Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Yelena is a survivor. Kidnapped as a child, held prisoner as a teen, then released to act as a poison taster, she is now a student of magic. But these magic skills place her in imminent danger, and with an execution order on her head, she has no choice but to escape to Sitia, the land of her birth. But nothing in Sitia is familiar. As she struggles to understand where she belongs and how to control her powers, a rogue magician emerges - and Yelena catches his eye. Suddenly she is embroiled in a situation not of her making. And once again her magical abilities will either save her life... or be her downfall.

Pro's/Con's
I enjoyed Magic Study a lot though not as much as Poison Study. Why? Two reasons:
One: less Valek/Ari/Janco. They brought a certain charm to Poison Study and when they finally did return in this book I loved it just an eensy weensy tiny bit more. 
Two: the tension. In Poison Study there is a constant tension with the poison tasting and the enemies of Yelena who are always behind some corner. I somewhat missed that in this book until the antagonist revealed himself.
But I still very very very much enjoyed this story. For starters: the new characters. I loved getting to know Yelena's family. I found them all very charming and funny and they left a huge impression on me. Essau is very sweet and relaxt, Perl is very sweet and caring and Leaf... Well Leif is just very awesome and cool. And I can't forget Cahill and his troops oh and the other master magicians beside Irys! And then there is also Tula, poor Tula, and strong Opal. I literally can keep going on and on and on about all these new characters, I loved them a whole lot.
My next point is the antagonist. Omg, he is probably one of the scariest I have ever read about. He gave me goosebumps, literally. He is very creepy and very mean and I feel so bad for all his victims. He is definitely not someone whom I want to bump into in some dark alley.
My last point is the story and the plot. I loved it a whole whole lot. I love the journey through Sitia with all the cultural stuff and the clans, all the lessons Yelena has to follow and how the plot takes off and develops. There is a lot going on, a lot is found out and even more questions arise.

Recommend it?
If you have enjoyed Poison Study yes. If you have yet to read Poison Study pick it up now. There might be a little bit less tension in this installment but in the end I was very satisfied. Like I said: there is a lot going on, a lot is found out and even more questions arise at the end of this book. This is definitely one of my favorite series ever.