alindstadtcorbeax
Written on Jan 9, 2020
starting fire study! RTC
Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic.But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with anexecution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape toSitia, the land of her birth.But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understandwhere she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magicianemerges--and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled ina situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilitieswill either save her life...or be her downfall.
- ISBN10 0778323927
- ISBN13 9780778323921
- Publish Date 1 September 2007 (first published 26 September 2006)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country CA
- Imprint Mira Books
- Edition Original ed.
- Format Paperback
- Pages 448
- Language English
Reviews
starting fire study! RTC
Nessa Luna
Written on Jul 21, 2015
Last year I bought a book called Poison Study, because it sounded interesting and I really liked the cover. I ended up LOVING the book to bits and added the sequel, Magic Study, to my to-read list right away. But then I found out the cover I wanted wasn't available anywhere. Not on the websites I usually buy my books, not in the stores, nowhere. I got really sad because I really wanted that cover (to match with my first book) and after a while I just gave up, even though I really wanted to finish the series. Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to check out Amazon.de. I'd recently gotten a new credit card and I decided to look for Magic Study. And on the German Amazon marketplace, there was a Magic Study book with the cover that I wanted. I ordered it immediately and cheered when it turned out to actually be that cover! (And now that I'm checking my usual websites, they seem to have the book in stock again... Grrrrr!!)
Magic Study continues the story of Yelena Zaltana, who has been banished from Ixia for performing magic. Should she ever return there, she shall be executed without a thought. So Yelena and Irys travel to Sitia, the land they both actually come from, to find Yelena's family - the Zaltana's. Then, she is brought to the Citadel, where she is to start her magical training. But there is a murderer on the loose, and Yelena is determined to catch him.
In this book we are introduced to so many new characters; including Yelena's family, the four magicians and some of the students at the Keep. I really liked her family almost immediately (with one exception, which is probably pretty obvious if you've read the book), and the two students (Dax and Gelsi) were great as well, Dax immediately felt like he was going to be a good friend to Yelena and I think she needed a friend like that (since Ari and Janco weren't there). We also see some old characters return, which I will not really be going into much detail about because of spoilers. But of course there is still Irys who becomes Yelena's mentor and a sort of second mother in this book. I really liked that, because I like Irys as a character!
I also liked the fact that we get more magic in this book, mostly of course because the story happens in Sitia where magic is allowed and even encouraged. I loved how Yelena developed her powers and learned more and more about her abilities; The map at the beginning of the book was amazing as well, and I really enjoyed learning more about Sitia in this book - even though we didn't learn much about the majority of the clans, we did learn about the Zaltana's, the Sandseed clan and of course the people in the Citadel. I do wish the map had been bigger, because I found it hard to read some of the small letters.
The writing was just as good as the previous book, and honestly I hadn't expected anything else from Maria V. Snyder; I will definitely be picking up the third book - Fire Study - and then the Glass series (which I believe is a sort of spin-off) and the new book in this series, Shadow Study! If you like Throne of Glass, I definitely recommend the Study series to you. It's similar but also very different from ToG but they are both amazing book series, and I personally love them both to bits!
My opinion on this book in one gif:
ammaarah
Written on Oct 15, 2014
The Poison Aspect
While Yelena was a food taster in the previous book, I enjoyed learning about all the different poisons etc. This aspect was completely gone in Magic Study. A new aspect, magic, was brought into the book and even although it was a cool aspect that I enjoyed reading about, I felt like the poison aspect made the book original.
Yelena
In the previous book, Yelena was a character who I could connect with and admire. While I loved that Yelena possessed a new strength in this book, I was annoyed when it seemed as though she was the only one who had the power to save everybody and get things done.
Valek
In the previous book. Valek was the assassin that I coudn't help but love. He was a smart, strategic and tough character, but the sad part was that he only appears on page 270 of Magic Study and when he does appear, he isn't really the same character that he was in book one. I felt as though Valek had become Yelena's side-kick whose sole purpose in the story was to be her love interest. He and Yelena didn't work together as equals or as a team and that was something that I enjoyed immensely in the previous book.
