Book Review: Poison Study

Poison Study (Study, book 1) by Maria V. Snyder

Murder, mayhem and magic...

Locked in a coffin-like darkness, there is nothing to distract me from my memories of killing Reyad.  He deserved to die--but according to the law, so do I.  Here in Ixia, the punishment for murder is death.  And now I wait for the hangman's noose.  But the same law that condemns me may also save me.  Ixia's food taster--chosen to ensure that the Commander's food is not poisoned--has died.  And by law, the next prisoner who is scheduled to be executed--me--must be offered the position.

A palpable darkness.  Poison Study begins in the dank, dark confines of the dungeon where Yelena awaits her execution for murdering Reyad.  Though Yelena is led up out of the dungeon, and given the opportunity to become food taster to the reigning military leader Commander Ixia, the darkness of the dungeon pervades this novel.  Maria V. Snyder creates a gritty realism that is at once believable and yet at times painful to read.  Your heart goes out to Yelena and I found myself wanting to comfort her and help her.  Though terribly betrayed by the men who took her in as an orphan Yelena holds out hope that perhaps she will one day find someone she can trust to be her friend, fantasizes for someone to love and love her in return, and yet she is faced with the harsh reality that she will likely not survive her next meal.  Yelena though has a propensity for overcoming adversity and a strength of will that makes her an incredibly enjoyable to read heroine.

I hesitate to recommend this book to young adults, even though the main character herself is young, due to violence and adult situations in the form of abuse, torture, and rape.  I would also warn readers who are sensitive to these topics.  Forewarned of the difficult subject matter I would recommend this book to readers of fantasy, paranormal fiction, mystery, suspense, and especially to fans of paranormal fantasy including magic.

Source:  This book was purchased by me for review.

Poison Study on Amazon.
Poison Study on Goodreads.

Teaser Tuesdays (May 18)

"I didn't even know what town I had been found in.  We had been told daily of our good fortune, reminded that we had food, clothes, shelter, teachers and even a small allowance.  It had been repeatedly pointed out that many children with parents weren't as well off as we were.  Was it a form of brainwashing?"

pg. 137, Poison Study by Maria Snyder


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!