and she's made peace with that, but then the Commander's right hand (who also happens to be an assassin) approaches her with an offer; she can either be executed as planned or she can become the Commander's new food taster. Yelena naturally picks the latest and s ...more

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Nov 16, 2008 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Fans of fantasy romantic adventure

Shelves: favorites, nerd-prof-scientist-genius-geek, scary-sexy-cool-dangerous-hero, spell-out-september, sci-fi-group-read-august-2010, heroine-i-adore, supercouple, capable-heroine, magic, fantasy

I finished this book on Friday, and I took all weekend to decide what I wanted to say in my review. Let me start by saying that Poison Study is written in a very elemental fashion. If you are a reader who likes flowery, descriptive writing, this might throw you for a loop initially. The story is told inelaborately, and there is no hesitation in describing the ugliness of Yelena's situation. When I met Yelena, she was taken out of her prison cell, where she had languished for the better part of a I finished this book on Friday, and I took all weekend to decide what I wanted to say in my review. Let me start by saying that Poison Study is written in a very elemental fashion. If you are a reader who likes flowery, descriptive writing, this might throw you for a loop initially. The story is told inelaborately, and there is no hesitation in describing the ugliness of Yelena's situation. When I met Yelena, she was taken out of her prison cell, where she had languished for the better part of a year, and was prepared to meet the executioner. I can't say I've read too many books that started this way. I was hooked right then and there. Instead of seeing Yelena get executed, she is taken to the office of the man who will cause a profound change in her life, Valek. Yelena was offered the opportunity to escape a quick execution. She could undertake the training as a food taster, which was not without risk, and if she survived, she would spend her life risking death on a regular basis. Typically the life of a food taster is very short. But, it's a lot longer than instant death. Yelena thought things through and decided she'd rather take her chances as a food taster.

From the beginning, I was interested in Yelena's story. She was a young woman who had ended up in a very dire situation (not all of her making), but was willing to own up to the life she'd taken. She never made excuses for her actions, although the reasons were valid. With the murder she committed, she felt as though her soul had been lost. And yet, some part of her refused to give up.

This book brings to mind the aphorism that "Justice is Blind." More and more I wonder if justice really should be blind. Those who enforce the law make their verdicts on cases based on the evidence presented. Yet, they don't always consider the underlying reasons why a person commits a crime. In the eyes of an omniscient diety, this makes perfect sense, because that Supreme Being sees all things. But, humans don't have that all-seeing perception. Is it fair for a woman to be sentenced to death for trying to protect herself and her loved ones, for killing a man who brutally tortured and raped her? According to the strict laws of Ixia, murder outside of war is considered a capital offense. From the moment that Yelena took the life of the son of General Brazell, her life was forfeit.

I believe in second chances. I just do. I know that we all fall and fail, and while I think some crimes are extremely heinous, I cannot let go of my belief that everyone deserves the right to make amends. I was happy that Valek gave Yelena the opportunity to live. Yet, Yelena will face more trials with her second chance. And she is put in a position to save the Commander who she serves as food-taster, and to prevent Ixia from falling prey to a conspiracy that involves key members of the government.

Poison Study was a very readable, fascinating, enjoyable adventure. I loved seeing Yelena come into her own. It was clear that she'd always been a strong person, and her strength of character and will is what allowed herself to emerge from the fires that had potential to destroy her. Instead, she was honed by those fires and made stronger.

I'm not very good at political stuff. I have my own way of looking at things, and it makes my interpretation of political stances, parties, affiliations, and governmental structures very against type. I think it was interesting to see the inner workings of the system that the Commander had set up through Yelena's eyes. In many ways, going from a monarchy to what appeared to be a dictatorship was an improvement. However, there were many restrictions imposed on the people as a result of that same government. Opportunities were open that weren't before. The government was set up to encourage fairness and to discourage waste. The downside was, anytime you have people in a system, it's going to be flawed, because people are flawed. So this system was not perfect. Through Yelena's eyes, I was able to see this all playing out.

I started this review by saying that this book was written with a simple use of language. I found that this narrative style was a bit deceptive. You might think this story is basic on first glance, but that's far from the truth. There is a lot going on here. I liked that Ms. Snyder left it up to the reader to interpret the events through her own eyes. I like how she slowly reveals aspects of the characters until the fullest picture comes to mind. That was the best way to write about a character like Valek. When he comes on the scene, he doesn't seem that grand. He seems like a puppet in the political structure of Ixia. But, if I had continued to see him that way, I would have been missing out on a lot. You see, Valek is not the puppet. He's the puppetmaster. He is an extremely intelligent and cunning spymaster, a swordsman without equal, and a deadly assassin. He's so matter-of-fact and without flare, so you don't see him truly unless you look deeper. He holds his allegiance to Commander Ambrose very sacredly, but that doesn't mean he doesn't always agree with the rules that the Commander has instituted. That he cannot see justice done in his own way. Through Yelena's eyes, we see how the perception of Valek expands to show who and what he really is. I fell in love with him as Yelena did.

