I was a bit disappointed with Fire Study. While Snyder is a skilled writer, the plot in this book was so disjointed and all over the place that I felt it hard to keep up. And sometimes, I didn't even want to. 
 As with the other two books there is an underlying Big Issue that Yelena is trying to overcome that sometimes takes a backseat while other minor events go on. The difference with Fire Study is that these minor events that were sprinkled throughout the story were either completely pointless, hurried, random, or just plain confusing. Most of these plot points didn't affect the Big Issue or have anything in common with it. 
 I kept feeling frustrated reading about all this other stuff that didn't really matter in the end. It sure as hell didn't help Yelena come closer to finding out how to overcome the difficulties she's encountering with her magic. 
 I also felt that her character development skills slipped here a bit, especially with the characters of Cahil and Marrok. Too much has occurred with these characters. I don't understand exactly how Yelena can just hope to "work things out" and "teach things" to them. Cahil himself should have died twice in the series. I also kept thinking back to Cahil and Yelena's earlier almost-romance that never happened. The Cahil that showed up during that time was never seen again. 
 The romance between Yelena and Valek was a bit more refreshing however. I didn't particularly care for it in the second book, but I enjoyed their romance alot more in this one than in Magic Study. 
 Overall, this was a great series and the ending was satisfying. I felt Yelena grew a lot during her journey and became a well-rounded individual. Her position as liasion between Sitia and Ixia is a perfect fit for her. I just wish Fire Study would have focused on two or three main ideas instead of multiple mini-stories. I felt it would have made for a more conclusive novel and the quality would have remained consistent somewhat.