Shadow Study

How time flies. Just in the last novel, we saw Yelena come into her own to become one of the most powerful Magicians of the millennium and the Liason of two countries rather suspicious and distrustful of one another. And what does she have to show for it? Not much. Despite the 6 year fast forward, we see Yelena is still kicking as Liason though many people have tried to kill her. And Valek hadn't proposed. (Stupid man!) It made me sad that she hadn't actually accomplished very much in 6 years politically. The Commander is ever distrustful of Sitia and Sitians on the Council couldn't make a decision if their lives depended on it. Some characters have disappeared (Cahil) and people who were supposed to be dead (no one we knew to begin with) are not quite so dead (the Big Bad of the story arc).I'm not sure how I felt about this next book. Six years have passed since Book 3, and Yelena has plenty of stories and scars to prove it. Unfortunately, I have not been along for the ride and the names of people, places and other stories we are not familiar with are told in passing as the author situates us around Yelena's world again. Without reading the spin-off Glass series about Opal Cowan, I felt a little lost and left out for 1/4 of the story. I was at a serious disadvantage not having read the Glass Series.Intriguing is that the Commander, someone whom I respected in the first three books, may have made a very bad choice that sets Yelena and Valek on a very hard journey and may undo both Ixia and Sitia in the end. Disappointing is that Bain and Irys have no control over the Council and the idiot Council's greed and mistrust will be the end of Sitia. Though I still don't believe the gender bending Commander is evil, some of his choices are questionable and he's been keeping too many secrets, even from Valek.I would say there is no main character in this story arc. I didn't know how I felt about that. Yelena is no longer center stage as a very unfortunate/fortunate accident has rendered her magically useless. The chapters are narrated like a Fallen Kingdom's novel from multiple perspectives with cliff hangers galore for each chapter. A bit unnerving is that the third-person switches to first person when Yelena is narrating, which throws you off even more as the reader. I'm sure there was a reason for it but I still don't know what it was. I don't recall having so many perspectives in the first story arc, but since we have expanded Yelena's world and her circle, we now follow different story arcs from Janco, Yelena, Leif and Valek's perspective. They all come together in the end anyhow.Most delightful is Valek's perspective, which we have never been allowed to see. Maybe his age is catching up with him, since he must be pushing 40 now. He's reminiscing about his training, his old mentor and how he gained his reputation as the King Killer. We see a bit of how he mastered his emotions, how all those carved rocks came to be, and how he avenged his family. That was a great study in the assassin's background. We don't see the point in it until Book 7 but there is a point to all this reminiscing. We then come to realize he did not always do what the Commander ordered if his moral compass told him it was wrong, so the big bad assassin is really a nice guy underneath. We understand now that his holding Yelena for a year in the Commander's prison was just another side of Valek; a guy who wouldn't kill anyone if there didn't seem to be a good reason to. We all know how much he likes puzzles, his heart mate being the puzzle that saved his soul. We also see how the center of his universe gradually shifted from himself, to his Commander, to his Yelena. That journey alone was worth reading about.Like Cahil in the first 3 books, I'm not sure what the point of Onora was, and I couldn't like or connect to her, but I get the distinct feeling that if Valek and Yelena are ever to find their true happiness together, the Commander needs to replace Valek, needs Ixian magicians on his side, the Council needs to find its spine and Yelena and Valek need to find a nice cottage in the middle of nowhere so they can finally have some peace and quiet. Then a new generation of crime fighters needs to rise in these next three books to help the oppressed and downtrodden, and to sustain that uneasy peace between Ixia and Sitia.This story arc is not as dark as the first, but it's politics and intrigue galore. Twists and turns lead you into blind alleys, dead ends, and a deep dark maze of treachery. The never-ending danger of the Big Bad is kind of tiresome and our heroes are always one step behind the bigger plot. Frustrating but entertaining enough to make you buy the next two books without even sampling. You're in it deep by now, and if you're like me, you won't stop until you find out what becomes of our favorite Soul Finder and her heart mate Assassin.