I'm a romantic at heart, and I will always be. I loved the burgeoning relationship between Yelena and Valek. How they slowly worked their way into each others' hearts, through proximity and the fact that they saw something in each other that resulted in an irresistible draw to each other. It's clear from the beginning, through the eyes of others around Yelena and Valek, and through Valek's actions, that he cherishes Yelena. It's a subtle but at the same time, pretty obvious thing. In my opinion, it took a lot of writing skill to convey this to the reader, and Ms. Snyder did an excellent job.

Poison Study was a grand adventure in the style of the classic adventure novels. The fight scenes are well-written, and the danger elements are exciting and involving. Being Yelena is a dangerous proposition, because Brazell is determined to see her dead for killing his son, and continually uses underhanded methods to do it. Also because she lives in dangerous times, and in an environment fraught with intrigue. I liked that Valek saved Yelena several times, because it showed the intensity of his regard for her, but I also liked that many other times, Yelena was able to save herself through her intelligence, quick-thinking, and through her developing skills at self-defense. Yelena views herself as a small person in the scheme of things, but she had an important role in preventing a very ugly conspiracy from coming to fruition. She effects change by doing what she feels is right, and because of that, she gains the respect of those who had previously viewed her as a cold-blooded murderess. Her actions don't occur in a vacuum, and they often result in helping/protecting others in various ways.

The fantastic elements are subtle but integral. I liked how Yelena's magic was instrinsic to her, a part of her that was dormant, emerging when she needs it. I loved seeing her become a capable and deadly fighter. She hates the idea of killing, but killing is necessary in the dangerous world she lives in. She had to come to realize this, or she couldn't love Valek, a man who kills for a living, and must do it without letting remorse weigh him down.

Poison Study was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Like many unexpected favorites, it snuck in there on me. But when I finished this book, I had a big smile on my face. ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Jo rated it it was ok

Recommended to Jo by: Catie

"It's a dirty way to fight, but I'm late for lunch."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I think I’m broken… why didn’t I love this one?

High Points.
The premise. Poisons. The setting. The baddies. The magic. Valek. Close combat. Acrobatics. Fire festivals. Valek without his shirt on. Ari. Janco. Maren. Tree climbing. Chocolate. Delicious food. Kick ass ladies. Secret Valek without his shirt…in a pile of hay.

Low Points.
The narration. I know Yelena is supposed to be educated but I found it difficult t ...more

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Dec 29, 2018 NReads rated it liked it

“Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust, even harder.”

2.5 stars

It's not that I didn't like the book, it was quite greatly written and the story was interesting, yet I couldn't connect to the characters at all. I just didn't care for them a bit.

In my opinion the story had only one peak and it was around the end, which I enjoyed but other than that it was bland and uneventful or filled with minor events.

“Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It's called living, and if you want to bo

...more

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Apr 26, 2020 jessica rated it really liked it

this is not the most original story out there, but i still liked it. i think thats why we, as readers, develop tastes and preferences, so we can visit new stories with familiar themes and tropes and still be entertained by them.

the characters are likeable, the world-building is decent, the storyline is easy to follow and fun to discover, and the writing has a nice flow to it. again, nothing unique or spectacular stands out for me to note, but this has all of the components that i am well-acquai ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Emily May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2011, fantasy

Poison Study is easily one of the best young adult books I have read this year. So far, the genre has become increasingly disappointing to me and I was beginning to lose faith in novels marketed at older teens. What I really don't understand, though, is why Snyder decided* to make Poison Study a young adult book. In my opinion, even though it was good, the book could have been even better if she'd allowed for Yelena/Valek smut and instead marketed the book to a more adult audience. It's not even as if the subject matter was child-friendly, torture and rape-loving villains aren't exactly what comes to mind when you're writing for a young audience. It could have been sexier, grittier and just all-round better as an adult novel.

As a welcome addition the fantasy genre, I was also surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. Fantasy tends to conjure up unwelcome memories of Tolkien and Pratchett, not to mention the elves, goblins and dwarves that often feature in the genre. Never did it for me, I'm afraid. The only fantasy books that have ever really impressed me are those by J.K. Rowling and Paul Stewart, and they were more focused on characters at least resembling humans for the most part, as was Poison Study.

