Fantastic Fantasy! Review of Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

paperback or ebook, 390 pages

Published: Dec. 20th, 2011 by Mira

Source: Purchased

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....

I have been wanting to pick up one of Maria V. Snyder's fantasy books, and have even owned Poison Study for ages, but this one was cheap for kindle and the second one was offered for review.  So this ended up being the first series I started with.  And oh my goodness, I fell in love!  I know there are many devoted fans of hers out there and it seems like those that read her books tend to absolutely LOVE her, I haven't really seen a middle ground so much.  So here I am, her newest devoted fan.  {I did read her Inside Out, Outside In books, but they are very different.}Also note that while I believe this is technically adult and is found in the adult section, it works quite well as a Young Adult book as well.  Any sexual situations are glossed over or faded out.

I was swept into this world and Avry's character right away.  There wasn't any slow moving bits and from the moment I picked the book up I desperately wanted to keep reading.  Avry is a very strong character.  She's strong willed, smart and resourceful.  She's learned her way all these years of hiding.  When she's kidnapped (or saved, however you want to look at it) by a bad of rogues you don't know if this is good or bad.  But within pages you know that these are good guys.  But Avry has her reservations because they want her to heal someone she doesn't believe is a good person.  Through a lot of witty banter and lots of saving of lives we come to love the band of rogues that hauls Avry across the country (or countries, kingdoms, whatever).  We laugh, we cry and we totally fall for their antics.

This book has a pretty fantastic romance as well even though it's not much of a romance in this book.  The two characters get to know each other, which I liked, I liked that emotion that grew between them over time.  I was surprisingly not annoyed with this romance (and how long it took to develop) and was happy with how it progressed even though there were times I wanted to smack Avry for being so blind.  I definitely think this is something that will be even better in the next book.

I really could go on about everything, but really all you need to know is that it has great characters (good and evil), has fantastic world building, and will keep you on your toes and with a smile on your face. Absolutely stunning start to what is sure to be a new favorite series for me.