YA Tropes and Repetition
This is kind of related to the poison aspect and Yelena. I felt as thought the whole book consisted of repetitions in the plot. Yelena is always getting kidnapped (usually by evil, torturous magicians) and has to find a way to escape and beat the bad guy/girl or has to save others in that exact situation. Yelena also fits the YA trope of some-kind of chosen one. This YA trope is common in fantasy novels, it made the book lose originality points.
Even although it seems like I had numerous issues, I still managed to enjoy the book until the few pages towards the end. We see a different side of the world that Maria V. Snyder built and other people's points of views towards their world. I loved learning about the magical aspect of the book, the intriguing magician school and the signs of a political takeover. I also enjoyed the new secondary characters that are introduced and can't wait to see more of the role that they play even although I feel as though they can't hold a touch to the characters in Poison Study, who I missed until they made a brief but amazing appearances. And we get to meet Yelena's long lost family and the dynamics involved with that. :)
Although I flew through this book and enjoyed reading it, it failed to engross me in the same way that Poison Study did.
nitzan_schwarz
Written on Aug 5, 2014
Chelsea
Written on Jan 4, 2013
What I didn’t like in this book was how everyone treated Yelena like she’s the best at everything so the rules don’t apply to her. I know she’s great at a lot of things but everyone puts her up on this platform and it’s a little strange to me. I found Yelena wasn’t quiet the same character as in the first book. She doesn’t use her brain as much as she used to. It’s not that bad though because I still loved this book and can’t wait to read more.
ladygrey
Written on Jun 24, 2012
Cahil was definitely an interesting new mix to the cast and it was strange to see how he evolved, the emotions that ended up ruling him which I wouldn't have expected. He's a character that had every potential to be this one type of guy, but he never really could let himself.
Also, story-sense be damned! I was afraid for a little while that Dax was Ferde because he just kept showing up offhandedly and the killer seemed to have too much knowledge of Yelena. And I would have been so mad if I'd been right. But I was totally wrong and not just because the pieces didn't add up the way I was afraid they would but because Snyder had all sorts of unexpected pieces to add to the puzzle.
And I loved that Ari and Janco showed up. And that Valek was there so these characters that were so much fun from the first book weren't entirely lost. Yelena's a pretty good character, but her charm for me really is about how people around her react. I enjoyed the new cast of supporting characters and am totally afraid of the new villains because Snyder's bad guys don't play around. This is a beautifully conceived world with interesting magic and really enjoyable characters.
Angie
Written on Apr 2, 2012
Even though we lose the novelty of having Yelena as a food taster, she still gets herself into plenty of exciting and interesting (and sometimes disturbing) situations as she travels through the jungle and when she eventually enters the Magicians Keep. I loved being able to see the world outside of Ixia. There's several different clans, each with their own unique fashions (or lack thereof!) and lifestyles. We also learn so much about magicians and the vast variation in their magical abilities. It was so fun getting to see some Yelena's abilities, such as bonding with an adorably hilarious horse!
Speaking of her horse, there's a fantastic cast of new characters along with the return of some favorites! Esau, Yelena's sweetheart, scientist father. Perl, her neurotic mother. Lief, the standoffish brother. Kiki, the horse, and my personal favorite! Cahill, friend or foe? The Master Magicians, Moon Man, and several others. Each of them adds something to the story and even the minor characters felt well developed.
There's more than enough action and intrigue, twists and turns aplenty, a little bit of romance, and lots and lots of magic! While I really enjoyed this one, I'm not sure if I liked it more than the previous book. Both are so different, so let's just say I like them the same but for different reasons. One thing that was definitely more enjoyable in the previous book was Yelena and Valek's relationship. In Magic Study it felt forced and superficial. Every scene with them together they're having sex (not that that's a problem), Valek is calling her "love," but I felt absolutely no emotion. It was as if their scenes were just added for the sake of having romance. Despite that, I'm excited to see what Fire Study has in store for them!
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Mackenzie
Written on Sep 8, 2011