I have to say that I loved Valek as a character and was pleasantly surprised to see how well the romance between him and Yelena worked. It didn't even remotely occur to me at first that he would be the love interest of the novel because he was seemingly selfish, violent and cruel. And also coldly devoid of any redeeming emotion. The way that turned around, through the humour that came out in him as the novel progressed to the multiple times he risked himself to help Yelena (and yet still didn't make her come across as the damsel in distress), was told really well. The rest of the novel aside, he himself is one of the best parts of any book I've read lately.

What I didn't much care for was the drawn out plot with the Criollo(?), it seemed to take too long to get around to something that wasn't particularly interesting; but don't get me wrong, plenty of other stuff is going on with Yelena overcoming her past trauma and the blooming attraction between her and Valek so that the story never really drags. This is usually the part where I say "So... I will definitely be reading the next book in the series", but I actually think I'm going to leave Magic Study and Fire Study after acquiring advice from Tatiana's review and, strangely, a small lilac-haired old woman at the library.

*EDIT Tatiana has informed me that it wasn't Snyder's idea but her publishers... my apologies, Snyder ;) ...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-ya, best-of-the-best, some-kinda-magic, ya, fantasy, check-and-recheck, cover-whore, best-series-ya

12/29/17 - ON SALE for $1.99:

http://amzn.to/2xmtT6E

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

4.5 stars

I've been wanting to reread this series for like two years. No lie.

It's been 6 or 8 years since the last time I read it, and I remembered really liking it, but not much else. But guess what? NEW BOOK! So yeah, just prior to the release of Shadow Study seemed like an excellent time to get my reread on, and guys . . . it was even better than I remembered it.

That. Has. NEVER. Happened.

Yelena, a self-confes ...more

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Jun 01, 2009 Julie Kagawa rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. I loved the heroine; stubborn, tenacious, determined. I loved the world that Snyder created. I loved loved loved the main love interest, Valek. Dark, stoic assassin? Check. Me swooning throughout the whole book because I have a thing for assassins? Check. (Yeah, I know. I need to have my head examined.)

But, the relationship between Yelena and Valek was only part of this wonderful story. The detail put into the poisons was facinating. The entire world was facinating. I literall ...more

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Mar 03, 2018 Helena of Eretz ✰ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: hardback, new-adult, high-fantasy, favourites

In my personal opinion...this is what Throne of Glass (published seven years after this) should have been. Poison Study is easily one of the best-written and underrated high fantasy, young adult series that I’ve come across, and I’m so happy that I FINALLY gave this a go, as it’s been collecting dust on my TBR for YEARS. After a while, YA high fantasy tends to become oversaturated with similar storylines, but this was SO ORIGINAL and I LOVED IT. I also enjoyed how character-driven this novel was In my personal opinion...this is what Throne of Glass (published seven years after this) should have been. Poison Study is easily one of the best-written and underrated high fantasy, young adult series that I’ve come across, and I’m so happy that I FINALLY gave this a go, as it’s been collecting dust on my TBR for YEARS. After a while, YA high fantasy tends to become oversaturated with similar storylines, but this was SO ORIGINAL and I LOVED IT. I also enjoyed how character-driven this novel was, rather than emphasising the fantasy aspects (although magic is very much prevalent).

Yelena was a clever and determined young woman, who was given the chance to escape execution, in exchange for taking up the position as the Commander’s food taster, a potentially lethal occupation. She consistently fought over and over again for her own survival, never allowing herself to wallow in self-pity. She took accountability for her actions, even admitting to the crime of murder, and never attempted to conjure up excuses in order to escape the noose. When there were numerous attempts on her life, she went out of her way to learn how to best defend herself, from hand-to-hand combat to knives. When there were instances where she needed to get past locked doors, she endeavoured to learn how to pick locks for herself. She was SO ambitious and resourceful! She never waited for any knight-in-shining-armour to come and save her. She did the saving for herself! ;) Honestly though, I’d like to know how she wasn’t suffering from PTSD, considering her tragic past... We definitely need to see more characters like her in YA literature, who make make decisions based upon their brains, rather than their hearts. Talk about a fierce 19-year old! :D

Valek was also a pleasant surprise. Initially, I was quite indifferent to him because he treated Yelena quite cruelly and poorly (since he saw her as nothing more than a murderer). However, as the plot progressed, I really came to like him. He is a deadly assassin (what a hypocrite, haha) and the Commander’s loyal, right-hand man. Although I will admit that the revelation that he was Yelena’s love interest definitely took me by surprise (so you do not need to worry about instalove!). I loved seeing how he fell in love with Yelena’s loyalty and inner-strength. I think that they make a lovely pair, yet they are also different enough to balance each other out. I can’t wait to see their romance develop over the course of the future books in this series!

Therefore, I will recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys books about fantasy worlds, magic systems, court politics, soldiers, assassins, beautiful writing, and strong character development. If you haven’t gotten to this series, which seems to have been forgotten among the depths of YA high fantasy, you should definitely give this a go as soon as you can! :) ...more

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Jun 25, 2007 Letitia rated it liked it · review of another edition

I am torn on reviewing this book. On one hand it had the potential to be the best fantasy novel I have ever read. The world was intriguing, the characters endearing, the plot fascinating. Beyond that, the author managed to explore fascinating themes of mortality, right of choice, overcoming psychological demons, and tests of loyalty. I kept willing the writing to be better than it was. I would really love to see this author mature and develop her skill into something really worthwhile, because h ...more

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Mar 10, 2020 Melanie rated it liked it

Shelves: magic, read-in-2020, dark, fantasy, romance, quarantine-reads, audible

the highest of 3 stars! i really enjoyed this a lot!

Trigger and content warnings for rape in the past, attempted rape, mentioning of sexual assault, captivity, torture, violence, kidnapping, thoughts of suicide, and the misgendering of a trans character.

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I read this for the Backlist Readathon! ...more

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Apr 09, 2019 Zainab rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dark

I feel like this is one of those books that a lot of people have heard of but haven't really read.
Or
Maybe that's just me trying to make myself feel better about not reading it before lol.

This book was weird-in a good way. It's very dark and if you know me, you know I love dark books so there's that BUT the love interest? I don't know, man. At first Valek is described as a man man so in my mind he was automatically above 40 (I am very well aware of the fact that that is not the age criteria for a ...more

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Mar 20, 2009 Maria V. Snyder rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Re-read this for a book discussion with my Soulfinders reading group on Facebook! I was pleasantly surprised by how well written it is. It was my first attempt to write a novel. It took me 3 years and I learned a lot while writing it. There's some rookie mistakes, but not too embarrassing overall. The groups going to do Magic Study next.

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May 25, 2016 elena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

❝Poisoned, pursued and living with a psychopath. Not what I would consider the good life. Death has its perks.❞

Having Throne of Glass vibes since reading page 1 up to page 18, I knew I would enjoy this book quite a lot. Even though this was written long before ToG, I knew it would be a little similar since the beginning it started off like in ToG. Yelena was in chains and she was taken to the General, where she was also made an offer as to being the food taster for the Commander of Ixia or being killed.

Make a choice.

Yelena was a different heroine than others that I've read about. She started off weak and like a stumble person, but she faced her challenges and tried to not get in the way of other peoples lives, taking care of her business and trying to make sure she needs to accomplish what she needs to finish. She turned out to be someone not knowing how to be a poison taster into becoming a badass woman, still learning from her mistakes and being trained and actually accepting them. She was being trained as a food taster but also training in general as in physical. She was someone who didn't just want to be able to defend herself from not dying by tasting something but at least also from not dying by being killed or stabbed by someone. She wanted to know physical training and wanted to learn how to fight. Somehow, she kept both trainings balanced and was able to keep her mind on both.

Janco and Ari are definitely friendship goals! I wish I had friends like them. They were respectful, caring, positive and were able to teach Yelena the basics of fighting and how to handle it. They showed sighs of respect since the beginning and didn't show any kind of hatred towards Yelena even though she embarrassed them a little. They were shown to care about themselves but also about Yelena and were there to help her in any way that she needed it!

As to one of our favorites, Valek! Everyone is literally in love with Valek. He's a man in his 30's that is completely loyal to the Commander and never fails to disappoint him. He sure didn't disappoint me as well! He showed care as well to Yelena and got frustrated at times but gave her patience and had patience with himself as well. He showed Yelena the different kinds of poisons and how to be the taster and how everything's done, only ending up falling in love with her as she did with him. He was honestly in the perfect age and perfect rank to become the captain of the guard or the most trusted man by the Commander, being an adult and knowing what he is doing. The different thing about this book is how we really find out about Valek, his past and his swoon-worthy appearance towards the end. I was actually glad of that! In most YA novels, we find out about the characters apperance and past in the beginning, not really finding out anything about the present since it's not really taken as an interest anymore. But Valek is different and he expresses his feelings and emotions towards the end; Or I guess more towards the middle, but everything is actually different. It's told in ways it isn't told in other novels! Maria did not disappoint with this one and I'd like to thank her one day for blessing me with Valek.

“Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
“But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”
“That sounds more like a poison than a person,” was all I could say. His confession had both shocked and thrilled me.
“Exactly,” Valek replied. “You have poisoned me.”

As to talking about the plot, everything was honestly written perfectly and beautifully! The beginning, the middle, the ending. Everything made sense and came to and end where it's kind of a cliff hanger but it's not at the same time. I had heard so much about this one and I don't blame my friends for giving out such great and positive reviews about this one, only ending up devouring the next books and talking about their love and feels about it. I'm excited to start Magic Study and then Fire Study, moving on to the Glass Series and then Soulfinders series. I'm excited to see how Valek and Yelena's relationship takes a step forward, I'm excited to find out how Yelena becomes a stronger yet lovable heroine, and I'm excited to see what else Maria has hidden out there in those other books.

*Thank you Ashley for recommending me this series!* ...more

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Sep 08, 2020 Nenia ✨️ Socially Awkward Trash Panda ✨️ Campbell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-romance, kissing-books, fantasy, kindle-clean-out-club, hero-hall-of-fame, best-romance, best-scifi-fantasy

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Okay, so this is what THRONE OF GLASS wants to be when it snuggles up in bed at night in its little pink unicorn pajamas. POISON STUDY is a dark romantic fantasy novel with a strong but vulnerable heroine who has overcome incredible personal tragedy and has abilities she cannot quite understand, and a brooding hero who looks great in uniform and is as handsome as he is deadly. As if that in and of itself weren't recipe for total and comp ...more

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Jun 10, 2015 Nicole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2017, ya

What do you ask for usually in a ~~young-~~adult fantasy book?

➳ Relatable and actually smart heroine? ✔✔✔✔✔
➳ A sexy witty love interest who is ALSO an assassin (that's a plus!)? ✔✔✔✔✔✔✔
➳ World building? ✔✔✔✔
➳ An enjoyable story? ✔✔✔✔✔
➳ A good plot—one that doesn’t stray too far off topic and does progress throughout the story? ✔✔✔✔✔
➳ More actions less romance? ✔✔✔✔✔
➳ A well-written book? ✔✔✔✔✔

I can go on all day. It's been a long while since I loved a book this much, from page one till the end.

Yele

I can go on all day. It's been a long while since I loved a book this much, from page one till the end.

Yelena was sentenced to death because she has killed someone. She's been in the dungeon for a year now, waiting for execution. But when she's offered a chance to live, she didn't think twice about it and accepted even though she knew the risks. She has to be the Commander's food taster and thus study all kinds of poison with Valek (my heart).

Yet she didn't just kill someone, but one of the generals son who took her under his wing when she was a little. Sounds harsh? Not when the father and the son hide behind manners -in front of the Commander, at least. Therefore he wants his revenge.

Yelena is the caught in the midst of a subtle mayhem of politics, spies, assassins, conspiracies, secrets, treacheries, and magic where she tries her best to survive.

I didn't start Poison Study expecting to be flabbergasted. I was expecting something good but nothing mindblowing. And now all I can think of, why the heck didn't I read this book sooner. I cherished every word of it. Yet, this way no young-adult. Yelena is 19 yo and Valek around 33, it's illogical for this to be shelved as YA. I read that Maria V Snyder didn't write this book as a young-adult but the publishers chose to. While it didn't have any sex scenes, this book included rape and other sexual assaults and form of sadistic violence that we don't find in this genre. I wish this book was written as an adult fantasy only, we would have more smut scenes. ~~I craved those.~~

Let's start with Yelena, she is far from being your usual young-adult heroine, smart, wise and strong, she tried her best to survive all the hardships. She started to train, to learn useful abilities, and so much more so she can be able to be independent. Her character development was obvious, even if I liked her from the beginning and found it easy to relate to her, she fascinated toward the end. One of the best thing about her, that we didn't hear endless praise of her beauty, she was pretty but unlike other heroines nowadays, not everyone she meets in amazed by her appearance. She also isn't white! Snyder did a decent job in mixing color skins -not that people's outside looks really mattered. I don't think I loved any character because of that in this book because honestly, I don't remember what the secondary characters looked like and it's not the author's fault because she did describe them when Yelena first saw them. And it stopped there. Sometimes authors relentlessly remind us of their characters looks to cover the lack of depth in their personality.

Valek. Now Valek is my new book boyfriend. And no, I don't share. Undoubtedly, he was my favorite character in the book.
I just love mysterious men and on top of that he's an assassin! Sexiness overload! I fell in love with him with Yelena, slowly at first then all at once. He was kind in his own way, sweet, caring, brave, loving, loyal, daring, smart, and so much more! At first glance, you may think that he's only a tool who execute the Commander's orders but when you look in the depth of the book, you see that he's the mastermind. While he's loyal to death, he isn't blind. Both, Valek and Yelena know that the law, the Code of Behavior, has its flaws (we'll get to this later). He tries to find loopholes in his own way. He's just wonderful! Even though he prefer to avoid unnecessary deaths, he will do whatever he can to achieve his goal without remorse. Unlike Yelena, who feels terribly guilty after killing someone, even if she had no other choice.

