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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
“The heart is a strange beast and not ruled by logic.”
I should probably start out by saying that I LOVE Maria V. Snyder - she can rarely do wrong in my eyes. If you were a fan of her Study series, you are practically guaranteed to love Healer as well, as it has the same feel of adventure and danger that Study did.
Avry has the ability to heal the sick. Once, her kind was respected and held in high esteem by the people, and then a disease began to spread. When the Healer's couldn't stop it, people began to blame them for causing that very disease to start. Even knowing that it will likely get her killed, Avry continues to heal the sick as she travels from place to place with the limited knowledge she learned as an apprentice. While Avry awaits her death with a kind of tolerance born from accepting the fate handed to her, Kerrick has other ideas. Kerrick and his group have tried to track down a healer for awhile, for the need her ability to save their Prince. A prince that Avry harbors no love for, and if anything would rather have dead.
Touch of Power is not a sweet fluffy book. Avry takes the pain of others into herself to be healed, and there is a lot of indecision on her part about what to do. It is because of Kerrick that she is alive, however healing their Prince will almost certainly kill her. Avry is not immediately coddled and protected, and her to actually prove that she has earned the trust of the group, which is something that I can appreciate. While the world in Touch of Power can be seen as shallow, fans of Maria V. Snyder can vouch for the fact that both characters and world continue to flesh out as a series progresses. Avry herself is a strong and independent character who has learned that just because you save someone's child does not mean they aren't going to thank you for it. Indeed, the villain in the series was one I appreciated as well, for sometimes doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. The world is complex with what was formerly 15 kingdoms having dissolved into three, and many many kinds of magicians filling up the world. Touch of Power is a different kind of 'post-apocalyptic' book as the series does not dwell on the falling of the monarchs as much as others perhaps would. The average person is more concerned with trying to reclaim their every day life then the overarching political problems.
The romance in Touch of Power is a different one from much of the YA world, as the characters do not immediately feel drawn to nor instantly love each other. In fact, they have a well deserved hatred for one another that slowly dissolves throughout the book. It was refreshing to see a romance that felt earned and not handed to the characters.
Avry has the ability to heal the sick. Once, her kind was respected and held in high esteem by the people, and then a disease began to spread. When the Healer's couldn't stop it, people began to blame them for causing that very disease to start. Even knowing that it will likely get her killed, Avry continues to heal the sick as she travels from place to place with the limited knowledge she learned as an apprentice. While Avry awaits her death with a kind of tolerance born from accepting the fate handed to her, Kerrick has other ideas. Kerrick and his group have tried to track down a healer for awhile, for the need her ability to save their Prince. A prince that Avry harbors no love for, and if anything would rather have dead.
Touch of Power is not a sweet fluffy book. Avry takes the pain of others into herself to be healed, and there is a lot of indecision on her part about what to do. It is because of Kerrick that she is alive, however healing their Prince will almost certainly kill her. Avry is not immediately coddled and protected, and her to actually prove that she has earned the trust of the group, which is something that I can appreciate. While the world in Touch of Power can be seen as shallow, fans of Maria V. Snyder can vouch for the fact that both characters and world continue to flesh out as a series progresses. Avry herself is a strong and independent character who has learned that just because you save someone's child does not mean they aren't going to thank you for it. Indeed, the villain in the series was one I appreciated as well, for sometimes doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. The world is complex with what was formerly 15 kingdoms having dissolved into three, and many many kinds of magicians filling up the world. Touch of Power is a different kind of 'post-apocalyptic' book as the series does not dwell on the falling of the monarchs as much as others perhaps would. The average person is more concerned with trying to reclaim their every day life then the overarching political problems.
The romance in Touch of Power is a different one from much of the YA world, as the characters do not immediately feel drawn to nor instantly love each other. In fact, they have a well deserved hatred for one another that slowly dissolves throughout the book. It was refreshing to see a romance that felt earned and not handed to the characters.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was really loving this book! It is very well written and I was intrigued by the end of the first page. Then I got very upset when the love interest in the story punches our female main character so hard she basically gets knocked out. Anyways, call me sensitive but I don’t think that is at all acceptable or redeemable. There’s seriously so many ways to display anger, so why the hell did you have to make him abusive? Ruined a really great story for me.
I have absolutely no doubt that this book is going to be amazing!
