Quick Review: Assassin Study - Maria V. Snyder

Yelena, the heroine of Maria V. Snyder's stunning debut novel Poison Study, is on her way to her ancestral homeland of Sitia to be reunited with her family and to learn more about her magical powers. An order of execution hangs over her head should she ever return to Ixia. But her true love, Valek, quickly learns that an assassin has taken it upon himself to make sure Yelena doesn't reach her destination.

As Ixia's chief of security, and a highly skilled assassin himself, can Valek track down the killer in time to save Yelena's life?

The Chronicles of Ixia:
Poison Study
Assassin Study (Short Story)
Magic Study
Fire Study
Power Study (Short Story)
Ice Study (Short Story)
Storm Glass
Sea Glass
Spy Glass
Shadow Study
Night Study
Shattered Glass (Novella)
Dawn Study

Visit Maria V. Snyder's website for more information

Review:
Assassin Study is a free short story that can be read on Maria V. Snyder's website here. The story is set just after the ending of Poison Study and I wouldn't recommend reading it if you are new to the series but it's a fab little addition for fans of the first book. I absolutely loved Valek in Poison Study so was incredibly excited to learn that this story was from his point of view and it was really good to see things from his perspective.

Yelena has left Ixia and is travelling to Sitia to start her magical training leaving Valek behind to continue his work for the Commander. Neither of them want to separate but since there is an execution order against Yelena she has no other option and has to leave Ixia. When Valek learns that an assassin has plans to carry out the execution before Yelena can reach her destination he sets out to stop him but will Valek get there in time?

This is a very short story so don't go in expecting too much in the way of character development but I loved getting to see how much Valek cares for Yelena and the lengths he is prepared to go to to keep her safe. He has always been a bit of a mystery but this really proved to me that he cares as much as she does. It was interesting to see his journey across the Avibian Plains and I'm very intrigued by the new character we are introduced to. Valek now owes Ziva a favour and I'll be interested to see what she needs his help with, I'm hoping that question will be answered as I continue reading the series.

Fans of Valek are going to love this short story and I'd definitely recommend reading it between Poison Study and Magic Study. The only slight disappointment is that we don't actually see Yelena but it was nice to focus on Valek for a change so that didn't bother me too much. I just wish it could have been longer but considering it's a free read there isn't much to complain about.

Source: Free read on Maria V. Snyder's website here.

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.