Dawn Study is the conclusion of Maria V Snyder’s excellent series that started a number of years ago with Poison Study and brought to us the characters of Yelena and Valek.  I think it’s very fitting that this final series once again brought to the fore those two characters that we all came to love so much from the Study books.  Spoiler alert: if you haven’t read the previous books in the series you might want to look away about now as this review will undoubtedly contain spoilers.  You have been warned! So, we pick up virtually where the last book left off.  Yelena is pregnant and the baby seems to be drawing her magic in some unknown way, making her a magic free zone and  also leaving her incredibly vulnerable to any number of people who have come to hold a grudge over the years not to mention an assortment of assassins.  Yelena Is from Sitia and has (or at least had) very powerful magical abilities.  Valek, on the other hand is from Ixia.  Ixia lives in fear of those with magic and think all magic users should be eradicated.  The Commander of Ixia has very strong views on…

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY             URBAN FANTASY       SCIENCE FICTION     FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION   All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders Tor 1/26/2016 Bands of Mourning Brandon Sanderson Tor 1/26/2016 The Brimstone Deception Lisa Shearin Ace 1/26/2016 Roadside Magic Lillith Saintcrow Orbit 1/26/2016 Staked Kevin Hearne Del Rey 1/26/2016 Graveyard William C. Dietz Ace 1/26/2016 City of Blades Robert Jackson Bennett Broadway 1/26/2016 Night Study Maria V. Snyder Harlequin 1/26/2016 Lustlocked Matt Wallace Tor.com 1/26/2016

Night Study is the 5th book in the Study series.  It continues right were Night Study left off, after Yelena’s big reveal to Valek  .  Yelena continues to deal with her loss of magic. This has a huge impact on her, as you can imagine and she realizes just how dependent on it she has been. Tensions between Ixia and Sitia are growing worse, and war seems to be imminent. The Commander is, well, not quite himself and Valek seems to have mysteriously lost his trust. I will admit, I do not read a lot of books labeled Young Adult, so I may be off base on some of my assumptions. One thing I do feel is unique about this series (at least from my experience with YA), is that the last two books in the series take place after a good amount of time has passed from the first three. What that means is that the main characters have aged and are more “adults” than they are “young adults”. I believe they are in their late 20s, Valek may actually be in his thirties. But, the overall tone of the book and content is very much in line with what I…