I absolutely loved this book. I became a fan of Maria V. Snyder's work back with Poison Study (book one in the Study Trilogy) and I enjoyed this one just as much. The world created for this new trilogy, although not in any way connected, had a very similar feel to it to that of the Study series. It is very similar to our own world in many ways, although without the benefits of our modern technology- plumbing, electricity, cars etc. - but with the added bonus of magic. Lots and lots of lovely magic!

The story had excellent pacing. Right from the first page we were off and running (literally) and before I even realised what I was doing I had inhaled the first 100 pages of the book. If not for that darn pesky sleep thing we humans require, I wouldn't have stopped there either.

One of the best things about Maria's writing is her amazing characters. She writes beautifully forming friendships that really touch you as a reader. Her writing is emotive, I felt my heart plummet several times during the course of the book over something that was said or revealed. But the very best thing of all for me, is the way she sets up the romantic storyline. That is to say, she doesn't set it up in any kind of in-your-face or obvious way. It's so very clever and subtle that you don't even realise what's happening until it creeps up on you. Little actions and gestures. Words said when people think themselves unheard. I absolutely loved trying to read between the lines and hear what went unsaid. This kind of subtlety is so much more enjoyable to me than the insta-love of so many other books.

I also enjoyed all the magical abilities we saw. The healing power of our main character, Avry, is fascinating in that she has to assume the injuries or illnesses into her own body first in order to heal them. Her healing is greatly accelerated over that of a normal person, but that doesn't mean she doesn't suffer. She feels every bit of it and has the scars to prove it. This makes her seem incredibly altruistic at times but that doesn't mean she will heal everyone she is told to on command. And this is the main crux of the story. She is asked by Kerrick, the leader of the band of rogues who abduct her at the start of the book, to heal Prince Ryne. Avry flat out refuses for reasons that she initially doesn't wish to share. As you can imagine this news isn't received well and the plot takes off from here.

There really was not a dull moment in this book. It had me bemoaning each and every one of my responsibilities that kept me away from it during the course of the 3 days it took to read. I am greatly looking forward to the next book and just hope it maintains this incredibly high standard, and that all of the characters I have come to love will be there waiting for me inside.

Review Copy: Received from the publisher for an honest review

Cross posted from personal blog rabidgummibear.wordpress.com
Before Touch of Power I had never heard of Maria V Snyder and after reading it I can say I’m already a fan and can’t wait to dive into her other books. Touch of Power was a fast paced and enthralling book.

We start by meeting Avry who has been on the run for 3 years as one of the last remaining healers. The healers were blamed for the plague forcing them all into hiding though most didn’t even make it that far before people started killing them. The world around Avry has been slowly destroyed by the plague, but soon she is kidnapped by a group of guys trying to help their Prince who is stuck in stasis and dying of the plague.

Before I am tempted tell you the entire plot line I’m going to share what I loved about this book. When I say it was fast paced i literally mean it seemed like something new was happening every couple pages. It felt as though there was never a spot of “well this boring, but it gets me to the next good part.” The world building was built into the story telling really nicely as well as far as explaining the magic and what happened to the world goes. I will say that the romance in this is rather light and this book revolves mostly around world building and creating the plot for the next book. Don’t take that as a bad thing though because the narrative in this book is great and really well done.


Overall 4/5 Stars. I really think this is a great book for anyone who wants to read an engaging story. Definitely well worth the cash.