https://theinkgobbler.wordpress.com/Sometimes, disappointment is a jarring, crushing feeling, the kind that hits you in the chest and forces the breath out of you. Other times, it's a subtle, sly thing, sneaking up behind you but never surprising you, lingering just out of conscious reach. When I found out that Maria V. Snyder's "Study" trilogy, which had originally come to a close seven years ago, was being revived in the new "Soulfinder" series with "Shadow Study," I think I must've peed in my pants a little. I remember falling head over heels in love with the characters and the world of the story, lying in bed well past midnight as I breezed past the pages, engrossed. But we all know that with the greatest anticipation, can come the greatest disappointment. In this case, the subtler, second kind. This is not to say that I hated the book, not at all, but rather that I found myself out of sync with the characters and the story that I once loved, most likely because too many years have passed since I said goodbye, and I, as a reader, have changed. And really, that's perfectly okay.I know I began this review on a somber, unpromising note, but "Shadow Study" is still a pretty entertaining read, and most especially because of its cast of characters. Reading this book was like being reunited with old friends, from Yelena and Valek to Janco and Ari, not to mention Kiki, Yelena's trusty steed. Admittedly, it was a little strange considering that the story takes place quite a few years after where we left off in the "Study" trilogy, though I suppose it's only fitting considering the time lapse between the books' actual publications. Plus, it made the reunion all the sweeter. I really appreciated the way in which Ms. Snyder brought back her old characters, like Leif and Opal, which subtly interconnects the two series in the reader's mind, prompting them to dig up memories of what had happened in the previous novels and altogether creating a richer, deeper reading experience. What's more, I especially enjoyed the development of Yelena and Valek's relationship, as it's undoubtedly matured a great deal, which we see in the way they've begun to reconsider what they want out of their individual lives (after all, they're kind of old now, too). It was great to see all of the characters we'd already seen grow so much develop even more, rendering them engaging to read about throughout the story, as well as see new characters added on to the dramatis personae to keep things fresh.That being said, it's also important to keep in mind that "Shadow Study" is the beginning of a new, separate series, with a new plot to follow with each installment. I do have to say, however, that this was one point toward which I found myself a little disappointed. While the premise of the storyline does sound promising, with Yelena finding her magic mysteriously blocked and political dissent rearing its ugly head once again, it ended up a little dull and too drawn out. The development of the plot was fairly predictable - in fact, the whole question of "who dunnit" was rather explicitly hinted at from the very beginning, leaving the so-called big reveal toward the end of the book more of a dud than anything. While there were a few unexpected twists in the storyline, they themselves failed to elicit much surprise from me, perhaps owing to the fact that everything was kind of drawn out. By the end of the novel, I found that what really kept me going till the final pages were the characters that I'd become attached to in the past, rather than anything new that was going on in this new installment.Another thing that was pretty disappointing was the execution of the narrative and dialogue. I don't know whether it's something that I just failed to pick up on in the past, or whether it's because the book is meant to be geared toward younger readers, but the writing was almost simplistic and even clumsy. For instance, many of the sentences lack commas and other punctuation that could help with the flow of the narrative; instead, clauses are jumbled together in a way that make the narrative voice seem forced and unnatural. Some questions don't end in question marks, but end in full stops instead, and there are some exclamations that sound a little childish, especially considering the fact that the characters are in their late twenties or thirties. What especially did it for me was when Janco, who seems to have much more of an enthusiastic tone of voice, kept calling people "newbs." Do people still use that word? While it would make sense if the story is, indeed, meant for younger readers, I was thrown off by the fact that there were quite a bit of sexual innuendoes sprinkled here and there with regard to Yelena and Valek, suggesting a somewhat older target audience instead. It seems that the writing style of the book is incompatible with its content, not quite striking a working balance between audiences.Overall, I have to say that "Shadow Study" fell short of expectations. While the cast of characters are as vibrant and as engaging as always, the storyline and the technical execution of the novel left a lot to be asked for. Maybe this is a sign that some books ought to stay closed, even if they're full of promise and potential.Rating: 2/5

Shadow Study vem pra dar continuação à vida de Yelena Zaltana. E agora podemos entender bem mais tudo o que estava se passando e criar uma relação de amor com ela e outros personagens nesse mundo, ainda maior.

