Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder

Series: Soulfinders, Book One

Study, Book Four
The Chronicles of Ixia, Book Seven

Publisher: MIRA Ink

Format: Kindle

Published: 12^th March 2015

Number of Pages: 416

Book: ARC*

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Action-Adventure, YA, YA-Adult Crossover

Recommended Age: 14+

Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Alcohol and Sexual References

Author's Site: Maria V. Snyder

Blurb From Goodreads:

Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia.

Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.

Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger.

As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked.  And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive.

                                                                   Review:

“Dead air surrounded me.

My magic was gone…”

When you miss your days as a poison tester, you know your life is crazy.

Yelena Zaltana, former poison tester for the Commander of Ixia, now Liason between Ixia and Sitia and powerful magician, is just looking forward to some quality time with her heart mate, Valek, when she is shot by a poisoned arrow.  Thinking she expelled all the poison before it had a chance to take effect, she leaves the hunt for her assassin to Valek.  

But she didn't get it all out.  And now her magic is gone, leaving her defenceless against a magical enemy she thought she'd defeated.

Meanwhile, Valek attempts to find Yelena's attempted-assassin, take down a smuggling ring (with the help of Janco and Ari) and also deal with a newcomer who is vying for his job.

Can Yelena save her own life, let alone the ones she loves, when she is deprived of the very thing that makes her strongest?

“Run and hide?  That was so not my style…”

When I found out Yelena's story would continue in a brand new trilogy, I freaked out; I was just so, so excited.  In fact, I did many a happy dance.  But when I got my hands on Shadow Study, I found myself a bit nervous, since I haven't actually read the Glass series yet.  I shouldn’t have worried: it didn't take long for me to figure out what had happened – and I'm sure I'll reread Shadow Study after I read the Glass series, so it doesn't matter much! 

But anyway: I was also worried Shadow Study wouldn't live up to the original series.  But I was, of course, wrong.  From the very start, it was all action and just as magical as ever – and we even had Valek and Janco chapters, two of my other fave Study characters!  Can I hear a HELL YEAH!

Yelena has grown up so much in the time between Fire Study and Shadow Study.  Not surprising, given the time that has passed, but she's matured a lot.  I love her – how badass and brave she is, even without her magic.  We got to see more of the human Yelena, the one who was cunning, Valek's student and who needed her friends – I liked that a lot.

Valek.  I loved learning more about Valek's past, about how he became Valek.  About why he makes animals form the black stone with silver specks.  About why he's so rational.   About how and why he became an assassin.  About how he was told to not feel, how emotions were weakness, but he's embraced them anyway because of his good heart, how he is so so caring.  It has made me love him even more – something I thought impossible.

Janco: oh how I love him!  He's my favourite soldier ever, my favourite comedic release in this suspenseful series.  He's also man after my own heart – not a morning person.  I get it, Janco.  "Bright sunlight, chirping birds and those obnoxious morning people" make my stomach churn too.  Seriously though, I am so in love with this bonkers, hilarious, brave soldier – as-much-as-I-love-Valek kind of love.

Now for our supporting cast.  First up Ari, who sadly we didn’t see as much of, but he was so brilliant when we did!  And Leif has become such a protective big brother!  He killed me at time – the boy has serious snark!  And little Fisk!  Not so little now – and such an entrepreneur!   Oh, and Reema killed me – the lines that kid came out with were amazing!  And then there’s Onora, who just intrigues me – I can’t wait to learn more about her, and I see a future love connection with my favourite little Janco (though does anyone else totally want Janco and Ari to be a couple?  Is that just me?  Just think – they could be Jaari or Arco or Janri: too cute!).

I must say, I loved this triple but linked storyline.  The way we followed Yelena, Valek and Janco made the action and suspense just nonstop and full on.  Of course, I occasionally wished it was easier to skip ahead on my Kindle – sometimes I just wanted to continue with the storyline I read in that chapter, because they were always left on cliffhangers!  Noo!  But seriously: loved it to pieces.  And that ending... Oh. My. Gods.  I need the next book – like right now.  Or, even better, yesterday!

