Content levels
Trigger warnings
Tropes
Synopsis
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace- and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dusté and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. 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—.
Is Poison Study appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 16 and up.
This fantasy contains themes of captivity, political assassination, poisoning, and implied past trauma including assault; violence is present but not gratuitously detailed.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include sexual assault, torture, and captivity (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
A gripping fantasy about a condemned prisoner who becomes a food taster and discovers dangerous magical powers.