Valek and Yelena are now one of my favorite OTPs. Ever. I ship them so hard! Yes, he is 14 years older than her but I didn't find it wrong. I didn't mind the age difference yet I usually, do. Yelena wasn't childish, she was mature and old beyond her years. They understood each other and fought for their love, even before they admitted their feelings for themselves. They just make the perfect couple together. I loved the slow romance and the tension building.

Many would say the story was slow at first. While nothing major was happening in the beginning, I still couldn't put the book down. That should tell you enough. The writing style was compelling and I couldn't get enough of our characters. And I'm not only speaking about Yelena and Valek but also about secondary characters, especially Janco and Ari. I adored those two. Admired their loyalty and faith in our girl. They did their best to improve her self-defense skills.

While the Commander wasn't my favorite part of the story, we can't deny his leadership skills. The law is binding and even him, the one who promulgated it, isn't above the Code of Behavior. That doesn't mean this law was fair. It's illogical to execute a person who killed another even without meaning to. I really admired Snyder for making a law to her own world, being a law student and all, it's something I don't see often even if it wasn't anywhere near complex enough. However, I think she wanted us to see that even laws can be wrong. Even the Commander who defeated the tyrant king and made a new country, is also a dictator. The fact that he is a good ruler (with a bad Code) doesn't affect that truth, not even known to the people. I always like to have some politics in my fiction books, it's one of the reasons why I love A Song of Ice and fire that much, and even though this book nothing that heavy, it was appreciated. We also didn't have a complex world building but this book is so fun if you're looking for a light fantasy. I mean sure it gets dark sometimes but other than the imagined world and the magic touch, we don't have many fantasy elements, just to clarify this book.

***Minor spoilers ahead***
When you rate a book, the highest you can give is 5 stars on GR. And to express your endless love and admiration for it, you add it to your favorites. Those, at least to me, are as flawless as possible. I debated adding this book to my favorites or not but I didn't because I did have some issues with it. I was soo in love with it when I finished it but when you start analyzing the book and your cynical part terminates the fangirl, you try to be more objective. I don't think anyone can be objective while reviewing a book except for some basic stuff because it's a matter of taste. I did my best, though. I'm not going to dwell much on the negatives but I want to say that it felt rushed toward the end. The book could have done better with 30 or so pages because everything was happening so fast. Especially the romance.(view spoiler). If these two things were handled in a better way, this book would have easily made it to my favorites shelf. I also wanted more smut! Can't believe I'm admitting this but I did. It's NOT something bad just a wish because i loved them together a lot. But nothing major is better than cringy ones (no I don't mean another author and you probably know who).

I recommend this book to everyone, especially Throne of Glass and Uprooted fans. Before I read some reviews of this book, I thought I was the only one who saw similarities with Throne of Glass but I was not. I think Sarah J. Maas was inspired by Poison Study, both girls were in dungeons sentenced to death and had the opportunity to work for the ruler. But while ToG failed to deliver likable characters, especially heroines, Snyder created a lovable one. I also feel like I should mention that this book was written in 2005. 2005, okay? Before all this YA? hype. And for Uprooted fans, one of my all-time favorite books, I just know that like it even though they don't have many similarities aside from the awesome characters.

Now the hard part is continuing this series. This book was so good that it's hard for the sequel to match it but after reading many negative reviews even from the fans of the first book, I can't help but feel hesitant to continue it. I will, of course, read the next two books and soon but I'm expecting something bad so *fingers crossed*.

This book can be read as a stand-alone, as in the story develops and the main issue at the time is resolved, we don't have a cliffhanger but of course, the story didn't end here.

PS: Don't read this book if you have finals or you're so busy. I did. And I read in one sitting. One more page became one more chapter until I was finally done. And I didn't want to finish it. And I didn't study that day although the exam was two days later. Bad Nicole. Bad.

...more

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Oct 02, 2013 Riley rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This was just as good the second time!