And the writing: OH MY GODS, I love split POVs.  So so much.  I mean, we got to read daring quests from the perspectives of the lovely and kickass Yelena, the gorgeous and badass Valek and  the hilarious and brilliant Janco.  It was just so much awesome to fit into one book – and I loved it so much!  I've always loved Yelena, but it was so great to get to know Valek and Janco better!   And Maria is always so good at writing brilliant action scenes, scenes of comic relief and sparkling dialogue – and Shadow Study had all of these in spades!

I've said so many times and I'll say it again: I love this world!  I love Ixia and I love Sitia and I love the magic and the politics and the spying and the mad adventures.  I want to move here – live in Sitia with the Zaltanas, or live in Ixia and be one of Valek's spies.  I just love Maria's world building so freaking much and I can't get enough of this brilliant world she's created.  

Damn, I love this world, this series and these characters.  It feels so much like home – like one of my favourite places to be – and I'm so glad I get to spend even more time here.  Shadow Study managed to exceed every single one of my expectations and left me shaking for so much more.  I just... God, I loved it so much!  Maria V. Snyder is always amazing, always a true artist, but Shadow Study exceeds all the others in the Study series so far.  Night Study can't come quickly enough!

Star Rating:
5 Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Study Series by Maria V. Snyder

Throne of Glass and A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

** Quotes used are from a proof copy and may have been changed in the finished book

Shadow Study Blog Tour: A Q&A With Maria V. Snyder

I adore Maria V. Snyder: she is one of my favourite authors ever. I freaking loved the original Study trilogy and was over the moon when I found out about Shadow Study! I was even more excited when I was asked to take part in the Shadow Study Blog Tour! Yay! So here is a Q&A with the amazing, lovely Maria V. Snyder! Enjoy! :D

Me: Shadow Study is the first in a new trilogy starring Yelena Zaltana.  What will this new series be about - and will it be as action-packed as the original trilogy?

Maria V. Snyder:  The new series will be about Yelena and Valek and will have chapters from both their POVs.  They are both dealing with various problems and issues.  Yelena is shot with a poisoned bolt and her magic is blocked so she’s searching for a cure while trying to keep ahead of her enemies who have learned she’s vulnerable. Valek is dealing with a young hot shot assassin who is trying to take his job as Security Chief.  His interactions with the assassin cause him to remember when he was a young hot shot so there are many details about Valek’s past in the first book.  The second and third books continue with both stories.  And of course there will be LOTS of action – I can’t write a book without it!

Me: What made you revisit Yelena and Valek? Did you originally plan to revisit the series? And what made you decide to have Shadow Study narrated by Yelena, Valek and Janco?

MVS: My readers are the reason I revisited Yelena and Valek.  They’ve been clamouring for more stories since Fire Study was published back in 2008 and I finally had an idea that I thought would be good enough for a novel.  I decided to switch between three characters because I really wanted to explore Valek’s past and that’s hard to do from Yelena’s POV.  Plus I was in Yelena’s head for 3 books and I wanted a change and a challenge.  I put in Janco’s because he’s such a blast to write, I couldn’t resist.

Me: Now, from your Study series, I of course love Yelena, Valek, Janco and Leif, but I think my favourite has to be Kiki!  Do you have a favourite character from this series?

MVS: I’d have to say Janco.  I just like his humour and cockiness and rants against sand.  I think with all the action and problems and bad things going on, Janco adds a bit of humour and a bit of a break for readers.

Me: You've created many worlds – magical and dystopian – which would you most like to live in and why?

MVS:  I’d live in Ixia.  I attended 12 years of Catholic school and never once minded wearing a uniform – it just made my mornings easier J.  I’d also like to think I’d be one of the Commander’s advisers or one of Valek’s spies and that sounds like fun.

Me: In the Study and Glass series, which clan do you think you'd most like to be a part of?

MVS: The Zaltanas.  I climbed trees when I was younger and just loved being up in the branches where no one could see me.  The thought of living in a huge treehouse….heaven!

Me: If you could have any magical power, what would you like to have and why?

MVS:  I’d want to be a healer like Avry.  I’ve so many friends and family members who suffer with various ailments and pain that I just want to be able to touch them and make them instantly better!

Me: What drew you to the fantasy genre and how do you come up with all of your amazing ideas?

