Series: Study, Book Two
Publisher: Mira
Format: Paperback
Published: 29th February 2012
Originally Published: October 2006
Number of Pages: 432
Book: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic,
Romance, Mystery, Suspence, Action-Adventure, YA, YA-Adult Crossover
Recommended
Age: 14+
Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol, Sexual and Sexual
Assault References
Author's
Site: Maria V. Snyder
WARNING: COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS... AND FANGIRLING.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…
Controlling the past.
Controlling the future.
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 noting in Sitia is familiar.
Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her
magic. Not the brother who resents her
return. As she struggles to understand
where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges
– and Yelena catches his eye.
Suddenly she is embroiled in battle against good and evil. And once again it will be her magical
abilities that will either save her life… or be her downfall.
Review:
Yelena has had to leave her home – her
kingdom – and flee to Sitia, the place of her birth but a place she knows
nothing about. In Sitia, she will train her powers – must train and control them, or else be put to death in one year’s
time. And so she goes to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep, a place
where magic is taught to those like her.
In Sitia she is also reunited with the
family she was taken from so long ago. They are all strangers to her but
are welcoming – loving. All except for her brother, Leif, who seems to
hate her.
Caught up in struggles that are political,
magical and emotional, Yelena is already dealing with a lot. The
emergence of a powerful magician, targeting young girls, just creates more
mayhem.
Of course, Yelena gets involved in the
investigation. With magic as powerful as hers, she will either flourish
here amongst those like her, or... she will perish...
I finished Poison Study and then instantly cursed myself – quite creatively
too – in my head for not buying the rest of the damn books at the same time.
So I ordered the second two in the Yelena Zaltana series on Amazon,
vowing that if they didn't get here soon I would just buy them again on my
Kindle. I was so excited when I saw a book saying: 'A Yelena Zaltana
Novel' on the bottom. And then I cursed again – even more creatively –
when I realised it was the third book not the second!! Magic Study did arrive the next day but
it was still too long! I dived right in the moment it landed on my
doorstep!
Now, I have this habit of writing down
quotes as I go through a book. It's a habit I should really stop because
it means that when I read a book with loads of quotes I love I end up writing
down half the blinking book. I don't even really know why I do it...
I think in case I want to use them in the review or make a picture quote
of the book... But Magic Study...
Well, it was one of those books that was just too good to stop! I literally could not stop. It
was that good. Sure, it
wasn't quite as good as Poison Study, but there really wasn't
much in it.
I really loved how Yelena grew in this
book: she was so much stronger and such a good person, better than before.
She'd really come into her own as both a woman and a magician. Of
course, she still has the pesky habit of rushing in without thinking –
generally with bad results – but she's growing stronger too. She's able
to kick some butt and she uses her family and friends' help when she needs it.
Do I wish she'd trust the Council and Irys more? Yes. But I
also got her reasons for not trusting them. Yelena isn't perfect and I
think that's why I like her so much: she's tough as nails, but flawed and
vulnerable too.
I missed Valek all the time he wasn't there
and then felt my heart do a little flutter every time he reappeared, often in
some bizarre disguise. Valek is sweet and hard, protective and trusting
of Yelena's ability. He lets her do her thing, but he's always there for
her too. Why I love Valek in one sentence?
"I'll be close by if you need me, love."
I also love this little scene between
Yelena and Valek, where Yelena is nervous and Valek is... Valek:
"This is dangerous."
"I knew falling for you was dangerous, love."
Yeah. I melt every time he says
'love'. I think it's leftover from my Spike-addicted days. I always
did have a thing for the bad boys...
Now, my favourite characters in the
previous book, Yelena and Valek aside, were Ari and Janco. You guys can't
even begin to fathom how pleased I was when the two of them popped up again! But we were also introduced to a whole range
of new, brilliant, evil and sometimes bizarre characters. I really liked
Irys – she was a really awesome teacher. The Zaltana clan were brilliant –
and so bonkers! Leif intrigued me and I'm so excited to see more of him.
Moon Man was brilliant; gotta love the cryptic ones! Dax provided comic relief in the Janco-less
times. And then there was Cahil... who I did not like. At all.
But I think my favourite character in Magic Study just had to be Kiki.
Now who's Kiki, you may wonder. Well, Kiki was Yelena's horse.
Weird favourite character, right? Not if you've read this book.
I adored the world building in Poison Study. My love only grew as
I read Magic Study. Because now
there wasn't just Ixia, but Sitia too! A land of magic and clans, a land
(for the most part) without poison and secret spying. The cultures of the
different clans intrigued me, as did the differences between the two lands of
Ixia and Sitia.
Maria Snyder's writing and plotting were
pure genius – as always. The writing was beautiful and hooking and not
too heavy. The plot was addictive and just the right pace (fast and
exciting but not neglecting world building). I loved how it built all the
time, with plenty of action, and came to an impressive conclusion. I was
a bit exasperated that Yelena has yet to learn the advantages of patience and
assistance, but she's pretty badass, so it was all cool. And I also liked
the way Maria dealt with sex in the book. Yeah, this bit is random, but I
need to mention it. Maria didn't just ignore the fact that Yelena's a
girl in love with a bad-boy boyfriend (heart mate) who called her 'love'.
There was no lengthy description, almost no mention of S-E-X at all, but
you knew what was about to happen. I think it's a good way to deal with
sex: let us know it's happening, it's natural, but not with all the... graphic
details.
I adored Poison Study and it really was one hell of an act to follow. Magic Study fell a little short,
probably due to the only intermittent appearances of my three fave boys, but it
kept me hooked and just as invested. The world building was epic, the
action addictive and the characters believable. It also had the best
horse in the history of the world – of any world, even.
I love Maria V. Snyder and, of course, she
didn't disappoint with Magic Study.
It was a worthy sequel to one of my favourite magic books. I can't
wait to continue with the series – with Fire
Study and Shadow Study!
Eek! I don't have to leave Yelena and Valek! Yelek?
Valena? Someone needs to come up with a shipping name! I
would, but I'm too busy grabbing my copy of Fire
Study!
Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5
4½ Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
The Fire Sermon by Francesca
Haig
Grisha by Leigh Bardugo
Throne of Glass and A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Happy Reading
Megan
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