Poison Study by: Maria V. Snyder

Published: 2005

# of pages: 361

Series: Book #1

Quote: "'What could you possibly offer me? I have a job, color-coordinated uniforms and a boss to die for. What more could I need?'" -Yelena p. 137


This is the second time I've read this book. The first time I read it I fell in love with it. Then I immediately read the second book in the series, Magic Study. While I didn't enjoy that book as much, Poison Study has remained one of my favorite books and was even included in my Favorite Books of 2007. The reason I read it again was because I just read Fire Study, the third and final book in the series. It pulled me back into Yelena's world and made me really want to read the first two books again.

The second time of reading this wasn't the same, but I still found myself staying up late to read and having a hard time putting the book down. This is still my favorite book in the series. It's unique and who could not love the characters Yelena, Valek, Ari, and Janco?

The story begins with Yelena being let out of the Commander's dungeons where she is being held until execution and given a second chance at life....as a food taster for the Commander of Ixia. If that isn't enough stress for a young woman whose life has been turned upside down, all kinds of other trouble follow her everywhere.

Yelena perseveres through her study of poisons, being exposed to political intrigues, and having to be constantly on guard as she expects soldiers, assassins, and magicians to kill her at any moment. She also struggles to accept her past and move on with life, as hard as that is. Yelena is a neat character, she's graceful, flexible, strong, can kick butt, and is smart to top it all off.