Title: Giftet (The Poison)Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Poison Study
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Poison Study #1
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 20/01/2019
Summary: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...
My thoughts: Oh. My. GOD. This is BY FAR the best YA novel I've read for a long time. This story, with its writing and realistic characters, had me ensnared from the first page. I mean, come on, just the premise of this book is AWESOME. A teenage girl on death row in a Merlin-esque world gets the option of becoming food taster for the Commander, working alongside a vicious assassin. I LOVE IT. The romance had me hooked (and I know the age difference is questionable, but I frankly don't care). The characters are soooo good, the world building is solid, the politics aren't dull, and, again, the fricking romance. Yelena is such an interesting character to follow, with her dark and tragic past that is given to us in small hints throughout this first novel. And Valek is superb. Just fantastic.
All in all, I am so glad I finally picked this up after having it on my shelves for many years. This translation is really good and the book is so worth reading. You definitely won't regret it. If you enjoyed BBC's Merlin, you'll like this too (although this is mayhaps a bit darker). GO READ IT.
Rating: 5/5
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Author: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Magic Study
Genre: YA, fantasy
Series: Poison Study #2
Publisher: Harlequin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 363
Finished: 24/01/2019
Summary: Spoiler alert! You know your life is bad when you miss your days as a poison taster...
With an execution order on her head, Yelena has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. With only a year to master her magic - or face death - Yelena must begin her apprenticeship and travels to the Four Towers of the Magician's Keep.
But nothing in Sitia is familiar. Not the family to whom she is a stranger. Not the unsettling new facets of her magic. Nor the brother who resents her return. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her rare powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye.
My thoughts: After absolutely loving the first book, I threw myself into the second book, “Magin”, or “Magic Study” in English. This was a really good continuation; the new scenery and characters keeps the story alive and exciting. We get to find out more about the political situation and how magic works. Yelena grows more badass as a character, I love her very much. I don’t have a lot more to say, except that I really like the romance in many ways. One big reason for that is that there’s no doubt between Yelena and Valek. She never doubts that he’s the one she loves and the right person for her, even when others show romantic interest in her. Her loyalty is strong, and so is his. It’s unusual to find such romances in YA books. Often there’s at least a love triangle.
Don't even look at the cover. It will distract you with its ugliness. It's absolutely froglike.
Rating: 5/5
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Title: Carry OnAuthor: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Carry On
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Simon Snow #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 517
Finished: 27/01/2019
Summary: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen. That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right. Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
My thoughts: Finally! I’ve been looking forward to reading this since 2015, when it first came out. I thought I’d read “Fangirl” first, but I guess the pull of this one was stronger. In the end, it was my friend, Emilia, who pushed me into reading it now. Something that's good to know is that this is basically a fanfiction on Harry Potter, but with a lot of stuff kinda changed. Idk, I like it, but then I've also had my fair share of experience when it comes to other Harry Potter fanfics.
“Carry On” was a quirky and fun as I was expecting it to be. The first 200 pages or so were basically just exposition and world building, and I’d say the good stuff starts after that. There’s the mystery about the Humdrum, the tension between Simon and Baz (who is a smexy BAZtard hehe), and a political war going on in the background. The romance was a lot of fun, but not as fun as the magic. Tbh, having spells be idioms, saying, and famous quotes or song lyrics’ is just brilliant and hilarious. I found myself giggling at even the most serious scenes, because someone would be casting “These are not the droids you’re looking for” and send me into a fit of laughter.
All in all, this was a great book for this god awful weather. Something to warm me up with both laughter and happy feelings overall. I’m very much looking forward to the sequel, which is said to be coming THIS YEAR, so I certainly hope it does.
Rating: 5/5
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