Review ~ Touch of Power ~ Maria V. Snyder

Title: Touch of Power

Author: Maria V Snyder

Published: 27th December 2011

By: HarlequinTEEN

Source: netgalley

First line: The little girl wouldn’t stop crying.

Last line: “Starting now.”

Fave Line: Killed by a giant plant. Not the way I’d want to go.

Touch of Power is the first of the new Healer series by Maria Snyder, the author of the successful Study and Glass Series. For anyone who has read and enjoyed her work so far I think this story will be just as captivating.

Touch of Power tells the story of Avry, a healer and part of a race who are considered to be outcasts after they were accused of spreading a plague which killed the wider population. When her identity is discovered Avry is sentenced to death and thrown into jail where she awaits her imminent execution. It is while she is languishing in jail that she is kidnapped by Kerrick of Alga and his forces, their aim being to return her to their home where their leader Prince Ryne who suffers from the plague in the hope of saving him.

Things are not quite as simple as they sound however. We learn at the beginning of the story that as Avry heals people she absorbs whatever it is that ails them, so even as she is asked to save the Prince we are aware of the potential consequences of making such a decision. Secondly, owing to the brutal stories that Avry has heard about Ryne she hates him with a passion and actually has no desire to help him.

The story details the journey of Avry, Kerrick and the rest of the men as they make their way back to Prince Ryne, all the time trying to convince Avry to change her mind and help the prince. During that time Avry learns to trust the men she travels with, even managing to break down the barriers that Kerrick has built around himself and she comes to realise that what she thinks she knows about Ryne is not necessarily the truth but will that be enough to convince her to sacrifice herself?

I love the characters in this book and found it incredibly easy to be able to picture each and every one of them as Snyder detailed them. I particularly liked the way that Avry is determined to stick to her principles, even though they put her in harm’s way and I admire the way that she fought back even when the odds were stacked against her. I loved the dark and brooding Kerrick and I found the rest of the main characters warm and really likeable, especially Belen and Flea. I guess the main issue I had was that I found it difficult to believe some of the major plotlines that run through this book. There are several clues as to how this book is supposed to end throughout the story but they seem more than a tad implausible and this proved to be the case. That said, as implausible as I knew the potential ending was that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the story and I look forward to finding out what happens in Scent of Magic, Healer #2 which is released later this year.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5. If you like the previous series released by Snyder you’re probably going to be a big fan of this one too!