Review: A Touch Of Power by Maria V. Snyder

                                             Touch of Power (Healer #1) by Maria V. Snyder

           Pages:  400  Published: December 20th 2011  Publisher: Mira  Source: Review

Goodreads:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes 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 Territories, 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....

My Review:

‘A Touch of Power’ was really really good! I’ve already read the Study series from Maria V. Snyder so I knew how amazing she was at creating whole new lands and exciting plot turns and A Touch of Power did not disappoint! 

Avry is the main character and she is a healer from Kazan. The whole setting is very interesting with different lands and of course the plague situation growing more dire each and every day. I liked reading Avry, she was an easy character to get along with and she was a smart, independent woman. Kerrick, Flea, Belen, Loren and Quain make up the rescuers and they all have their individual personalities, which made them seem even more real. They also have bad traits -Yes Kerrick, I’m talking about you! But everything was all tied together at the end and I loved it! Some parts are very sad! L Belen was my favourite, with Flea at a tie -he was so cute! Tohon was one creepy character! He was such a slimy little man, but of course, there needs to be a villain and Tohon certainly lived up to that! 

I enjoyed how all the relationships between the characters developed as they progressed and the horrible situation that Avry was in -heal someone and die, or not heal someone and survive- something that anybody would have trouble with. The way that Avry’s and Kerrick’s power is described was really interesting! I loved it! Plus, the new character’s along the way, from Sepp, Estrid, Jael and Noelle were all great to read about.

The plot was jam packed full of endless plot changes that I would have never guessed! I was genuinely shocked, so be prepared for anything when reading this! The Peace and Death Lily’s situation was a really intriguing aspect of the book, as it was completely new and very scary! 

Overall, it’s a fantastic read! It’ll definitely leave you gasping for more and luckily the next book is out next year in 2013! Highly recommended! Grab it now! :)

4 out of 5 stars.