Magic Study (Study, #2) (The Chronicles of Ixia, #2)

by Maria V Snyder

Although I enjoyed this book, it didn't grip me in the same way that Poison Study did. This reason for this was:

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.