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Dec 13, 2018 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, read-in-2018

3.5 stars

This book isn't a low-ish rating because it had bad things occurring, but I feel like it started out at a 3 stars at a baseline rating and just didn't do much to make it any higher of a rating. I listened to this on audio, which is different because I typically get lost when I listen to fantasy on audio, but the cast of characters in this was actually pretty easy to keep clear, the magic system was comprehensible, and the plot and subplots were paced great. However, this didn't satisfy ...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Tamora Pierce rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fantasy-ya-yr

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be adult or teen fantasy, and I don't really care. It's just plain good. Yelena, sentenced to die, is offered the chance to live as the Commander's taster. She could be poisoned at any moment, and if she tries to escape, she could die of the poison given to her at her first meeting with the Commander's chief of intelligence (he gives her the antidote daily). When she accepts, she is pitchforked into a world where she cannot tell who is an ally and who is an en ...more

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Aug 06, 2010 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: kings-and-queens, 2000-2005, ebooks, fantasy, audiobook, ya

2.5 to 3.0 stars. Let me begin this review by saying that I think I’m becoming much harder to please when it comes to fantasy stories so please keep that in mind. Having read quite a few, the standard fantasy plot elements just don’t produce the same warm and fuzzy feeling that I used to experience when reading these kinds of stories. I must have hit my tolerance threshold for the fantasy “drug” because I find that I am needing greater and greater amounts of awesomeness in order to get that ...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Kainat 《HUFFLEPUFF & PROUD》 rated it really liked it

Shelves: love-hate

4.5 Stars.
Full review to come.

Ari and Janco are my favorite!! Of course I love Valek and Yalena, but Ari and Janco are my puppies!! I guess I have a thing for adorable/funny twins!! So much love!!!!!

It's been more than 7 years since i read this book. Time to finish this series!! I've had these books for a while now, the pages have turned yellowish, and they smell like old books. I love it.
First line of the book:

"Locked in darkness that surrounded me like a coffin,
i had nothing to distract m ...more

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Aug 03, 2015 Simona B rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2000, in-english, fantastic-lit-and-co

"Poisoned, pursued and living with a psychopath. Not what I would consider the good life. Death has its perks."

This is to hard to rate. The originality deserves a full four, but the the issues I had with the writining make it impossible for me to grant it. 3.75 because I enjoyed it a lot? But rounded down to three because it would have taken so little for it to be better, and that leaves a bitter, bitter taste in my mouth.

•The story had me hooked practically immediately. I knew I would be swept ...more

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Jul 16, 2015 Lainey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Oh wow, like, really. Wow. This was seriously everything I wanted and needed in a fantasy read. I'm just so damn happy that I have the other two books in the trilogy so I don't have to wait with ordering them.This will definitely be one of the my favorite series I've read all year.

Poison Study follows a young woman named Yelena, who has been in the Commander's dungeons for almost a year upon killing a man. The day she is set for execution, she is given a choice. She could either go through with Oh wow, like, really. Wow. This was seriously everything I wanted and needed in a fantasy read. I'm just so damn happy that I have the other two books in the trilogy so I don't have to wait with ordering them.This will definitely be one of the my favorite series I've read all year.

Poison Study follows a young woman named Yelena, who has been in the Commander's dungeons for almost a year upon killing a man. The day she is set for execution, she is given a choice. She could either go through with her execution or she could be the new food taster for the Commander. Bet you can guess when she chose or else this book would have only been ten pages long.

Holy shit, I loved this book. Yelena has quickly become one of my favorite female protagonists because she's badass without Snyder shoving it down your throat that she's badass. A lot about this character is SHOWN to you instead of TOLD to you, which as a reader, I appreciate so much. The book is also told in first perspective, which sometimes I find it easier for me to grow annoyed with the main character because first perspective is so limited, but I LOVED this perspective and I loved Yelena's voice. You really see her growth too from this dungeon rat to this all-around badass who is still learning but can hold her own. There's quite a bit of the whole "training montage" happening in this story. Most of the time in stories, I hate when we go through the stereotypical training sequences and I was nervous at first because not only does Yelena go through poison training, she also goes through fighting training. BUT Snyder never makes you feel like all you're doing it reading about Yelena training. Somehow, she writes a perfect balance between training scenes and summarizing that totally works for the story and HOW DOES SHE DO THAT? I've never read a book with that perfect of a balance.

Valek. Ohmygod, Valek. What a hunk of man meat. So while I just recently learned that this series isn't actually YA, but adult, it makes more sense (even though I feel like this series is marketed towards a YA audience) do you know how many times I praised at the fact that Valek wasn't an eighteen year old? Valek is the Commander's head of security, captain of the guard, whatever you want to call that position. He's in his early thirties which completely fits the rank he hold and the skills he has. Too often in YA do I see eighteen or nineteen years old controlling armies or head assassin or captain of the guard and I always think that's unrealistic - even in a fantasy. Valek is stone-cold but he is so well-rounded. We find out so much about him through the observations and snooping. Also. Can we appreciate the fact that the "trope housekeeper" that Valek and the Commander trust the most didn't give Yelena the expositional story on Valek's past? PRAISE. PRAISE. I hate when an author brings in a housekeeper character just to do that.