*After reading it*
Yup, I was right. This book exceeded my expectations :)
*After reading it*
Yup, I was right. This book exceeded my expectations :)
I really enjoyed this story of Avry, a healer who joins a band of travelers who save her from imminent execution so she can heal their prince. In this world, everyone thinks healers caused the plague, and she is the last remaining healer. She reluctantly joins this band but they are constantly on the run from those either trying to harm her or turn her in for a hefty ransom.
Avry is initially none too interested in helping Ryne, said prince. Not only does she remember an unpleasant meeting with him previously, but healers assume the injury of those bring healed, and no healers ever survived curing someone from the plague. However, she finds herself growing fond of this band of travelers who accept her and give her friendship she's never had before, and so she stays with them up until she can sort things out.
I really liked Avry and her ragtag band (Kerrick, Belen, Flea, Quain, and Loren). I cared for all of them -- even sullen Kerrick -- since they were good and honest men with a strong sense of loyalty and purpose. They also teach her valuable survival skills and treat her as an equal.
The story flowed smoothly and the writing drew me in. I liked how details were revealed slowly so as not to overwhelm the reader. I'm an impatient reader, but this book never made me anxious for the story to end.
I enjoyed Poison Study, but honestly I liked this story even more. I know I'm in the minority with that opinion. But nothing was better (in my opinion) than Maria Snyder's Insider series - that was just marvelous! If you are a fan of any of her other works, this one should not be a disappointment.
$1.99 Kindle daily deal 12/27
Avry is initially none too interested in helping Ryne, said prince. Not only does she remember an unpleasant meeting with him previously, but healers assume the injury of those bring healed, and no healers ever survived curing someone from the plague. However, she finds herself growing fond of this band of travelers who accept her and give her friendship she's never had before, and so she stays with them up until she can sort things out.
I really liked Avry and her ragtag band (Kerrick, Belen, Flea, Quain, and Loren). I cared for all of them -- even sullen Kerrick -- since they were good and honest men with a strong sense of loyalty and purpose. They also teach her valuable survival skills and treat her as an equal.
The story flowed smoothly and the writing drew me in. I liked how details were revealed slowly so as not to overwhelm the reader. I'm an impatient reader, but this book never made me anxious for the story to end.
I enjoyed Poison Study, but honestly I liked this story even more. I know I'm in the minority with that opinion. But nothing was better (in my opinion) than Maria Snyder's Insider series - that was just marvelous! If you are a fan of any of her other works, this one should not be a disappointment.
$1.99 Kindle daily deal 12/27
I have so many mixed feelings about this book. It had such potential to be REALLY good, but instead just kept failing to reach that mark. There were so many moments when the story tried to show how serious it was, but failed through strange lines of dialogue and misplaced humorous moments. If mercenaries are chasing after you, trying to kill you, do you really think it wise to spend an afternoon playing hide and seek? REALLY?!?
The story had moments that felt serious and intense, while other moments were goofy and out of place. It's almost as though she couldn't decide what genre her book fell into, so she straddled the line of multiple ones (unsuccessfully). Ugh, yet another disappointing book.
The story had moments that felt serious and intense, while other moments were goofy and out of place. It's almost as though she couldn't decide what genre her book fell into, so she straddled the line of multiple ones (unsuccessfully). Ugh, yet another disappointing book.
I love every book of Maria's that I read, but this may be my new favorite. Or, most likely second behind Poison Study. I've always been more of a fantasy over sci-fi fan, which is probably why I enjoyed her Study and Glass series more than the Inside series (though I still love the Inside books as well). This book reminded me a lot of the Study books, which is probably one of the reasons I loved it so much. If you're a fan of Maria's books I'm sure you'll love this one. And if you haven't read anything of hers yet, Touch of Power is the start of a new series, so it would be a great place to start!
The writing is flat and unimaginative, but the premise was interesting enough that it brought me to the end without much issue. Characterization is weak and rather predictable, even though the majority of the book is occupied with trekking through the countryside and aimless dialogue.
Yet, I think I'm going to keep on with the series. Avry isn't bad, and I'm a sucker for healing magic. There's also enough mystery that I'm curious to see where it goes.
Borrow this book from a library, if you can. It's not one that I would recommend spending money on, but it's an alright read.
Yet, I think I'm going to keep on with the series. Avry isn't bad, and I'm a sucker for healing magic. There's also enough mystery that I'm curious to see where it goes.
Borrow this book from a library, if you can. It's not one that I would recommend spending money on, but it's an alright read.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated