Fire Study (Study book 3)

by Maria V. Snyder.

And the final in the trilogy. This book rounds out the relationship between Yelena and Leaf more, they become closer and Leaf becomes a more likable character. The first half of the book does not include Yelena's Ixian friends at all but the second half rectifies that and even includes a return to Ixia for Yelena (bringing along Leaf).
The second half of the book flies by, with Yelena in trouble, then in trouble, then in more trouble, with a doom and gloom about the whole thing, it's really best to just keep going and get to the end. Things more very fast, especially compared to the rest of the trilogy and a lot happens in the last 40 minutes especially (in the audio form).

I finished this up while working on the house Saturday and now I'm taking a short break from audiobooks (just for the next 2 weeks) so I can learn some Italian again.

Magic Study (Study book 2)

by Maria V. Snyder.

Another OLD FAVORITE! I started this immediately after finishing Poison Study. Magic Study, while it technically has less of Yelena's friends (Valek, Ari and Jenko), the relationships have filled out more so when they are in it the scenes are more exciting. They're also in it a lot more than I remembered them being in it.

While Poison Study is still my favorite, I really love this one too. Fire Study, the last is a great ending but it has this sense of doom and gloom about it. Magic Study is a great middle ground, plenty of happy times and a sense that things will go well (instead of not so well).

I finished this up on the drive down to my sister's house, then started up Fire Study on the drive back home.

Poison Study (Study book 1)

by Maria V. Snyder.
Ahhhh - like comfort food. I jumped into this right after Opal's adventures in Storm Glass and boy am I glad. It made my 4 1/2 hour drive back from Maine fly and I finished this last night while stitching after work. It makes me want to stitch!

Good old Yelena as the food taster for the commander of Ixia. She's been through so much, she's such a strong character and she becomes stronger throughout the book, even falling in love. I really love this book and could read it over and over. There are only a few books I have that are like that.

So this is finished and I've already started the second (Magic Study) on the drive in to work this morning. Plus I read the short story Assassin Study that's on Maria V. Snyder's webpage and is a story of Valek that follows just after Poison Study, that's a fun adventure.