What I LovedI think just about everything will fit under this section. I really missed Yelena and Valek and I’m really glad that I got to go on another adventure with them. You know how sometimes when a series gets longer or when an author adds another series it can get long and tedious? That doesn’t happen here. Especially if you read the three series in the correct order. You don’t have to read them in order but I think it really helps. I could read about Yelena and Valek all the time because they’re just such great characters and there’s so much we still don’t know about them!I’m going to take a brief pause in my review to explain this series order to you. Basically there’s three series (so far) that are all based in the same fantasy world. The first series (Study Trilogy) is where we first meet Yelena and Valek (plus others). That series is three books long. After that there’s the Glass Trilogy where we follow Opal. That nice part about this series is that even though we’re following a different character, we still see Yelena around sometimes and stuff that happened in the first series has affected things in this series. This book is a part of the Soulfinders Trilogy which is the last one as of right now. We’re following Yelena and Valek again but we also see Opal from the second series! All of these series can be read by themselves or in a different order but I HIGHLY recommend you read them in the order I just mentioned. It’ll be SO much better.I also love how this plot is so different from the other books! We’ve met other characters along the way in the previous series but now they actually get to be a part of this one! It’s nice because everyone trusts each other so they can all work together effectively and this group of people always gets into trouble. There’s more people our beloved characters can rely on but there’s just as many as they can’t trust. What I really love about this series is how some things that happened in the previous series have carried over. The characters haven’t forgotten what has happened and it’s mentioned sometimes. I hate it when previous books are basically forgotten and never mentioned again.I was especially excited because we saw a lot of Valek’s back story and he’s one of my favourite characters. If you’ve read the previous series then you have that to look forward to!!It’s hard for me to review this book because I don’t even want to give you the smallest detail. It’s so much better going into it blind! I can tell you that I loved it from page one and couldn’t put it down the entire time.What I Didn't LoveThe only thing I could possibly put under this section is the fact that the whole series didn’t come out all at once so I could binge it all. It’s that addicting.Who I'd Recommend ToI’d honestly recommend this to anyone because I love it so much. Keep in mind that the previous two series were young adult but this one is more of a new adult series since our characters have aged along with us! I think fantasy lovers will especially love this one because it combines all the best parts of a fantasy book.See the full review at <a href="http://booksforthought.ca/2016/09/book-talk-shadow-study-soulfinders-1/">Books for Thought</a>

I had a bit of confusion as I was reading this series, because the MC, Yelena Zaltana, narrates in the first person. Also, I was continually feeling as though I had missed something through her references to experiences in other times. And just to confuse my poor deficient brain further, the first two books in the Soulfinders series are Poison Study and Magic Study. Book three in the series is Fire Study, but it is listed on Amazon as "the Yelena Zaltana series Book 3". Then the next book, Shadow Study, is book 4 of the Soulfinders series.Despite this, I am enjoying the characters and their adventures, so I do recommend it. This book ends at a crucial time, so I look forward to the next in the series.

Amazing series of books, i LOVED the first 3 installments in the book and i expected this book to close off alot of loose ends in the first 3 books, unfortunity i found this book left 2 loose ends for every 1 closed off and i think the book itself was written more for the fans rather then the author herself if there is another book after this one to cover some of the buildup in this book then i will say it is fantastic as a book that catches your interest and makes you want to know more but if this is the last book in the series then i will be slightly disappointed, I love every book this author has written and i just hope this ending isnt the ending of this series.

Great read