Tag: Fiction

Fire Study starts off slow, with Yelena continuing her magic lessons, but as of right now, the beginning is the only slow part in this story. A possible trail leading towards Cahil and Ferde is detected, and Yelena and a small crew leave the Citadel to seek them out. You will not get a break from the action and adventure for many, many chapters, the chase is fast paced and a little exhausting. I can’t imagine I would have survived this journey as well as Yelena and her companions did, but they do have magic on their side. So once again, Yelena’s magical training is put on hold as she tries to capture criminals, stop nefarious plans, and keep herself out of harm. Yelena’s life is always in danger, this being a constant since Poison Study, even more so now as her Soulfinder abilities are no longer a secret. The last Soulfinder lived over 150 years ago, and they had to be killed due to their lust for power. Magicians generally don’t trust anyone who possesses these skills as they have had a bad track record throughout history. 

Yelena is supposed to be getting special training from Roze, the First Magician, but I’m starting to doubt that it will ever happen with the way things are going. Until I reached the midpoint of this book, I was starting to wonder if Yelena would ever make it back to the Citadel, the chase she was involved in lasted that long. Just when you think one plot point is going to reach its conclusion, another conflict is thrown in, effectively putting everything already in play on hold. 

I’ll have finished Fire Study by next week, and we shall see if the story has a clean end. I don’t think it will, as it seems there is another trilogy chronicling Yelena out there waiting for me to read.

Life in Sitia is far more exciting than life in Ixia, and a lot of it has to do with magic. Yelena continues to come into her powers, yes powers, as she keeps discovering new abilities day by day. We learn about the many different magical skills that exist, the types of students that are accepted into the school in order to hone their abilities, and the types of magic that exist outside of the school. If you read Poison Study, you may remember the word Soulfinder being brought up. We finally figure out what exactly a Soulfinder is, and why they are both prized and revered for their skills , while at the same time causing unease and fear amongst magicians. 

So many, what I will call juicy, things happen as the story progresses and reaches its end. There is even more deception than there was in Poison Study, as was to be expected, since Yelena was headed into an unfamiliar country, despite it being the country of her birth. Reunions occur, certain relationships begin to mend, and other relationships fall apart as they are just starting to take shape, albeit with a great amount of hesitation. 

If you like intrigue and mystery and waiting to discover answers to questions over the course of several books, I would suggest this series. Next, I will be reading Fire Study, which I believe is the last in the trilogy. Three additional books follow later on, which I will probably read as well considering how much I am enjoying the series right now.

The sequel to Poison Study, Magic Study takes us south to Sitia, the country where Yelena was born, a member of the Zaltana clan, she was tragically kidnapped at the age of six. Yelena, and the other stolen children that were recovered from General Brazells castle, travel through the eleven territories with Irys, who helps to reunite the children with their families. As you can guess, we do get to meet Yelena’s family, but not all of them are elated to see her. 

There are heaps of new characters that are introduced in the first half of the book. Where I left off, an annual event was on the brink of occurring in which I expect will mean the addition of many more new characters. We also get to meet the three other Master Magicians, of which Irys is the Fourth Magician. And, there is a character that was hinted at in the first book that I am guessing will have a considerable influence on the course of the story as it continues. I am eager to finish the second half of this book so that I can move onto the third. 

I don’t want to give too much away for anyone who is considering reading the story. But, if anyone wants to know more, or if anyone wants my opinion regarding if the series is worth picking up, leave me a comment.

The second half of Poison Study is full of a lot of action, a lot more than the first half. If you got started on the book, you will have learned that the Commander has an extreme dislike of magicians. You do find out why, and the reason is much more than just being the sort of things they had done in the past under the rule of the former King. I like how the big reveal at the end of the book makes parallels with a certain issue that is becoming very prevalent in society today.

You also get to see Yelena evolve into a very capable individual, gaining skills and showing talents that go far beyond her post as the food taster. She’s a very likeable character, strong, but she knows her weaknesses and can admit to them, she expresses doubt and can lack confidence. I think overly strong female characters are becoming a little too trendy. Yelena’s slightly less forceful character feels more believable when you factor in all the things she has gone through and the changes that happen during the months after her release from prison. I do love a strong female lead, but I feel like lately I’ve been reading a lot of books that have an almost too able young woman starring in the pages.

Next week I will begin the next book in the series, Magic Study, which I am really looking forward to, as we will follow Yelena to Sitia as she begins to learn how to hone her magical skills. There is also hope that she might be reunited with her family that she was most likely stolen from when she was a child.

Imagine living in a country where everyone hates you because of a crime you committed, because there seems to be no reason for why you did what you did, the truth being that everything you did was in hopes of saving yourself and countless others. On top of that, you cannot tell anyone the reason you did what you did because no one would believe you. According to the laws of this country, all crimes are punishable in kind, even those done in self defense or by accident. You are doomed no matter what, you will one day die branded as a monster, no one will ever know the torment you and others went through, and what atrocities continue to this day. Poison Study follows the story of Yelena, beginning with her last day in prison where she has been awaiting her sentence for many, many months. She lives in the country of Ixia, ruled by Commander Ambrose, who enforces a strict military-like Code of Behavior over the eight districts. The Code applies to everyone, nobles and peasants alike, due to the Commander putting merit, talent, and skill above social standing and family or political ties. 

The first half of the book introduces us to the majority of the characters as we learn about the structure of the country of Ixia. Sitia, the neighboring country, is mentioned, but we don’t learn very much about it, except that it is home to magicians. This is definitely a medieval, fantasy type novel, not quite falling in the young adult genre, but close. I won’t go into any more detail to avoid spoiling the story for anyone who is interested. Next week, I will complete the book and give my overall thoughts.