Monday, December 23, 2013

"Touch of Power" by Maria V. Snyder

Series:  Healer #1
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Paperback; 390 pages
Publication: December 12, 2011 by Mira
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From 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 Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book! Touch of Power was not my first venture into MVS' writing, though. I was introduced to her books by reading her Study series, which was amazing. I really enjoyed reading them, so when my lovely and amazing GReep friend Jen went to one of MVS book signings I hopped on the band wagon and asked her to snag me a signed copy of TOP. ...And I'm so glad I did. While I really liked the Study series, for me, TOP is by far the best and is now sitting pretty on my "favorites shelf".

You remember back in middle school you always had those few creepy kids that wanted to learn all about the Black Plague in History? They would ask the teacher endless questions and keep everyone late after class because they were such morbid nerds? Well, that was totally me. Something about such an epic pandemic killing off two thirds of the population is pretty engrossing to me. Especially when we learn how people acted during and after such disasters. This is what really drew me in to TOP. In Avery's world, a plague has just killed off more than half of the population. As a healer (someone with the magical ability to take in another's illness or wounds), she should have been able to help cure the disease, but for some unknown reason the healers were unable to cure the Plague without dying themselves. Because of this, the realm began to blame the healers for the plague, and eventually started to hunt them down one by one.

As far as Avery knows, she maybe the last one left of her kind. Constantly on the run and hiding from a society that would punish her for her gift, she trusts no one. Until she meets a band of misfit warriors sent to rescue her in the hopes of her curing their Prince.

Besides the amazingly entertaining plot, I also really loved the chemistry between all of the characters. I felt like I was actually on the run with Avery, Kerrick, Flea, Belen, and the monkeys, and even though they were in a completely different world, I could completely connect with each of them.

Overall, Touch of Power is just a fantastic and well written fantasy that I will definitely be recommending to all of my friends!


My Rating:


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