Romance Rewind: The Fantasy Edition

Romance Rewind: The Study Series by Maria V Snyder

Okay, so strictly speaking these aren't entirely romance, more like fantasy/young adult/romance, but this mixture of romance and adventure in a brand new and interesting world ruled by might and magic is very exciting. If you haven't read much fantasy before it is a great starting point and if you have it is a worthy addition to your fantasy collection.

So below is the reading order with a link to my review and a favourite quote from the book to whet your appetite!

Book One: Poison Study
Review

Poisoned, pursued and living with a psychopath. Not what I would consider the good life. Death has its perks.




 

Book Two: Magic Study
Review

"When I carved this, my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snake's coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me."






Book Three: Fire Study
Review
  
There's always another storm. It's the way the world works. Snowstorms, rainstorms, windstorms, sandstorms, and firestorms. Some are fierce and others are small. You have to deal with each one separately, but you need to keep an eye on whats brewing for tomorrow

Review: Fire Study by Maria V Snyder

Fire Study

by Maria V Snyder

(Study Trilogy #3)

3.5 Feathers

This is the final installment in the Study series, and Yelena is up against her most powerful opponent yet. A Fire Warper, a magician that resides in the Underworld and feeds off of souls. Soon the Council is Sitia is compromised and Yelena and her band of friends and allies must find away to stop this new power from taking over and causing war between Ixia and Sitia.

I found myself having trouble getting into this book, both Poison Study and Magic Study I enjoyed, espcially Posion Study, but this book didn't suck me in the same way those first two did. I think this may have stemmed from a sense of disbelieve, but with this story I found myself skeptical. No one is as talented as Yelena, she is the most powerful magician, most powerful fighter etc etc and I found it a bit wearing that she more or less overcame everything almost single handedly. It was unrealistic and I felt no tension or sense of danger as I was just waiting for Yelena to perk up with one of her many talents and save everyone.

But, the book was still enjoyable and over all I thought the series was fantastic, I liked the world that had been created and the characters within it. This is well worth a read if you are looking for a fantasy read with some lovable characters and an interesting new world to explore.

Overall I give this series:

 

Review: Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Magic Study

by Maria V Snyder

Study Series # 2

4.5 Feathers

Yelena has been banished from Ixia after having discovered that she has forbidden magical abilities and now heads to Sitia to be trained in their academy. She is also meeting her real family for the first time since she was kidnapped when she was 6, but the reunion isn't as perfect as she hoped when she sees the resentment her brother holds for her. Meanwhile a killer has been stalking Sitia, torturing and raping young girls, and it looks like Yelena may be next on his list of victims.

I liked this book, but for some reason I didn't enjoy it as much as the first Poison Study. However, this didn't stop me from devouring the pages! I think what diminished my enjoyment of this story was that it got too bogged down with different plot elements, I think too much was added. Although nothing was left unresolved everything seemed rushed and there was very little detail in her explanations. For example, when Yelena and her brother reconcile, there was only a page spent on this despite the fact that it had been a theme throughout the book.

But despite feeling a little rushed, I did like it, it introduced some new characters such as Kiki, Yelena's horse and Cahil Ixia who is supposedly the dead King of Ixia's nephew and is desparate to win back his crown and wrestle Ixia away from Commander Ambrose.

I am greatly looking forward to the next and final book in the trilogy to see how everything is resolved. 

Review: Poison Study by Maria V Snyder

Poison Study

by Maria V Snyder

Study Series #1

Yelena is about to be executed but is unexpectedly offereed a choice; become the Commander of Ixia's food taster or hang for her crime. Yelena decides to be the new food taster a position with a very short and painful life expectancy, especially when the Commanders chief of security tricks her into taking a poison for which he is the only one with an antidote. But momentous times are approaching and Yelena suspects there's a plot to murder the Commender that ties in with her horrific past.

I am not in general a fan of YA books...but I really loved this. It was a great book, it wasn't as intricate and heavy as some fantasy series making it almost seem like fantasy-lite, but this also made it a very easy read, as it wasn't bogged down by lots of complicated new politics and magic. But this didn't make it any less interesting and I really liked the main character of Yelena, and her sometimes-mentor-sometimes-friend-or-more Valek, an infamous assassin, and the man who poisoned her.

The story in this draws you straight in and although I thought it was obvious what was happening I was still completely absorbed in the plot. The world was also quite intriguing, Ixia is under a military dictatorship almost, everyone has a uniform and is assigned a life time job once their skills have been assesed, but although there are obvious problems with that kind of society I found myself reluctantly liking the Commander much as Yelena does.

There was a little bit of romance, which I really enjoyed, watching their relationship change from almost enemy to lovers was as enjoyable as the main story. As it's a YA book, and not a romance, all sex is fade to black or done with vague eupemisms, which is fine I was just glad they finally got together. I also liked Janto and Ari, Yelena's self defense teachers, they added some humour to the books.

This book was great it had some fantastic characters and ideas, and it kept me glued to the pages and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.