Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder Book Review

Trigger warnings: rape, abuse, torture, murder, suicide, abduction

Magic Study follows directly on from where Poison Study ended. Before reading Magic Study, I read the extra content on Maria V. Snyder’s website that fits between these two books: chapter 1 of Poison Study from Valek’s point of view and Assassin Study, a short story featuring Valek.

This book followed Yelena entering Sitia: her country of birth, trying to find her family, going to a magic school and navigating her magical powers. There were politics, tactics, fights, magic, historical lessons, mysteries, different cultures and varying relationships. 

I loved Magic Study. The structure was very similar to Poison Study with different threads of the story and the stakes being raised. I was glad to see that Valek was mentioned and that he was in this book too. There were new characters introduced and I really liked seeing Yelena getting to know her family, culture and learning magic. Similarly to the first book, all of the characters were interesting and multi-layered. This book was slightly less predictable than the first which was nice to see.

The only negative comment that I have about this book is that there were quite a few grammatical errors in the Kindle edition that I was reading, so much so that it became an obvious annoyance. However, it did not interrupt my enjoyment of the story too much.

I can’t wait to read the next book, Fire Study. I love all of the characters and the plot always increases in tension and makes me want to keep reading. Again, I felt a range of emotions reading this book and I just want to read more about these characters and this world. 

Rating: 4.5/5