MVS: I like reading fantasy and science fiction so writing in those genres was a natural thing to do.  I enjoy being able to go beyond the everyday world and incorporate magic or to take science to the next level in my stories.  I get ideas from everywhere – life is a sea of stories and I’ll spark on the strangest things—like a comment from my kids, or an article in a magazine, or when I’m travelling, or from a random conversation with a stranger on a train.  I dreamt the idea for Inside Out – yep in one night, I dreamt the entire story—characters, antagonists, world, and even the twists at the end.  I wish I could remember what I ate for dinner that night as that hasn’t happened again!

Me: How much research do you do for your books - I heard you're pretty hands on!?

MVS: I do quite a bit as I’m a stickler for accuracy.  If I’m going to have a horse in my book, then I’m going to learn everything I can about horses, including riding them.  Yes, I try to do as much hands on as possible.  I think that’s the best way to translate the experience to the reader and again, it’s great for accuracy.  I don’t want my readers to email me that I got something wrong about blowing glass or anything else.  Although the beauty with fantasy is I can create things in my world, but even then I must stay consistent.  The poisons in Poison Study are all created because I couldn’t find real poisons to do what I wanted them to do – my kids are still not talking to me for experimenting on them ;).

Me: What book are you most looking forward to in 2015?

MVS: Gail Carriger’s Prudence.  I loved her Parasol Protectorate series and this is the next generation.

Me: Finally, what advice would you give all aspiring fantasy authors out there?

MVS: Read a lot of books in the genre you’re writing and write a lot (every day if possible).  Also persistence is key!  Keep working on your story even when you think it’s terrible and has gone in the wrong direction.  So many people start writing, but then don’t finish.  If you wish to be published by a traditional publisher, then persistence will help you find one.  You need to keep sending out your story until you run out of places to send it!  That’s what I did with Poison Study and 57 rejections later, I found a publisher.

Quick Fire Round!

Pen and paper or computer?  Computer

Fantasy or science fiction?  Both

Reading or writing?  Reading (writing is hard!)

Scientific genius or Master Magician?  Master Magician

Favourite book of all time?  The Gate to Women’s Country, by Sheri S. Tepper

MVS: Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. If your readers would like more info about me and my books, I have the first chapter of all my books on my website as well as a number of free short stories (including ones with Yelena and Valek) they can read.  Here’s the link: http://www.mariavsnyder.com.  My Facebook page is where I’m the most active with updates and news.  Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/mvsfans.

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Thank YOU, Maria! It's been lovely having you! Everyone, go grab yourself a copy of Shadow Study RIGHT NOW! It is AMAZING!  Grab it on Amazon, mark it To Read on Goodreads, just read it!  

And check out my co-host for the blog tour today, Becca from Lost In Thought.  Oh, and yesterday there  were two more stops to check out: Jess Hearts Books and Midnight Reads!  Enjoy!

Happy Reading Everyone!

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

Series: Study, Book Three

Publisher: Mira

Format: Paperback

Published: 16^th January 2009

Number of Pages: 448

Book: Bought

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 Blog: Maria V. Snyder

WARNING: COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS... AND FANGIRLING.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

The apprenticeship is over.

Now the real test has begun.

When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder – able to capture and release souls – spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy.  Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart.  As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before.

Honour sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward.  Her journey is fraught with allies and enemies.  Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself – and save the land she holds dear.

                                                                   Review:

Finally, I've finished my review!  And just in time for Shadow Study!  Enjoy...

"Fire is your downfall, little bat.  Can not call it.  Can not control it...."

It seems things were never intended to be easy for Yelena Liana Zaltana.  Having escaped her homeland to seek magical training in birthplace of Sitia, she soon found out that she is a Soulfinder, a rare kind of magician with the ability to control souls.

Sitia has had an unhappy history with Soulfinders: the last one raised an army of the dead and was burnt on the stake.  So when word gets around about what Yelena is, the reaction is not positive.

As the Council decide what to do with Yelena, she and her brother Leif go in search of the outcast magic clan Daviian and the wannabe King of Ixia, Cahil.  They soon discover that the Daviian Vermin are using an ancient and brutal form of blood magic – and have a very powerful magician amongst them: a Fire Warper.

But quickly the Vermin grow in strength and become infinitely more deadly.  So deadly, in fact, that they spark a plot to destroy Ixia, Yelena's former home.

