Author: Maria V Snyder
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
Source: Harlequin via NetGalley
Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings her Poison Study series to its exhilarating conclusion.Review by Nara
Despite the odds, Yelena and Valek have forged an irrevocable bond and a family that transcends borders. Now, when their two homelands stand on the brink of war, they must fight with magic and cunning to thwart an Ixian plot to invade Sitia.
Yelena seeks to break the hold of the insidious Theobroma that destroys a person's resistance to magical persuasion. But the Cartel is determined to keep influential citizens and Sitian diplomats in thrall and Yelena at bay. With every bounty hunter after her, Yelena is forced to make a dangerous deal.
With might and magic, Valek peels back the layers of betrayal surrounding the Commander. At its rotten core lies a powerful magician and his latest discovery. The fate of all rests upon two unlikely weapons. One may turn the tide. The other could spell the end of everything."
Dawn Study was quite a fitting end to a fantastic series by Maria V Snyder. After being surprised by the announcement of another three books in the Study series, I have to say, the additional books were certainly worth waiting for. Once again, if you hadn't already know, I'm going to mention that before you read these three new novels, you should definitely read the original three novels as well as the three Glass series novels if you don't want any spoilers.
I'd have to say my favourite novel of the series is likely Night Study. It was very much Valek's book, and was geared towards revealing his past and his motivations, and obviously I'm really going to like a book focused on one of my favourite characters in the series. In fact, this entire three-book extension in the series is much more focused on Valek rather than Yelena, although of course Yelena does still have a large role to play. Dawn Study is still focused on Valek, but there isn't quite as much character development and it's mostly driven by plot.
Speaking of which, I have to admit, the book is not perfect, and mostly this is because of the pacing. Snyder's books in general are quite fast paced, but Dawn Study seemed to have a lot of meandering around and repetitiveness that I haven't really seen in her previous books. Many events do happen, but they seem like things that have happened previously in the series. Still, the plot was exciting enough, and I'm invested in all the characters enough that this wasn't a huge problem (as you might be able to tell from my rating of the book).
Maria V Snyder is certainly in my list of writers who are consistently good. If you want a YA fantasy series with a relatively modern feel to the narrative, the Chronicles of Ixia series is most definitely one that I would recommend.
Really liked it
RatingsOverall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
