I don't even know where to start with this book.

You know how each instalment of a series is supposed to be more epic than the last?

Well, at one point Snyder has something like 28 characters 'onscreen', all with different motivations, characterisations, and backstories, including small children with more sass than they have the right to be.

I don't know how she managed to keep it all straight in her head, let alone write it in a way that made sense to her audience.

The crux of the story is that Valek's old BFF Ambrose 'The Commander' is going to invade Sitia and wipe out all of the magicians with the help of some old enemies of Yelena's. The Sitians are preparing for war against Ixia, but they are being mind-controlled by food laced with Theobroma, which strips a person's resilience to magic. Meanwhile, Yelena has every bounty hunter on her tail, no magic, and a growing baby bump. Valek is getting too old for this shit, but he's the only one who can face down certain people while trying to keep his newly-discovered magical powers a secret (which led to some truly awesome scenes of outsmarting villains, I might add).

The team - or 'herd' as they start to refer to themselves - of Yelena's allies all work together to overcome their various obstacles including finding a way to beat Theobroma and work around the newly discovered resistance to the old fallbacks of laced poison darts. There's a lot of investigation, sneaking, spying, assassin-ining, disguises, riding hard and fast, deals made and broken, and trust betrayed and earned again. All the while Yelena and Valek manage to keep the hots for each other: no mean feat after years together offscreen. I think Yelena is meant to be in her mid to late twenties now, and Valek is close to, if not, forty.

There's so many characters in this book that we have to take on multiple points of view to tell the story. Yelena's is always my favourite, mostly because it's first person, but Valek is a close second, only because we get to see the real emotion hiding underneath.

As a conclusion to Yelena and Valek's story I found this novel very satisfying, including the ending. I recommend this book to all fantasy lovers and even fantasy novices, although it would probably be best to read the books that come before it first.

I look forward to the day Snyder gets an idea for a spin-off about a certain new female character set fifteen or so years into the future, but until then I'll have to be content with re-reading this amazing, fantastical original fantasy series from cover to cover all over again.

Dawn Study was quite a fitting end to a fantastic series by Maria V Snyder. After being surprised by the announcement of another three books in the Study series, I have to say, the additional books were certainly worth waiting for. Once again, if you hadn't already know, I'm going to mention that before you read these three new novels, you should definitely read the original three novels as well as the three Glass series novels if you don't want any spoilers.

I'd have to say my favourite novel of the series is likely Night Study. It was very much Valek's book, and was geared towards revealing his past and his motivations, and obviously I'm really going to like a book focused on one of my favourite characters in the series. In fact, this entire three-book extension in the series is much more focused on Valek rather than Yelena, although of course Yelena does still have a large role to play. Dawn Study is still focused on Valek, but there isn't quite as much character development and it's mostly driven by plot.

Speaking of which, I have to admit, the book is not perfect, and mostly this is because of the pacing. Snyder's books in general are quite fast paced, but Dawn Study seemed to have a lot of meandering around and repetitiveness that I haven't really seen in her previous books. Many events do happen, but they seem like things that have happened previously in the series. Still, the plot was exciting enough, and I'm invested in all the characters enough that this wasn't a huge problem (as you might be able to tell from my rating of the book).

Maria V Snyder is certainly in my list of writers who are consistently good. If you want a YA fantasy series with a relatively modern feel to the narrative, the Chronicles of Ixia series is most definitely one that I would recommend.

Ratings
Overall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Romance: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 5/5

This romantic fantasy series is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo. The first book in the series, Poison Study, is such a favourite of mine I must have read it a dozen times over by now. Truthfully, I'm a bit sad to see this series come to an end! Fortunately, this is a very satisfying conclusion to a series I have thoroughly enjoyed.

All the characters we have come to know and love from previous books are brought together in an epic, fast paced plot full of action, intrigue and adventure. This book pretty much gave me exactly what a wanted and more!

This is the thrilling and final instalment of the Soulfinders Trilogy and marks the end of The Chronicles of Ixia. It's a well crafted and epic conclusion to an incredible series that has kept me engaged throughout.

<b>Snyder is an incredible story teller with a concise and deceptively simple writing style</b>. It's beyond easy to become completely immersed in her world full of spies and espionage, intrigue and mystery and this one had me sitting on the edge of my seat as all the threads of previous books came together. My heart was on tenter hooks as my favourite characters (new and old) were put through the wringer and tested time and time again.

