Review: Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

My mom convinced me to read this book, and I finally did after putting it off for a long time. Boy, was I missing out!

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.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting.
Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control.
Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear . . .

Poison Study by Maria V Snyder (which happens to be a really awesome name) is the first in a five book series, theStudy series. It follows Yelena, who is supposed to be executed for murder... and she's only seventeen. This book takes place in the alternate universe of Ixia. In the military of the north, it's set strictly. In the south, that's where the military hasn't set in.

Poison Study was absolutely amazing! It was thrilling, and Yelena is one of the strongest characters I've ever read. At first, I was thinking along the lines of "Um... this girl killed someone?" but as the story progresses and it ties together, I become amazed at how strong she is and the things she had to go through. So on my list of Favorite Fictional Characters, Yelena is VERY high up.

Another thing I loved about this book, other then the language (the way Snyder described everything totally pulled me in) was the romance. We're all secretly suckers for romance. Although it sounds strange, Yelena and (insert love interest's name here) had AMAZING chemistry. Sorry, trying to keep this as spoiler free as I can :)

All in all...

4 & 1/2 out of 5 men swimming in bacon.

Amazing book!

Now, any requests for books for me to review? That reminds me... I have three overdue library books. Snap.