Okay wait a second...

[Samantha The Escapist]

I've not finished so NO SPOILERS PLEASE

But does it seriously say "wal-ah" on page 75? Is that supposed to be like when someone who isn't french says "voila!" which translates to "see there". Don't get me wrong, I see people making that mistake all the time but it seems awfully jarring in a fantasy novel set in a made-up world.

There was actually another couple words derived from french (which I think could have been avoided) as well as quite a few eponyms that all stuck out quite a lot to me.

I suppose there is a certain limitation on this, I wouldn't expect her to choose another word for Silhouette for example, or even leotard or cardigan, but more recent or obvious ones get under my skin. I wish I could remember an example but I wasn't planning to make a post like this till "wal-ah!"

I'm not trying to be super picky because while they are jarring I'm certainly not allowing them to ruin the book or anything, and I understand of course that there is a certain suspension of disbelief required in the first place just to read a fantasy novel in english. Plus it would be impossible to keep tabs on the origin of all words because at the end of the day everything in english came from either someone's name or a word in another language. I just wish she'd omitted certain obvious french words like rendezvous.

Did this stand out to anyone else?

[Demigod of donuts]

I didn't even notice it :) oh well i dont mind

[Teiamarie]

I noticed it briefly but it didn't bother me. A couple of odd words here and there alright but when I tried reading Blood Red Road I had to put the book down because I absolutely could not stand the way Saba spoke. I'm trying to get past that because everybody says it's so good but it'll probably take me a while...

I love the Study Series but I cut my teeth on Touch of Power which is still one of my favorite books and definitely my favorite from Maria V. Snyder!

[Samantha The Escapist]

Yes having gotten most of the way through the Study series I think I'm going to like the Healer series a lot more, the premise is more compelling, all of the characters and while both first installments were written fantastically I feel like Snyder is more likely to maintain her momentum through the Healer series, Magic Study and Fire Study have been fun to read but they're mostly meandering and I think nowhere near the calibre of Poison Study.

[Geena]

I loved this series and I didnt even notice the odd words till you pointed them out!

[Sorrel]

I noticed that she said rendezvous quite a lot and it annoyed me because it was like she was trying too hard. In this fantasy France doesn't even exist, why are you using French words?

[Harlequin Books]

What I'm about to say in no way expresses Harlequin or its editors opinion.

I had no problem with the use of the French word, rendezvous. It is just a word that conveys a meaning that is widely known. If you want to get technical, England doesn't exist in her world either. Rendezvous must be a word that she likes and feels met the criteria of the feel she was going for. It didn't bother me in the least to see it used. Now Wal-ah is another matter. I think a different word would have been more effective, but again, it didn't bother me enough to jar me from the story. I think fantasy writers should have a little more leeway in their choice of words because they are developing their own world and the words chosen should be what feels correct to the author, the world builder. If they feel it works with the flow of their story, I say use it! ~ Kim S.

[Shanna_redwind]

I noticed the Wah-lah, and the phrase "Put their life on hold" which may have existed...maybe... but the phrase comes from the hold button on a phone. They both jarred me a bit.

[Kai]

Yeah her English Grammar isn't the best. I've noticed a fair few wrongly used words, terms, and phrases in her books. It's good for a laugh :P They're not even typos, but completely the wrong word for what she should be using.

In "Magic Study" she wrote "disbursed: instead of "dispersed". It really confused me for a moment hahaha

"The buzz of noises that filled the common area disbursed" o_O

It also irked me that she'd use foreign words, like "kata". There is no Japanese language in this world, you know you can use a different word right? Other authors usually just call a kata a "form" or something to that effect. I also find it quite weird that Yelena uses a bo[w] (it's bo goddamnit!) to fight. It's really just a practise weapon/ non-threatening alternative to a sword, and has never been meant as something you'd take into a legitimate fight/ battle instead of something with a blade on it. If you can wield a bo, you can wield a katana. So stupid.

[John]

Voila = "There is" or "there it is" but definitely not "see there." Just saying..............................