Book Review: Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

Fire Studyis the stunning conclusion to Snyder's Study trilogy, wherein Yelena must come to terms with her soulfinder powers, heal relations between Sitia and Ixia, deal with a possible traitor in their midst, and fight the powerful and alluring fire warper. Her choices will affect not only her future but those of everyone she loves.

Having just finished Magic Study, I jumped right into this book. I still love Yelena as a character - in this book, she struggles again with her own identity and powers. The story is compelling and interesting, keeping me reading. I did think sometimes Yelena was being really stupid and purposely not understanding certain things that were very clear to the reader. Perhaps too many storylines going on at once detracted from the smooth flow of story, but resolutions seemed to tie the different stories together in a satisfying way. However, these and a few other minor issues did not truly mar my enjoyment of the book. Poison Study was by far my favorite of the trilogy. I look forward to a different series about this same world told from the eyes of a minor character, Opal. Storm Glassis the first in the series.

Read-alikes:
Yelena still reminds me of Harry from The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
A bit like the world in Warrior Heir, Wizard Heir, and Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
Court intricacies are similar to Crown Duel and Court Duelby Sherwood Smith

RATINGS:
s-factor: !
A few scattered throughout.

mrg-factor: X
A couple of mild scenes and innuendo.

v-factor: ->->
Some gruesome details, but nothing graphic.

Overall rating: ***