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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Finally, I've read a book by this author, which is so exciting, because I have so much more to discover from her.
I really enjoyed reading about this world, I found the plague to be an original element. It was great to have healers in the magic system -they weren't the only ones but still- especially because I felt them to be so realistic, since when they healed someone, they suffered in their place, but recovered faster. Moreover, we learnt about how they came to be at the end of the book and what was all about with the plague. Nevertheless, I would have liked to read about a more diverse setting, because it seemed to be forest and caves ALL. THE. TIME. Maybe the world will expand in the rest of the series, we'll see.
Plot-wise, I never got bored, even if it involved a lot of journeying, which I found a bit strange, since I'm bored most of the time in that kind of plot, but it wasn't the case here, because it was full of twists and turns. When the characters stopped in certain locations, it would make secondary plot lines move, it was so nicely done. The last third of the novel was really different because of the situation the main character was into, I really liked it because again, it allowed a change of scenery and kept the plot interesting.
The characters were fine, but I didn't particularly cared for any of them. They felt a bit flat to me, but maybe some character development will help me with this in the second book. However, the family dynamics between the characters was well written and I loved when they talked of "Poppa Bear", it was so funny! I didn't like Kerrick, because he was such a jerk in the beginning and tortured Avry, I was sooooo mad about it. Okay, this book was set in a harsh world and involved serious topics, but still. I wouldn't have forgiven him, had I been Avry. He might grew on me in the second book, since he's less of a cold-hearted jerk. The secondary characters were full of humour and I liked them more, but I wanted more backstory on some of them.
I really enjoyed that the characters were older than in regular YA novels (apparently, Goodreads says it's young adult, so I'll believe), because their actions seemed more realistic. This book was easy to read, so it could be a young adult novel, but I'm not completely sure because of some of the topics involved. I think it was labelled wrong, but I don't know if I would have picked it up if it had been labelled as 'adult', which is pretty stupid, but I only read young adult books these days.
I was pretty 'meh' about the romance, because of what I said above. Moreover, another character wanted to get Avry and used his powers to mess with her emotions, please tell me it won't turn into a love triangle or I'll yell. It was a hate turned love kind of romance, but it didn't work that much for me, and I rolled my eyes a few times because I found some of the dialogues cheesy.
I really enjoyed the ending, which was fast-paced and full of surprises. It made me so eager to read the second book, which I'll get to next month!
I really enjoyed reading about this world, I found the plague to be an original element. It was great to have healers in the magic system -they weren't the only ones but still- especially because I felt them to be so realistic, since when they healed someone, they suffered in their place, but recovered faster. Moreover, we learnt about how they came to be at the end of the book and what was all about with the plague. Nevertheless, I would have liked to read about a more diverse setting, because it seemed to be forest and caves ALL. THE. TIME. Maybe the world will expand in the rest of the series, we'll see.
Plot-wise, I never got bored, even if it involved a lot of journeying, which I found a bit strange, since I'm bored most of the time in that kind of plot, but it wasn't the case here, because it was full of twists and turns. When the characters stopped in certain locations, it would make secondary plot lines move, it was so nicely done. The last third of the novel was really different because of the situation the main character was into, I really liked it because again, it allowed a change of scenery and kept the plot interesting.
The characters were fine, but I didn't particularly cared for any of them. They felt a bit flat to me, but maybe some character development will help me with this in the second book. However, the family dynamics between the characters was well written and I loved when they talked of "Poppa Bear", it was so funny! I didn't like Kerrick, because he was such a jerk in the beginning and tortured Avry, I was sooooo mad about it. Okay, this book was set in a harsh world and involved serious topics, but still. I wouldn't have forgiven him, had I been Avry. He might grew on me in the second book, since he's less of a cold-hearted jerk. The secondary characters were full of humour and I liked them more, but I wanted more backstory on some of them.
I really enjoyed that the characters were older than in regular YA novels (apparently, Goodreads says it's young adult, so I'll believe), because their actions seemed more realistic. This book was easy to read, so it could be a young adult novel, but I'm not completely sure because of some of the topics involved. I think it was labelled wrong, but I don't know if I would have picked it up if it had been labelled as 'adult', which is pretty stupid, but I only read young adult books these days.
