Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
The third book in the Study series, Fire Study features Yelena Zaltana – former Ixian prisoner and food taster turned Sitian magician and Soulfinder. With Ferde and Cahil still on the loose, Yelena tries to convince the council to hunt them down. Not only do they refuse her request, First Magician Roze Featherstone continues to insist that Yelena is too dangerous to be allowed to live.
Yelena and her brother Leif set off on a journey to try to prevent a brewing war between her two homelands. Facing a whirlwind of simultaneous conflicts and dangers, she struggles to come to terms with the corruptible nature of magic as she faces the her most powerful adversary yet – a Fire Warper that’s steadily gaining power from a horrific blood magic ritual practiced by the Daviian clan.
I really loved reading this trilogy, especially the first one (Poison Study). While I still enjoyed this one, I thought it dove into conflict after conflict without letting me pause to really get into the story. The Fire Warper was a really interesting addition and I wanted to learn more about him, and of course I wanted more scenes with Valek, who is one of my favorite characters in the books. Ari and Janco showed up in a few scenes though, so that made me happy.
I love the juxtaposition between the structured districts of Ixia and the free-spirited, magic wielding citizens of Sitia. Yelena is a wonderful character, full of passion and stubbornness, and all three books are packed with adventure, humor and raw human emotion.
Although this wasn’t my favorite of the Study series I highly recommend it and look forward to reading her Glass series soon!
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