Dawn Study by Maria V Snyder

Title: Dawn Study
Author: Maria V Snyder
Publisher: Harlequin Australia
Date of Publication: January 23rd, 2017
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

Summary:

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.

Review:

This final part of Yelena's story has been a long time coming. Yelena and Valek are one of the most enduring couples in fantasy. Despite each being hated in the other's home country, and being kept separate for much of their relationship by their duty to their respective leaders. With her pregnancy to worry about and the loss of her powers, Yelena is perhaps at her most vulnerable. Despite this, she must convince Sitia's leaders that they are being controlled by magic, and free them of this influence so they can take back power. Valek must face the Commander one last time as his loyalty is pushed to its limits. At stake is not only the fragile peace between Sitia and Ixia, but the fate of all magicians.




The stakes are high, the pace is frenzied, and almost everyone we have come to know in the previous 8 books set in this world makes an appearance in this one.

This story deserved a big conclusion and it gets it in Dawn Study. All questions are answered, all mysteries resolved, and, for a little while at least, the fate of these warring countries is known.

I really enjoyed returning to this world and spending some more time with Yelena and her friends, but I am glad that this story is finished. I thought at the end of Night Study that it was starting to feel a little tired. It's been 12 years since Poison Study was published, and it's time for Yelena to enjoy her retirement.

I enjoyed this final instalment and I feel that the resolution was satisfactory for everyone concerned. There are some particularly tense moments when it seems that all is lost, and not everyone makes it through unscathed, but loyal readers will be satisfied with the outcome. 

If you've read the other Study books, then you'll want to read this final chapter, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.