I was pretty 'meh' about the romance, because of what I said above. Moreover, another character wanted to get Avry and used his powers to mess with her emotions, please tell me it won't turn into a love triangle or I'll yell. It was a hate turned love kind of romance, but it didn't work that much for me, and I rolled my eyes a few times because I found some of the dialogues cheesy.
I really enjoyed the ending, which was fast-paced and full of surprises. It made me so eager to read the second book, which I'll get to next month!
This book was pretty addicting. But Sepp was a jerk-face. Like, you can't be nice to her maybe because she, um, SAVED YOUR SORRY LIFE INSTEAD OF LEAVING YOUR BUTT THERE TO DIE AND ROT. Like, he pissed me off so bad.
I thought the world building here was interesting but I just didn't believe the romance between the two main characters much. There's a couple parts of the book where even the heroine doesn't believe herself. It felt a little more YA to me than the author's 'Study' series. I thought this was worth reading but I didn't love it so much I want to read more.
adventurous
fast-paced
GREAT. GENIUS. AWESOME. FANTASTIC. PERFECT.. and all other beautiful words one can have!
This one is definitely on my top reads for 2011.
Touch of power intrigued me at first because of the cover (uhh yea, i'm a judge-the-book-by-it's-cover sometimes..so sue me!).. and then the blurb which says something about healing.. and me being a nurse and all waited for this book for months and months. When it finally came out, i braced my self since i didn't know if the book will be what i expected it to be. Turns out, i didn't really need to worry... the book is more than what i expected and truth be told.. just blew me away.
I loved Avry on the spot. As in from the very first page, i admired her. She's really a breath of fresh air. I've encountered so many heroines.. the kick ass type, the intelligent ones, the combination of kickass and intelligent type, the beauty-and-brains type, the meek-subdued-not-so-likeable type, the bitchy-yet-likeable-because-humorous type and so on and so forth.. but Avry? she's very different. I can't place her on any of those.
❤I LOVE AVRY's character because:
✔she thinks before she heals meaning she knows triage
✔she's smart and you really can't fool her because her brain functions too fast..
✔she can figure things out in just a small amount of time (which happened with the Death Lily incident)
✔she's honest yet she knows how to use words properly
✔she thinks about others' well being first
✔she knows the value of self sacrifice and definitely doesn't hesitate when it comes to children
✔she gives people the benefit of the doubt (like with Prince Ryne)
✔she's not self absorbed!! finally.. another character who doesn't fuss about herself on every page like everything's about her
✔she's intelligent yet doesn't gloat
✔she learned how to fight because of ★PRACTICE★ which means of course that she's hard working
✔she's also a good teacher (uhm like the time she taught Loren how to cook other stuffs)
✔she's plain yet commands attention because she knows how to handle her self
✔even though she tried hard to not make any connections with people, she managed to win their hearts and eventually became her friends.. her character knows the feeling of fulfillment due to her ability to heal
So there, i like the heroine. Do i like the story? well hell.. DEFINITELY YES! It has a different feel. I felt like i was reading about RAGNAROK (MMORPG), with all the talk about Mage, Acolyte, Monsters, Mercenaries and items. The places they traveled into, people they met and obstacles they had to face... awww that surely sealed the deal into me liking the whole novel. The love part here is just a plus. I also admit to being teary eyed at some point. Avry's point of view sometimes is just too much. With all the things she's been through and people who became close to her, she can't help being affected by them and of course, me as a reader can't help but be affected as well. sucks, but yea.. I was happy, frustrated, sad, fuming and then happy all over again.
Personally, i wish that Flea is still alive. I don't have any other things to hope for on the next book except for that. I hoped that the next book would come out on 2012 but, no such luck because at the end of this first book it says the second one will be out by 2013..anyway.. still, it's another great book to be expected. ヅ
This one is definitely on my top reads for 2011.
