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.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
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...
This was the last book I read in 2017, between December 28 and December 31.
I was pleasantly surprised with Poison Study, not expecting much from it besides a few thrills and excitements here and there. What I got was a well-developed story with excellent characters and good world-building.
The character development in this book was amazing. Everyone was layered and there was more to everyone than met the eye. While none of the characters were black-and-white, that did not detract from my enjoyment of them. I was actively rooting for Yelena, and the eventual romance she has did not feel forced or awkwardly put in for the sake of checking off a box. I had sympathy for most of the characters and understood the motivations of almost or all of the characters in this book. There are two characters who are mainly there for comic relief, but ended up being two of the best side characters I think I have seen in a while for a fantasy novel; you can so easily believe their friendship and their devotion to Yelena as well as their dedication to their jobs and to their boss.
As I mentioned, this book has amazing world-building. Ixia and its ruling/justice system was set up rather well with the backstory being told in a believable way (that is, an info-dump that doesn't have an info-dump feeling). I could very easily see this world existing, as well as the unrest in its society. The world-building will probably be even better in the next book of the series. The fantastical elements in this book are subtle enough that it can't outright be called a fantasy novel, but they are prevalent to the story and to the world that Maria V Snyder has built in Ixia.
The writing style is unique in the sense that it is not elegant or flowery like I was expecting it to be going into it. It has a very not-elegant writing style which I think works for this story. Right off the bat it describes Yelena's current situation and pulled me in instantly. The fight scenes were written excitingly While there were things that were not answered in this book, it is only the first in this trilogy and some answers are being set up to appear in the second or third book. It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but it works well. I have the other two books ready to go, but will space them out a little bit.
Poison Study surprised me in the best way. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It had great character development, a fitting writing style, exciting moments, excellent world-building, and sets up well for the second book in the series. I can't wait to read the next one. I loved this book so much and I'm going to give it a 5/5.
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