ss456's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
thegildedfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I decided to not consider the shitty translation when deciding upon a rating. It was a nice read, fast paced, with quite a lot of plots (too many, I would say, and without any use), funny characters with funny and sweet relationships. I didn't have such high expectations, regarding the fact that it was written quite a lot time ago. It was a nice stars for a series. The two main characters clearly had chemistry and the friendships were chef's kiss.
bpgorence's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
shreddedpotato's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
danicapage's review against another edition
4.0
Well not really sure what I think of this book. It's unlike any other book I've ever read and so that automatically had me intrigued. Snyder is not a flowery writer, but she weaves a great story and honestly flowerly language wouldn't have fit the story. I'll give it 3.5 stars.
The story sets place in a fictional land controlled by military districts.
Yelena has committed murder and has been imprisoned for a year. Now, she's given a choice...a quick death or a slow death by poison. She decides to be the food facer for the Commander of Ixia.
She soon becomes entangled with murder plots, attempts to gain control of the government, and espionage and betrayal.
As Yelena finds herself struggling to get over the past and discover who she really is, she finds that she isn't prepared for the truth.
This book was interesting...and for that fact alone I'd definitely recommend it to anybody who wants a read that doesn't resemble any other book.
The story sets place in a fictional land controlled by military districts.
Yelena has committed murder and has been imprisoned for a year. Now, she's given a choice...a quick death or a slow death by poison. She decides to be the food facer for the Commander of Ixia.
She soon becomes entangled with murder plots, attempts to gain control of the government, and espionage and betrayal.
As Yelena finds herself struggling to get over the past and discover who she really is, she finds that she isn't prepared for the truth.
This book was interesting...and for that fact alone I'd definitely recommend it to anybody who wants a read that doesn't resemble any other book.
bookishlytammie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
cefuchs's review against another edition
2.0
The book's concept and plot were excellent, and drove me forward.
In general the characters were intelligent and interesting; Yelena especially. A few strange decisions seemed out of place--the Commander would not have just told Yelena to research the mystery seeds without also setting more qualified people on it, and Yelena being surprised at the decision was a cheap and ineffective attempt at copping out of that fact. Still, I enjoyed the characters.
But I did not fall in love with them. Even with Yelena's harrowing and intriguing past, it felt like they lacked depth. This honestly wasn't because of the characters themselves.
it was the writing.
While the writing was not bad, it was certainly not great. The old "show, don't tell" adage can be overused but it applied painfully to this book.
There was a whole lot of telling.
Telling about feelings, with little actions/etc. to back them up. Telling about history which, while necessary information, sprung up at off moments, distracting from the story. When the author was showing, the writing could be good. But for a first person book, I often felt like I was reading unwarranted narration. Certain actions/decisions would have seemed more natural if they'd been built up to with some showing.
It was an easy read with an awesome story, but lackluster because of this. I enjoyed the book, but don't think I'll continue the series.
In general the characters were intelligent and interesting; Yelena especially. A few strange decisions seemed out of place--the Commander would not have just told Yelena to research the mystery seeds without also setting more qualified people on it, and Yelena being surprised at the decision was a cheap and ineffective attempt at copping out of that fact. Still, I enjoyed the characters.
But I did not fall in love with them. Even with Yelena's harrowing and intriguing past, it felt like they lacked depth. This honestly wasn't because of the characters themselves.
it was the writing.
While the writing was not bad, it was certainly not great. The old "show, don't tell" adage can be overused but it applied painfully to this book.
There was a whole lot of telling.
Telling about feelings, with little actions/etc. to back them up. Telling about history which, while necessary information, sprung up at off moments, distracting from the story. When the author was showing, the writing could be good. But for a first person book, I often felt like I was reading unwarranted narration. Certain actions/decisions would have seemed more natural if they'd been built up to with some showing.
It was an easy read with an awesome story, but lackluster because of this. I enjoyed the book, but don't think I'll continue the series.
sibley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
emmaghanem's review against another edition
5.0
WOW. I finished this book in two days, and found it completely amazing. I can't believe that I didn't pick up this up sooner! I fell in love with the main character with the first two chapters. I knew that this was going to be a great book! There was already mystery as you try to find out what happened to Yelena.
I really liked that the romance wasn't the main focus in the book, because there are too many young adult books these days that only focus on the romance between two characters, but in this book, it wasn't. I suspected the romance, but I wasn't completely sure until further on in the book. It became clear to me after several incidents.
I found that the characters were all great and I loved them as I met them, but I was also heartbroken as some characters betrayed Yelena. It was incredible what this book did to my mind, completely sucking me in.
In a way, I felt really bad for Yelena because of all the things that happened to her, especially the rape that she endured. But throughout the book, it seemed as though everyone wanted to get into Yelena's pants. It was a little funny..
The character development for Yelena in Poison Study was AMAZING. I was very happy to see that Yelena went from being feeble, helpless, and weak to a strong Independent woman. The fact that Yelena used the fighting training that she got to prevent herself from being raped again really made me want to learn self defense.
There were many surprises in the book, and to be honest I did suspect them at all! Overall, the plot was excellent, and the characters too, especially Brazell and Reyad, I thought that they were really great antagonists. I was very happy with this book, and it is now one of my favourites! Can't wait to read the second one.
I really liked that the romance wasn't the main focus in the book, because there are too many young adult books these days that only focus on the romance between two characters, but in this book, it wasn't. I suspected the romance, but I wasn't completely sure until further on in the book. It became clear to me after several incidents.
I found that the characters were all great and I loved them as I met them, but I was also heartbroken as some characters betrayed Yelena. It was incredible what this book did to my mind, completely sucking me in.
In a way, I felt really bad for Yelena because of all the things that happened to her, especially the rape that she endured. But throughout the book, it seemed as though everyone wanted to get into Yelena's pants. It was a little funny..
The character development for Yelena in Poison Study was AMAZING. I was very happy to see that Yelena went from being feeble, helpless, and weak to a strong Independent woman. The fact that Yelena used the fighting training that she got to prevent herself from being raped again really made me want to learn self defense.
There were many surprises in the book, and to be honest I did suspect them at all! Overall, the plot was excellent, and the characters too, especially Brazell and Reyad, I thought that they were really great antagonists. I was very happy with this book, and it is now one of my favourites! Can't wait to read the second one.