Magic Study: A Review

 

Goodreads (description):

YOU KNOW YOUR LIFE IS BAD WHEN YOU MISS YOUR DAYS AS A POISON TASTER...
With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways—and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better....

Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training—especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince—and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.

If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies....



My Review: 



I am glad to say that Magic Study was a solid sequel to Poison Study. I rather enjoyed seeing the growth in Yelena.

 In this book, Yelena is reacquainted with her family, although it wasn't exactly the heartwarming welcome she deserved. Her brother, Leif, immediately discredits her, calling her a spy and a murder for the northern country, Ixia.

You would like to things get better from here, but no. Thankfully, Yelena's parents are cool. I like how they look beyond Yelena's faults and take her in. They are great characters, and I liked to see the relationship Yelena tries to build with them--it wasn't easy, but it was great to see her try.

Eventually, Yelena travels to this place called the Citadel, where the four great magicians reside, where Yelena will study magic.

This is where Yelena grows the most in this book. She learns how to control her magic, and just how strong she really is. She is put through many lessons, some of which were unorthodox, but she still kept her head up and fought to prove herself to First Magician--who was a right witch, in more ways than just one. I liked how Yelena learned to stand up for herself, she proved to everyone that she was not someone to be messed with.

There are new characters in this one, Leif for one, the "lost prince," and several more.

I really didn't like Leif. The fact that he discarded Yelena without even hearing her out about her past was maddening. He wouldn't even let her get close to him, he was extremely rude, and bordered on the line of being the epitome of douche bags. Had what happened later in the book not happened, I probably would still really hate him... now I don't... as much, anyways.

As for the lost prince... It was the opposite effect with him. Liked him in the beginning and not so much in the end. The way Snyder kept me guessing on who was good and who was bad, made it so I wasn't surprised about the lost prince's change of attitude. Still, I was mad that he refused to look to reason. He kind of went of the deep end.

Yelena's love interest, Valek, proved himself to be an even better person than he was in the first book. All he did for Yelena was incredible. He has, and will again, sacrifice much for Yelena. I love his devotion and how he manages to do the right thing, even with a dark past as his shadow. I am glad that Yelena has at least one person she can fully trust.

Yelena was once again awesome in this book. I like how she is determined to prove herself. Although, this trait does get her into situations that could have been easily avoided and causes her to make rash decisions sometimes... Still, she fights back when everyone else crashes down on her. I believe she still has room for a lot more growth, but she's steadily getting there. I really hope that she learns to trust people more. Especially Fourth Magician.

I give this a 4 out of 5!