Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study is about Yelena, a woman about to be excuted for murder, who is offered an alternative: become the food taster. Its not an easy job, learning to distinguish poisons and certainly not safe, since at any moment her life could end from a poison meant for the Commander, the ruler of Ixia, for whom she tastes food each day. Valek, the chief of secruity and accomplished assassin, is constantly testing her strength and loyalty, despite the fact that she can't run away since he already poisoned her and she needs a daily dose of antidote to survive. On top of all that there's the rebellion plot threatening to overturn their stable nation, the dangerous General that wants Yelena dead and her deleveloping magical powers that if manifested, could mean a death sentence anyway.

This book was recommended to me by a several friends who said it was amazing. Though i wouldn't classify it as a favorite, i have to say that it's a very good read. It's written in the same way that i think, almost as if i had written it myself, but its entertaining and clever enough to keep me on my toes. I love the character of Yelena more than most heroine's i read about because of her spirit and her past. Her motives for the decisions that she makes are REAL, if not always the right or easy ones. I love the relationships that she fosters and the fact that she does not dimiss the past while living in the present or planing for the future. You can feel the changes that she goes through as you would changes in yourself. Very well written and surprising professional for such an amateur author. It makes you wonder why all first-timers are arn't written this way *coughstepheniemeyercough*