Title: Assassin Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: The Chronicles of Ixia #1.5, The Study Series #1.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Assassins, Magic, Medieval fantasy
Pace: Slow, Medium, Fast
Format: Novel, Novella
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Children had been tormented.

Yelena, the heroine of Maria V. Snyder’s stunning debut novel Poison Study, is on her way to her ancestral homeland of Sitia to be reunited with her family and to learn more about her magical powers. An order of execution hangs over her head should she ever return to Ixia. But her true love, Valek, quickly learns that an assassin has taken it upon himself to make sure Yelena doesn’t reach her destination.

As Ixia’s chief of security, and a highly skilled assassin himself, can Valek track down the killer in time to save Yelena’s life?

I didn’t love the way that Poison Study left Valek and Yelena’s relationship. So this did a lot to heal that frustration. It was a great short story that followed Valek as he tries to make sure that she survives yet another threat to her life.

The part that I enjoyed the most about Assassin Study was that it showed the depth of Valek’s emotions for Yelena. Poison Study is all written from her point of view, and whilst it’s obvious that there is a connection, I wasn’t entirely confident in Valek’s emotions. After all, he’s a scary, scary assassin. So, it was great to read a tale in which he risks everything and throws caution to the winds, just to rescue the woman he loves.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: Poison Study
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: The Chronicles of Ixia #1, The Study Series #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect), 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Assassins, Magic, Medieval fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: My stomach felt as if it contained a live mouse, trying to chew its way out.

How much is your life worth?

In the territory of Ixia control is maintained through the Code of Behaviour forbidding the practice of magic, but danger lurks in mysterious places…

Imprisoned for murder, Yelena Zaltana’s punishment is death, unless she accepts the position of the Commander of Ixia’s food taster… and risks assassination from poison daily.

In a world where magic equals death and freedom is for the lucky few, the battle for Yelena’s life has just begun.

This was one of those random, second hand, impulse buys. I had no idea what to expect. I had never heard of it. And, man, am I glad that I picked this up. It was a great story, but not so grab you by the throat that I forgot about everything else around me. There was a wonderful, strong heroine. An engaging world and storyline. And even a bit of a love story thrown in. I’ve found a new series and author to obsess over!

This is a weirdly medieval dystopian future setting. It’s this great idea of a world in harmony – everyone has a chance, a place and a position. Murder doesn’t occur because there is a strong sense of an eye for an eye (you murder, and you get executed). And there is a strong, independent leader in front. Yet, it’s so obviously flawed. Yelena is on death row for defending herself. She then gets to become a poison taster (someone in the line of assassination) and is thrown into a world of subterfuge. This weird juxtaposition between the great ideals, and the reality of what happens highlights that everything is not always as it seems. And that Yelena might be finding herself in a lot more trouble than she ever could have predicted.

I both liked and disliked the ending of this. Without giving away any spoilers, it is a great lead into the next tale. But I also didn’t like the way that Yelena’s relationships were placed throughout this tale. But, really, it works well because now I can’t wait to read Magic Study and find out how she goes in the next step on her journey of self-discovery.

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