Book Review: Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

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 am a huge fan of Maria V. Snyder's writing, and Poison Study is one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. My expectations for Touch of Power were very high, and so I was happy to recognize it as a Snyder novel from the very first chapter.

Avry reminds me quite a bit of both Yelena (Study-series) and Opal (Glass-series). She is self-proficient, independent and is used to not trusting anyone. There were times when I was annoyed with her stubbornness, and others when I was amazed by her quick thinking - just the way I like my main characters. Avry's healing powers are not harmless to herself, yet she never even questions healing her friends, or even enemies, when they are hurt. Healing is as natural to her as breathing.

Touch of Power is very fast paced, and there's action waiting behind every corner. I did miss getting to know Avry and her thoughts a little better, as there are a couple of situations where I just don't get why she acts the way she does, but all in all I liked the non-stop action. Touch of Power has none of that slow first-book-in-a-series-syndrom that seems to be very common (yes, I'm looking at you Bloodlines), and I can't wait to learn more about Avry and her powers in the next book, Scent of Magic, which is coming out some time in 2012.

Cover:
Beautiful cover, I love the colors, and once you've read the book you'll get the importance of the lily!:)

My rating of this book:

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Full disclosure:
Review copy from Netgalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.