Book review: Poison Study by Maria Snyder

Poison Study came highly recommended, and since it is both young adult and part of a series, I borrowed it from the library with high hopes. High hopes which were semi-dashed. I'd give this book three stars because while it was good, I wasn't enamored. (It just so happens that friends on Goodreads did enjoy it a lot, which goes to show that everyone's different, so don't take my opinion!)

Yelena lives in a world where there are no excuses and no second chances. We first meet her on the day she is to be executed for killing a man. However, since she is the next to be executed and the Commander's food taster recently died, Yelena is offered the choice of death by hanging, immediately, or the unknown death of being a food taster. She takes the latter.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the way the story unfolds, piece by piece, through memories and, as she gets more comfortable in her new role, stories that Yelena tells Valek, the Commander's right hand and her "supervisor". As the book goes on we learn why exactly Yelena killed the man she did, and how an innocent girl was forced into murder.
Though I wasn't overly excited with the book, the story was interesting and the writing well-done, so I do recommend giving it a try. If you do like it, there are two other books in the series, Fire Study and Magic Study, which I may check out at a later date...when I'm not so busy weeding through my to-read list!

Have you ready this book? What did you think of it?