ARC Review--Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder

New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder brings her Poison Study series to its exhilarating conclusion.

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.

I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I have been in love with Maria V. Snyder’s books ever since I picked up Poison Study 10 years ago. Her world was just so incredibly awesome! It was a well-developed fantasy read that didn’t over complicate things by being a fantasy world—something the can sometimes happen with fantasy reads—coupled with amazing characters! Dawn Study seems like the end of an era! But though we close the book on Yelena’s story, once again, I feel like there is definite possibility for more stories should Maria ever decide to go down that path again!

We join Yelena and Co. as they try to figure out how they are going to stop the Cartel, Owen, and Bruns from taking over Sitia and by extent, Ixia. Everyone seems happy to believe that Bruns is doing good for Ixia by planning a takeover of Sitia, but as we already know, it’s because he has them under his own spell. Not to mention that there’s still an assassin who’s out to kill Yelena and her unborn child.

This world means so much to me! I’ve grown so fond of all these characters. That every time we play the game of picking favorites, someone from this world makes my list! Usually Janco! I truly loved having everyone back in this story! We get points of view from Yelena and Valek as we previously did, but also Leif, Janco, and Heli. I loved seeing Opal and Devlen again, yes, the crises from their novella are resolved. Reema was another favorite of mine! She’s so feisty and intuitive! Her enthusiasm is absolutely contagious. I wouldn’t mind at all if Maria decides to give her a story a few years down the line, as she is still just a child! For us, let’s just have it come out next year or so! LOL!

This was definitely a story to keep you on your toes. There’s lots of action, rescue mission, secret ops, break-ins, heists…all so much to keep you entertained and needing to turn those pages faster! But never fear! For Maria doesn’t just dose out the action, she has woven such a beautiful love story between Yelena and Valek that always leaves me swooning. And then there’s Janco! I seriously love this guy so much because he always has me cracking up! Legit LOLing!! Janco just has a certain way about him. He sees the world somewhat differently than one normally would. He definitely brings on the much needed comedic relief in all their dire situations.

This was definitely one exciting read! As I said, the action is practically nonstop as the group has to consistently make plans to defeat their enemies, and let me tell you, that list is longer than you would think. Especially when one of their enemies has the Commander wrapped around his finger. The Commander was always one of those characters that I could never really figure out. He definitely has his own agenda going on, he’s truly a man of mystery!

While the size of this book may seem daunting to you, I’d like to point out that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was over 800 pages and we all read that happily, so remember more pages usually is a good thing! Lol! I certainly wouldn’t have minded more pages!

The ending to this one was absolutely beautiful! I loved every moment of it! We have a good conclusion and sense of resolving. But, I definitely feel like there were tiny seeds planted here and there, should Maria ever feel like returning to this world again…hint, hint, nudge, nudge. ;)

I don’t really feel like I am saying goodbye to these characters or world just yet. Maria has proven with this second trilogy alone that endings never truly stay the end. Even if all we were to get were some short stories, I would be thrilled with that! I am still anxious to see how each of these characters will settle into their happy endings, and some I feel like are quite 100% settled just yet. Guess the only thing to do now is pester Maria with a few more questions! Heehee!

If you have yet to discover the magic that is Maria V. Snyder, then I implore you to read her books! Poison Study was the first novel of this world and it’s where I recommend starting! Though each of the three trilogies can standalone should you chose to start with one over the other, there will be a few details and whatnot that get carried over that could spoil things should you backtrack. As I always like to recommend, if you’re going to start with the series, start at the very beginning! You won’t be disappointed! Dawn Study was yet another thrilling and magical read from one of my most favorite authors and I will be waiting with bated breath for the next book!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

Dawn Study releases January 31, 2016