Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

 

5 Star

Yelena is prepared to die for the murder she committed.  It didn’t matter if it was justified or not, she is still a murder.  She is next for the noose when the Commander of Ixia is in need of a new food taster.  The rule of the country is the position must be offered to the next to die.  Yelena figures it’s worth it to stay alive.  With this new position she risks assassination by anyone who wants her dead as well as the commander.  With all the secrets she carries she’s not sure if she made the right decision or if it would have been better to take the noose.

This story was amazing.  I loved seeing the relationship change and grow between Yelena and Valek.  As well as her relationships with Ari and Janco.  It was interesting that it is considered a romance, but the romance doesn’t really happen until the very end.  Finding out about all of Yelena’s secrets was a journey I enjoyed reading.  The world building in the book was spot on.  It was interesting and complex.  I am looking forward to seeing how the next book turns out.

Book 1 Chronicles of Ixia

Chasing the Shadows by Maria V Snyder

5 Stars

Lyra Daniels died for sixty-six seconds.  To keep her safe she’s going to remain dead.  With her new name, job, and ability to manipulate the q-net she needs to find a way around the looters block to let everyone know what is going on with the Terracotta Warriors and silent planets.  A protector ship is on the way to them but the planet might not last long enough for them to arrive with extra help.  Lyra can’t let them win so she do anything she can to keep them all safe.

 

I loved this book so much.  Where the first book was slow to start this book wasn’t at all like that.  The pacing in this book was spot on and the story itself progressed nicely.  There was growth in all of Lyra’s relationships.  I liked seeing the growth in Lyra’s skills and how she was willing to do anything to protect those she loved.  I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens next.

Book 2   Sentinels of the Galaxy

Navigating the Stars by Maria V Snyder

4 Stars

Seventeen-year old Lyra Daniels doesn’t want to move again as it will mean her friends are 50 years in the past.  She can’t blame her parents for wanting to explore the galaxy but that doesn’t make her any happier about once again going through a time jump to a new planet.  She blames the Q-Net for allowing massive space travel by folding space.  When new Terracotta Warriors are discovered on a planet her parents are asked to travel to this new planet to continue their research.  When they arrive the research team starts to find problems with other Terracotta Warrior planets going silent.  Lyra needs to find out why the planets are going silent to prevent it from happening to her new home.

I love Maria V Snyder books.  This one was one I struggled with.  It was very slow to start but there was a point in the story about a third of the way in that it picked up for me and I couldn’t put it down.  Part of that was this was the first book in a new series and so there was a lot of explaining of the world.  The other part is like all of her other books she has a lot of information in her books.  Once I got past the slow part it was a really good book.  Even though Lyra was living in space the struggles she had was just like every other teen.  Almost an adult and wanting freedoms and her parents wanting to protect her.  Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Book 1 Sentinels of the Galaxy

Eyes of Tamburah by Maria V. Snyder

5 Stars

Disclaimer on the book today.  This book is originally published in Australia.  I am a fan and had to order this book from an independent book store in Pennsylvania to read this book.  All of this and the book was well worth the wait to get the book and I’m going to have to wait until sometime next year for it to be released in the USA but if you are interested in the book you can order from this website:

https://www.cupboardmaker.com/

And you will get it signed.  Now onto the book review.

Shyla was born sun-kissed.  She should have been left out to die when she was born but she was taken in by the monks.  They raised her until adulthood where she was given the option to join the monks or be cast out.  She would still be acknowledged but not family or allowed past the first library.  She chooses to go out and see the world.  Shyla tries to start a business finding lost artifacts but because she is sun-kissed finds it difficult to find work until the princes’ archaeologist, Banqui, asks her to find things for him.  He continues to use her serves and sends people to her until the Eyes of Tamburah are stolen from him.  They are believed to have magical powers that many people wish to have to gain control of the water resources.  This would allow them to control the city and take power away from the prince.  Shyla is forced into tracking down the thief to save Banqui from the tender mercy of the Water Prince.  With the Water Prince’s Captain Rendon following her she is determined to find the eyes and save lives as soon as possible.

Like all of the other books Maria V Snyder has written the writing was spot on.  The pacing was spot on.  I never felt there was any lag in the story.  Even though it was the first in a new series there wasn’t a lot of world building lag.  You get the whole story and the world building as we went and it made sense.  I know some people didn’t like Shyla with Rendor but I liked them together.  They just worked.  He was willing to take a backseat to her wants so she could grow and become the person she was meant to be.  He sets aside his wants to help her.  Even though he had done some bad things in his life he was trying to make amends for those bad things.  I can’t wait for the next book to come out to see how the story is continued.  Highly recommend reading this book.

Book 1 Archives of the Invisible Sword

Shadow Study – Maria V. Snyder – 3*

Shadow Study – Maria V. Snyder – 3*

I hate giving this book a 3 star review as I love this author. When I heard she was writing another story with Yelena and Valek I was extremely happy and couldn't wait. The book has two big no-nos for me.

The first no for me was it switches between characters. Chapter one was Yelena, Chapter two Valek, and chapter three Janco and this continues through the rest of the book. Now I loved each of the stories told from the different views but I always find myself skimming to get back to the cliff we were left at the end of the last chapters. This leads me to missing vital storylines.

The second no for me is not having a complete story. Books are meant to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This book did really well with the first two but it didn't end the story. I read Snyder's Study series and though there were plot points from book one continued into two and three each book had an ending. This book has a lot of unanswered questions that we will have to wait until the new book comes out for answers.

Overall I loved the story that was told in this book I just wish there had been more conclusions of the different plots so I didn't feel like I read half of a book.