The Reading Spot

Poison Study and Magic Study by Maria Snyder

I LOVED these, they were both awesome, I highly recommend them both. They are in the fantasy genre but have some romance for those of us who like to have that. Yelena was a great character, she had a backbone and had a lot of honor, but could be selfish at the same time, which makes her more real to me. She was easy to identify with. The next book, Fire Study does not come out until next year sometime. I definitely have to scrounge these up to buy.

Poison Study
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. As a food taster, she'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace--and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made.
But this time the outcomes aren't so clear….

Magic Study
With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be reunited with the family she'd been stolen from long ago, Yelena should be pleased. But though she has gained her freedom, she can't help feeling isolated in Sitia. Her Ixian background has changed her in many ways--and her newfound friends and relatives don't think it's for the better….
Despite the turmoil, she's eager to start her magic training--especially as she's been given one year to harness her power or be put to death. But her plans take a radical turn when she becomes involved with a plot to reclaim Ixia's throne for a lost prince--and gets entangled in powerful rivalries with her fellow magicians.
If that wasn't bad enough, it appears her brother would love to see her dead. Luckily, Yelena has some old friends to help her with all her new enemies….