Review: Touch of Power (Healer, #1) 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...

Maria V. Snyder has done it again! To be honest, I'm no longer surprised to find that each of her new books is better than the last. Every time I pick one of her novels up I get this thrill of excitement because I know it's a winner even before I've cracked the cover. Her Poison Study series captured my attention as well as my heart as a reader, and ever since she just keeps on putting her touch of pure magic into her writing. Where do authors come up with these story lines? Magic and healing may have been done before, but no one comes close to touching on Snyder's Healer series. Anyone who tries...well good luck with that, but don't be shocked when you come up short. There's no matching her ability to draw readers in and capture them to the point where they'll start to believe that her worlds actually exist.

I couldn't have been happier to meet Avry and discover yet another literary heroine to add to my list of favorites. She's hard to resist and after a while you won't even know why you tried. Her band of rescuers (so to speak) are just as impossible not to love. But I will say this. After knowing how many ups and downs Snyder can put her readers through by making her characters go through all their paces and insurmountable obstacles, this series by far put me through the ringer. I laughed (a lot) and cried (even more) but really I just couldn't believe how attached I got to these characters. And after only a few pages...I was relating and empathizing with their tales as if they truly were real and my very own friends and family. Ridiculous some may say, but those individuals have never experienced Snyder's magic. And that's the real shame.

Readers who know and love Snyder, won't find this review hard to believe or far fetched in any way, but what they might find shocking is that Snyder managed to having me falling for a character even more than the immortal Valek. I myself did not think that would ever be possible, but she's done it! I won't go into anymore detail because everyone should really experience this one for themselves, without knowing too much going into it. But trust that you won't be disappointed. Now can we please get book two, Scent of Magic, like immediately!

I gave Touch of Power (Healer, #1) 5 shamrocks!!!!!