Study

Poison Study is another novel that toes the line between young adult and mature. It opens with an incredible hook and drags you all the way through the story on a wave of suspense and fascination. The story starts with Yelena on the chopping block, where she is offered a choice. She can either test the crown's food for poison or die. She makes the obvious choice and ends up beholden to her employer via a poison that needs an antidote every day. You know the sub-genre, so I'll let you connect the dots from there. Let's just say that Yelena's latent magical powers can be used for more sinister means, as can her first-hand knowledge of poisons. There's just one small problem: magic is punishable by death. In some ways, the Study series is a coming of age story. There's training montages, a progression from broken to badass, and even a bit of romance. It's a story where the main character slowly recovers from trauma and learns more about herself along the way. However, Snyder manages to push it past cliché with concise prose, interesting characters, and fantastic world building. She pays particular attention to the detailed political system, a factor instrumental in fantasy assassin novels but often overlooked. In all, it's an addictive read, with a good blend of new and traditional elements.Read if you like: Strong female characters, fast pacing, training montages.