I Can’t Stop Thinking About Poison Study

I wanted to make a clever poison pun, but I couldn’t think of anything.

I don’t review books very often, in part because I’m never quite sure what to say. In fact, even though I categorize all of these things as reviews, I tend to refer to them as “discussions.” Sometimes I’m honest enough to admit I’m just going to ramble. With that in mind, it’s time for a new review/discussion/ramble, because I finished a book the other day, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

The book in question is Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder.

It’s a fantasy novel, and the premise is simple. The protagonist, Yelena, is set to be executed, but she’s given the chance to become the Commander’s food taster instead. She accepts, and finds herself confronted with new problems–people trying to murder her, magical powers (which may not sound like a problem, but magic is illegal under the Commander’s reign), and the fact that she’s been poisoned to keep her from running away.

Sound cool? I certainly thought so, and the plot held my interest for the entire book. It wasn’t filled with twists and turns, as some of my favorites are, but it kept up a strong pace and raised enough questions that I always wanted to see what happened next.

But the characters are what really set it apart for me. Yelena is a fun, likable protagonist, there’s a strong supporting cast, and as for the security chief, Valek? Well, let’s just say I set the book down partway through to ask myself if I should feel weird for being in love with the scary assassin guy, and then I decided to stop asking myself stupid questions and just keep reading!

The more I read, the more I liked the characters. My concern for them and what would happen to them kept me up at night, which hasn’t happened since I played Dual Destinies (technically Azran Legacy, but there it was the plot that kept me awake, not agonizing worry for the protagonists). When a story has me worrying about the characters, it’s done something right.

On the other side of the character spectrum, the villains were perfectly despicable. I’ve mentioned in the past that I need to feel something for a story’s villains, and Poison Study’s villains made sure I felt something for them–pure hatred.

All in all, it was a fantastic book. When I finished it, I felt… a little sad. Yes, I’d wanted to know what happened next, but… it was over. I didn’t want it to be over.

I can’t wait to read the sequel, and I’m telling you all right now, if you enjoy fantasy, you really should buy Poison Study. And if you’ve already read it, share your own thoughts in the comments below.