Moving on to the story and the plot. What I liked about the story was how layered it was. There was new things being introduced, history being told to us, and while the summary is extremely straight-forward to a point where you could feel this story could be a standalone, the new aspects including political corruption, magic, and the plethora of other territories, completely introduces the reader into this world that has many stories to tell and more directions Yelena's story could go. Snyder balanced flashbacks really well too. She gave us insight into Yelena's past that put her in the dungeon without overbearing us with too much past scenes. Based off the ending, I can't wait to pick up the second book. I really enjoyed the journey of the first book. I felt like it was paced perfectly, not at all rushed, and the writing was completely effortless.

I'm definitely going to recommend this book. Especially if you find yourself having the same reading style as I do. ...more

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Sep 03, 2010 Lyndsey rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-high-fantasy, reviewed-2010, my-top-fantasy, reviewed-4-stars

One of these things does not belong here:

Well, one of these things does not belong in a fantasy novel. Hint - it is small, electronic, and blue!

More on that later. So this is another one of many books...

A story about an orphaned girl, whose been tortured and basically given a rotten hand that's full of all jokers, most likely dealt by some sort of sleight of hand magician or something. Rough life. Blada-blada-blah. After mysteries are introduced and back stories told, she encounters a mysterious ...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2011, paranormal-general, huge-disappointments, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This review is for all three books, since I think most people will check Book 1 to see if they should begin a series.

This series has a really fascinating set-up, and I liked a number of the characters, including Valek and Janco and Ari. It took me a long time to get through the first book, however, and I probably would not have kept going if I hadn't purchased all three books as a Kindle bundle.

I found the language difficult to get used to, since it veered between a rather mannered, old-fashione This review is for all three books, since I think most people will check Book 1 to see if they should begin a series.

This series has a really fascinating set-up, and I liked a number of the characters, including Valek and Janco and Ari. It took me a long time to get through the first book, however, and I probably would not have kept going if I hadn't purchased all three books as a Kindle bundle.

I found the language difficult to get used to, since it veered between a rather mannered, old-fashioned style (no doubt to make it seem as if it might have taken place in a different time/place) and very young, very modern teen-speak. I had a hard time remembering that Yelena was supposed to be 18 since some circumstances and things make her seem very adult (her job, her boyfriend, etc) while others made her seem like a 13-year-old (the language, many of her decisions, etc). As the books went on, the action and plotting became less believable and pretty scattered, and I felt less and less engaged by what was going on.

The biggest flaw, however, was the way the books were written. While there's decent sentence structure and such, there are often long, unbroken blocks of text where things are explained or described at great length. Most importantly, there is a weird emotional distance in the way the author writes and you never really feel attached to Yelena or empathize with what's going on. There is a lot of telling rather than showing, and many significant events (reuniting with a mother and father you haven't seen in 14 years, for example) aren't written with the kind of impact you would expect. Many things are just plain illogical, too--I mean, if you hadn't so much as kissed a boy or looked into his eyes longingly even once, would you really just reach around and undo his pants in a time/setting like this? Many of these set-ups just don't ring true.

Even things that start out sort of cute (Yelena talks to her horse) become ridiculous by the third book. What began as the projection of simple thoughts and images and communication spun into the horse providing her with an idea for bribing another character with honey, the horse taking revenge on someone on Yelena's behalf, etc. Waaay over the top.

I really wanted to like this series, but in the end, it just didn't do it for me. ...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Maria V. Snyder rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Poison Study just came out in Turkish as Zehir Ustasi (Poison Master)! Pretty cool - eh?

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Oct 16, 2018 Sabrina marked it as to-read

I want to know who this couple that everyone love is.
Very excited.

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Apr 14, 2017 Charlotte rated it did not like it

Shelves: women-and-nb-of-speculative-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
“Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It's called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don't do it halfway. Don't linger in whiner's limbo.”

Welcome back, friends! This post will be about Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study, published in 2005. Spoilers and a discussion of sexual violence and transphobia will follow.

So What's It About?

Sentenced to death for the murder of a General's son, Yelena narrowly escapes her grisly fate thanks to a precipitous offer: in ex ...more

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Apr 09, 2020 Kassidy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Magic, danger, plot twists, slow-burn romance... so so good!! 4.5*, I wish the characters were a little more fleshed out, but I loved this story overall.

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About Maria V. Snyder

Maria V. Snyder

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When Maria V. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting...at all. Bored at work and needing a creative out ...more

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Quotes from Poison Study

“Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.

"But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”

“That sounds more like a poison than a person,” was all I could say. His confession had both shocked and thrilled me.

“Exactly,” Valek replied. “You have poisoned me.” — 989 likes

“Everyone makes choices in life. Some bad, some good. It's called living, and if you want to bow out, then go right ahead. But don't do it halfway. Don't linger in whiner's limbo.” — 799 likes

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