With the Council turned against her, and with no way to help save Ixia, Yelena flees with her brother Leif to the one place they can be safe.  There, she will have to prove herself to both kingdoms and stop the Fire Warper and the Vermin clan – before they destroy them all...

I love the Yelena Zaltana series and I was so sad that Fire Study would be my final Yelena-centric novel...  And then along came Shadow Study and I was overjoyed!  Still, I can't help feeling a sense of loss after finishing Fire Study, as it is the end of a trilogy I adored.  And it finished so brilliantly, I think.  We saw Sitia and Ixia, saw friends from both books, were taken on a series of wild adventures that constantly had me on the edge of my seat.  I read Fire Study in a single sitting and loved every second – even though Yelena managed to get herself in a million scrapes!  That girl is a trouble magnet!  But, personally, I think that it is just... the perfect end to the original trilogy.  And after reading it, I am itching at the collar to read Shadow Study – NOW!

Yelena, I think, was perfect in this one.  She was looked to as a leader, but she worried about whether she was doing the right thing, like all young people.  She was strong and vulnerable, funny and scared and real.  She planned a lot more now – sure, she did her rush-in thing too, but she took charge more.  She made a few mistakes early on, but I really admired how she grew.

Valek: oh, how I adore Valek.  Every time he says 'love' I swoon a little.  He is just... perfect.  I love him so so much.  I also love how he's protective but not overbearing: he lets Yelena do her Yelena thing and doesn't try to stop her.  He's the best heart mate ever – I wish he was all mine.

I quite liked Leif, Yelena's brother, by the end of Magic Study.  By the end of Fire Study, I loved him.  He is so funny and sarcastic – and a real brother too.  And I loved how close Yelena and Leif became by the end of this one – it was so cute and so funny.  Their sibling-bantering was hilarious, and when they fell out it felt real, like something siblings do (God knows I've ticked my brothers off a few times, and vice versa).  

Onto the other characters.  Firstly, Janco and Ari, who are the best things since sliced bread in my opinion.  They rock: every time they're in a scene, they kill me.  Janco with his craziness and big-talk, Ari with his attempts to tone Janco down...  I love them.  Love them love them love them.  Then there was Moon Man, who was a bit mixed in this one, but by the end I loved him.  And it was great to see Opal again – and it made me even more excited to read the Glass series!

But the animals in this series are awesome.  Kiki, Yelena's horse, I love: she's hilarious.  And Yelena also got a little bat buddy (a LBB) in this one too – love him!

As always, Snyder's writing was flawless and beautiful.  I love her lyrical voice and the beautiful way she describes the lands and people.  You can really feel Yelena in the words – stubborn and scared, strong and uncertain.  It was perfect.  The plot, too, was perfect and just nonstop – like all of the Study plots!  But, out of all of them, this felt the most fast-paced and also the most... choppy.  I have no better word.  There was just so much going on so fast and it felt... I don't know.  Not as flawless as the previous two books.  Don't get me wrong – by most book standards, Fire Study is a work of pure magical art.  But by the standard I hold Snyder to (which is probably unfairly high thanks to her amazingness) it fell a little short.  

Nonetheless, I was hooked start to finish and was left thinking: 'Yeah.  That was awesome – and a worthy finale.'  Of course, I'm even more excited that it isn't the end, that the adventure isn't over, but it was still a good ending!  And I really was shocked by that last twist, and terrified by one before it!  

I've said numerous times that I adore this world – both the Ixian and Sitian sides.  I love how both were visited in Fire Study – along with a few other worlds!  The mythology Snyder used, on top of the existing magical Sitia and military Ixia, was so brilliant – she took the notion of heaven, hell and purgatory and made it so unique.  Loved it!

I've loved every single moment of this series (even all the rush-in moments that ended with capture) and am sad it's over....  But it isn't over anymore, is it!  Because we have a new Yelena trilogy!  Excuse me while I do a crazy happy dance.  

I'm back.  I absolutely adored Fire Study; it was exciting, thrilling, magical, addictive and totally epic.  I love all the characters, the world and the magicness of the series and can't wait to continue it with Shadow Study!  Yay!  I love you, Maria V. Snyder!

Star Rating:
4¼ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Grisha by Leigh Bardugo

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Happy Reading

Megan

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Series: Study, Book Two

Publisher: Mira

Format: Paperback

Published: 29^th 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

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