Mundie Moms

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Shadow Study (Soul Finders #1) by Maria V. Snyder; "Mini" Book Review


Published: Mira
To Be Released on: February 24, 2015
Series: Soul Finders #1
Rating: 5 Stars - I Loved It!
Source: ebook to review from publisher for an upcoming blog tour
Pre-Order from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Read the 1st Chapter HERE

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder wowed readers with Poison Study, the unforgettable story of poison taster Yelena. Now she's back with a new tale of intrigue. 

Once, only her own life hung in the balance…

Oddly enough, when Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But she'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.

Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek's job—and his life—are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret—or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is—while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers. 

Valek and Yelena are back! I have spent a long time waiting for these two to be back, and it was totally worth the wait. I stayed up past 2 am reading this book, it is that good. For the sake of not spoiling anything, and due an upcoming blog tour stop I have for Shadow Study, I won't say much about this story, though I have a lot to say. I wanted to do a quick review and let fans of Maria V. Snyder's know this is a book worth putting on your TBR lists!! 

My love for Valek and Yelena dates back to before there was a Mundie Moms, and before there was an Edward and Bella. Velak and Yelena are the first YA couple that I fell in love with. I love that though it's been a few years since I first met them, all those same feelings I had when I first read Poison Study, I felt with Shadow Study. I LOVED being back in their world. In reading Shadow Study, I felt like I never left their world. To me, that's a feat that Maria V. Snyder accomplished. This book felt like it picked up right where things left off. 

A lot has happened since I first met Valek and Yelena. Since their story there have been other series that have been apart of this enchanting world of magic, secrecy, danger, romance, and action.  I loved seeing many of my favorite characters from Maria's series back together, along with a few new characters. There is so much that happens in this book. True to Maria's writing, it is impossible to predict what will happen next and how the story will end. Nothing is ever as it seems. Like the rest of her Maria's series, the characters who are the most dangerous ones, are the less obvious ones to me, but the ones that as soon it's revealed who they are, I feel like they should have been more obvious to me from the get go.

I love the unpredictable plot twists, and not being able to figure out what will happen next. Maria writes everything in such a way that everyone is a suspect, and the person behind all that's going on, is always someone who surprises me. The three different points of view in this book are AWESOME! As in this is how you write three different points of views. Why did this book have to end?! THAT ENDING!! Oh my word, that was an ending I was not excepting, and it was so good! I need the next book asap. Maria V Snyder will LOVE continuing on with Valek and Yelena, and all of their friends. This is a must read! I would definitely recommend picking up other series before reading this one, as characters, and things that have happened previously, will make more sense when they are introduced, and discussed in this book.

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