After I dealt with the Fire Warper, which should be a breeze. I mentally added soothing-the-dead-Sandseeds to the end of my long list of things to do. And, most importantly, he makes me laugh.

I love that he can hold his own for most of the adventure. Leif comes around, though, and he is highly entertaining to read about. Mostly because he was trying to kill her half the time, but then again, that’s not much of a justification, considering I warmed to Valek really quickly, and he must have tried to kill Yelena a couple times in Poison Study (that said, he’s saved Yelena several times over when she was busy saving everyone else XD). In the last book, I kind of couldn’t bring myself to like Leif even when he is Yelena’s brother.

“Leif, do you always think with your stomach?” I asked. Floranne won’t have hot coals for breakfast.” “No,” Leif said, “The inn will get too cold and Mrs. Yelena will have but one chance to prove herself-and save the land she holds dear. Her journey is fraught with allies, enemies, lovers and would-be assassins, each of questionable loyalty. Honor sets Yelena on a path that will test the limits of her skills, and the hope of reuniting with her beloved spurs her onward. As the Council debates Yelena’s fate, she receives a disturbing message: a plot is rising against her homeland, led by a murderous sorcerer she has defeated before… Already Yelena’s unusual abilities and past have set her apart. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder-able to capture and release souls-spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. The apprenticeship is over-now the real test has begun. Make note: Possible spoilers, considering this is the third of a series. (And it’s not really an end, considering Yelena’s story continues in the Soulfinder series, which is definitely on my to-read list now).

Part of my bias definitely carried over to this “end” of a trilogy. And I could be biased here, seeing as I’ve loved the previous Study books so far. Nothing like getting out of a reading slump than by reading a terribly good book.

Maria snyder study series