Touch of power intrigued me at first because of the cover (uhh yea, i'm a judge-the-book-by-it's-cover sometimes..so sue me!).. and then the blurb which says something about healing.. and me being a nurse and all waited for this book for months and months. When it finally came out, i braced my self since i didn't know if the book will be what i expected it to be. Turns out, i didn't really need to worry... the book is more than what i expected and truth be told.. just blew me away.
I loved Avry on the spot. As in from the very first page, i admired her. She's really a breath of fresh air. I've encountered so many heroines.. the kick ass type, the intelligent ones, the combination of kickass and intelligent type, the beauty-and-brains type, the meek-subdued-not-so-likeable type, the bitchy-yet-likeable-because-humorous type and so on and so forth.. but Avry? she's very different. I can't place her on any of those.
❤I LOVE AVRY's character because:
✔she thinks before she heals meaning she knows triage
✔she's smart and you really can't fool her because her brain functions too fast..
✔she can figure things out in just a small amount of time (which happened with the Death Lily incident)
✔she's honest yet she knows how to use words properly
✔she thinks about others' well being first
✔she knows the value of self sacrifice and definitely doesn't hesitate when it comes to children
✔she gives people the benefit of the doubt (like with Prince Ryne)
✔she's not self absorbed!! finally.. another character who doesn't fuss about herself on every page like everything's about her
✔she's intelligent yet doesn't gloat
✔she learned how to fight because of ★PRACTICE★ which means of course that she's hard working
✔she's also a good teacher (uhm like the time she taught Loren how to cook other stuffs)
✔she's plain yet commands attention because she knows how to handle her self
✔even though she tried hard to not make any connections with people, she managed to win their hearts and eventually became her friends.. her character knows the feeling of fulfillment due to her ability to heal
So there, i like the heroine. Do i like the story? well hell.. DEFINITELY YES! It has a different feel. I felt like i was reading about RAGNAROK (MMORPG), with all the talk about Mage, Acolyte, Monsters, Mercenaries and items. The places they traveled into, people they met and obstacles they had to face... awww that surely sealed the deal into me liking the whole novel. The love part here is just a plus. I also admit to being teary eyed at some point. Avry's point of view sometimes is just too much. With all the things she's been through and people who became close to her, she can't help being affected by them and of course, me as a reader can't help but be affected as well. sucks, but yea.. I was happy, frustrated, sad, fuming and then happy all over again.
Personally, i wish that Flea is still alive. I don't have any other things to hope for on the next book except for that. I hoped that the next book would come out on 2012 but, no such luck because at the end of this first book it says the second one will be out by 2013..anyway.. still, it's another great book to be expected. ヅ
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this book in just over a day and a half. It is fantastic. Full review here: http://www.bookscompleteme.com/2012/01/touch-of-power-by-maria-v-snyder-blog.html
enjoyable and a somewhat unique approach to this type of story although highly predictable in parts. I won't buy book 2 but I'll probably add it to my library list.
I enjoyed this book, easy to follow with likeable characters. I had trouble putting it down during the last few chapters.
However, this is not Snyder's best work. The characters and relationships are under developed, the world isnt as developed as in her other books/series. The action situations become repetitve. The story boarders YA and adult all the way thru, including the romance scenes.
One plus was the cover art, love it.
However, this is not Snyder's best work. The characters and relationships are under developed, the world isnt as developed as in her other books/series. The action situations become repetitve. The story boarders YA and adult all the way thru, including the romance scenes.
One plus was the cover art, love it.
OH THANK GOODNESS YOU GUYS! Seriously, I am so so glad I decided to read Touch Of Power by Maria V. Snyder as my first book of 2013 as I found it to be highly satisfying and a good note to start the year on. Also? It has been WAY too long since I’ve read a Maria V. Snyder book. I KNOW. Awful right? Plus, it’s kind of cool to start the year with a book I purchased rather than one I’ve received for review. And I imagine some of you might disagree but I think it sets a nice little precedent. Anyways. Touch Of Power was romantic and had plagues and a fierce main character with a big heart and I know you all are like okay you plague loving weirdo, but for serious, I gobbled this noise up.
Read the rest of my review here
Read the rest of my review here