What I love about Snyder is that her characters are always consistent - yes, they learn and they grow, but essentially they are still the same people. Valek is as calculating and ruthless as ever but he has learned that relationships and trusting in others is not necessarily a bad thing and can make a person stronger. Yelena is still reckless and brave (to a fault) but has learned to (sometimes) curb her impulses and assess the situation for risk, even if this means diving in anyway.

I also love knowing that the characters are not infallible - not every scheme goes to plan and things are allowed to go wrong.

The storyline has been so complex from the very beginning and there's so much happening with different characters and different locations and yet Snyder manages to pull it all off with a flourish. This is such an epic fantasy with incredibly diverse world building; a strong cast of wonderful, resilient characters and positive role models for all ages. There's definitely relationships to aspire towards.

There were moments when I was holding my breath simply devouring the pages to find out if everyone was okay and there were moments when I was laughing out loud from the wit and the snark. This book was everything that I had hoped it would be. I'm going to miss this "herd" and their crazy adventures.

I'm (not so) secretly hoping that we will see more written about Ixia and Sitia in the near future. I would love to see more of Ari and Janco and 'Little Miss Assassin' not to mention Liana. This world is so vast and so well built that there's definitely room for more books.... Just saying!!!

The final book in the Soulfinders series is complex. I don’t envy Ms Snyder her task to devise all the plotting and planning required to shift this many characters around so many different circumstances and locations. Of course she handled it with surety and ease. I never felt confused or lost. I was able to keep track of Yelena, Leif, and Janco, and even when we met up with Heli and the Stormdancers, there was enough backstory and exposition to assist my understanding without dragging the pace of the narrative.

As is par for the course, Valek and Yelena often separate to complete different tasks or missions, and consequently, readers are often on the edge of their seats as they continually put themselves in danger in order to make sure there’s peace for the other. It’s noble and always been the way with this amazing pair of heroes. Both suffer a great deal in this book, and it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good if the herd had an easy time of it. This battle is hard fought, hard won and worth every minute of the read.

Everyone has a part to play to beat Bruns at his own game. Much about his plans and his allies are revealed through the story, some of it alarming, but it all fits in with the series, right back to the original trio of books (the Study Series). Snyder has created consistent theories, which show her ability to plan for the long term. I am interested to see what she moves on to next.Considering all her books fall in the Chronicles of Ixia series, there’s a good chance there will be more set in this universe. Yay.

Let’s talk a little about the ending. It’s perfect. There, that’s enough, surely. A little more? Okay. Snyder doesn’t rush through the happy scenes. We are given lots of information about all the characters, and most of them end up where we expect and would want them. That does mean there are some farewells and departures, which bring evoke some tears and sadness.

I very much enjoyed this book and know it will satisfy everyone who has followed Yelena and Valek to this point. Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen Australia for advancing me this copy. I have seen at least three different Australian release dates, so I am going to promote the one on the publisher’s site. Released February 2nd 2017.

Recommended for readers who love their fantasy, with strong world-building, and brave, resilient characters. The relationships are adult, but there is a positive range of ages, from young children through to grandparents who are all determined to do their bit. The banter is snarky, the characters depict diversity, and Snyder affirms that family are chosen as well as determined through blood. Brings this series to a close.

Review Scheduled to go live on blog on January 23rd
4.5 Stars

What a fantastic ending to the Soulfinders series! I have loved each journey that I have been on in this world, and Dawn Study was a well crafted and epic conclusion, to this particular series, that will stay with me for a while to come.

I have fallen for each of the characters on this journey, and getting other perspectives enabled me to get to know them even more. Yelena had a lot to deal with, her lack of magic and the changes that she will have to face in the future. Valek is very protective of her, and it was sweet to see her take some of his advice. Valek was busy doing what he always does, being sneaky and trying to prevent war between both countries. Leif had some hard times himself, and managed to get himself into situations that were hard to get out of. Seeing what Heli was up to allowed me to see how the storm dancers were coping, and how Valek's siblings were developing. And Janco... well he continued to annoy everybody while doing his job.

The story was exciting! The constant sense of danger was there as the group investigated and discovered who was behind the Theobroma. They were able to form new alliances, so they could get inside information to regain control once again. They often had to spilt up to accomplish what needed to be done.

Maria wrapped the story up nicely, keeping me on my toes and keeping me engaged to the plot. I liked the direction of the book and how far the conspiracy spread. I was unsure of who could be trusted, but I enjoyed how risky each character was to regain control of their world once again. It was good to see most of the loose ends were tied up. But, there were a few threads left open, so it will be interesting if we were to get more from this world... I'm excited by the possibility!