Touch of Power
Maria V. Snyder
Book I in the Healer series
Published December 20th 2011 by Mira (Harlequin)
copy received from publisher
Genre: Fantasy Adult, but also suitable for YA!
amazon (Paperback, Kindle)
synopsis from goodreads
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Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.
Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life…
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First I have to clarify that the cover I chose for my post is not the US cover, it is the UK cover. But, I loved this cover so much more that for once I decided to show the UK instead of the US cover. Also, this is exactly the version I got at the Frankfurt Book Fair from the awesome ladies at Harlequin.
First Snyder Book for Me
Touch of Power is the first book from Maria Snyder for me. I know she published a lot of awesome books already, but I haven’t read any of hers before. This will change now, though!
Strong Female Lead Character
Avry is apparently one of her kind. She’s a Healer, and some years ago, all Healers have been murdered – out of fear! Avry is the only one left and she travels in hiding, moving from place to place to never get caught. She has to hide her abilities, but when she sees a sick child, she cannot help herself but heal and rescue the child. This is also what got her caught in the first place and when the story begins with her being in prison and close to be excecuted. When Kerrick, who wants her to heal someone rescues her – the have to run for their life’s… But Kerrick has a secret of his own… Touch of Power plays in the 15 Realms where magic is real, but also feared.
I just adored Avry, she was lovely, strong, determined and very stubborn! I loved her compassion and that she’s willing to take so much pain just to heal someone else. She’s a true hero and I admired her!
Dark, Mysterious and Enigmatic Male Lead & and fantastic Secondary Characters
OoOOOo I can say that Maria Snyder created a Male Lead exactly how I like them. Strong dark, fierce, brooding, mysterious but… soft when it comes to the heart of a woman. *sigh* Kerrick, is definitely also one of it’s kind and he has a secret he’s not willing to share his own secret. He’s also very frustrating and truly and definitely alpha male material. Yep, he’s awesome! But I shouldn’t forget to mention the wonderful secondary characters! All of the men in Kerrick’s group were wonderful and deeply portrayed and I feel in love with them just as Avry did!
Great, Facintating and Fast Paced Story
Admittedly, I stayed up all night reading and wanting desperately to finish the book. When this happens, the book has to be good. And it was! The Storyline was very fast, complex and never ever boring. You had to know the secrets Kerrick is hiding and for whom he’s willing to sacrifice everything for Avry to heal. I was mesmerized and captivated by this story and loved every minute I spend with Avry and Kerrick!
Bottom Line
Great kick off in a new series from Maria Snyder. Touch of Power has phenomenal characters you’ll love and hate at the same time. The femal lead Avry is a wonderful and lovely person who is a true hero in my eyes, add Kerrick the mysterious dark alpha male together with a captivating story line and you have a great book you won’t be able to put down!
Random Notes and Additional Info: After reading Touch of Power, I picked up her other books right away! I truly love her styla and Poison Study was absolutely awesome too! I still have to read her YA series “Inside Out” though… But, I most definitely will do!
Much Love,
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I have had a chance to read her YA series Inside Out but this book sounds full of adventure and I will totally check it out in 2012…New follower so come follow me at bookreaper.blogspot.com
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Her YA series sounds great, and I loved get writing style and the characters she created. Thanks for the follow!! Will totally check your blog now 🙂
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Thanks for showing this cover. Not only do I like this one Better, I really hate the other one. Now I want to read this!
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In glad you like the cover as much as I do!!! I just don't know, but the US cover simply doesn't deliver the magic feeling like this one. Read it, it's awesome! 🙂
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I can't wait for this one – the covers for her books are usually prettier in the UK (which leads to me owning usually 2+ copies of each of her books). I adore the UK cover. I'm glad to hear this one is good, it makes me more excited to pick it up
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It most definitely is awesome!!! If you love her other books I'm pretty sure you'll love this one too!
And, I agree – I also prefer the UK version of Inside Out and Poison Study… It's weird since they are both published by Harlequin yet they decide to change the cover from US to UK…
My recent post Book Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
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I really love the UK cover to! It's so gorgeous. They're both real pretty, but it's just something about this one that fits perfectly with the story. And OMG I agree with you completely about everything! Avry, Kerrick (insert sigh), the men… It was such a wonderful story! And I'm sooo glad you liked Poison Study too! I have it waiting and hope I'll feel the same. I definitely like her style judged by this one! Awesome review. 🙂
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I have the UK version at home and it is so pretty! I love the colors and the whole feeling. I'm also not a big fan of the US Poison Study cover.Poison Study was awesome!!! Loved it – but i have to admit that I didn't finish the last one in this series. The dark awesome male lead was getting too soft and wasn't present enough. Can't wait to hear what you think! 🙂
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I've only seen rave reviews for this one and can't wait to read it! I've read Inside Out and Outside In and liked them but I think her other books are so different that they can't really be compared. She does have writing skills though! Thanks for the fantastic review! It's on my wishlist 😉
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Yep I still need to read a bad review about this one! Wasn't Inside Out more Dystopian?
But, since I fell in love with her writing I definitely need to read her YA books soon ;-))
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I can't wait to read this one! Thanks so much for the review.
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This book is amazing. Absolutely. I can’t put it down, I stay up the whole night reading it. Too good to be put down.
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