Hmmm, not as good a Poison Study, but a really good read. Yelena is returned to her family (that live in trees, which explains why she was so comfortable in them in the first book). The one person that isn't happy to see her is her brother - who was with her in the jungle when she was kidnapped all those years ago.
Yelena is understandably frustrated as she can't remember her family, and this takes a toll on her and also her mother. Yelana travels to the citadel to begin her training as a magician.
Of course things never run smoothly for her and she is ambushed, kidnapped, beaten, threatened with rape etc... several times in the course of the book. Magicians don't trust her and everyone thinks she's a spy - oh and there's a killer on the loose, stealing souls. Her magic turns out to be much stronger than was first believed.
For me this book didn't come alive until Valek appeared (although I was thoroughly irritated by the way he seemed to end most sentences by calling Yelena 'love'). Seriously, I love a man with a dark side and OMG does he have one. It was also nice to catch up with Ari and Yanco.
I did have an issue with the way things were resolved between Yelena and her brother - was just a bit too simple for me. But things were nicely set up for the final book.
I know Fire Study won't live up to the heights of Poison Study, but I hope it's better than Magic Study.