Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder

Avry's been on the run for 3 years because of her gift, the ability to cure someone's injuries by laying her hands on them and assuming the injury onto herself. She is one of the last Healers. Healers like herself were blamed for starting the disastrous plague that wiped out many, and because of that they've been hunted to near extinction.

Avry is tired of running, and finds herself saving a dying child, at the risk of being caught. And caught she is, only to be rescued by a band of men who value her gift and treasure it.

She finds herself travelling with them and eventually befriending them, but the 15 realms are on the brink of war, and the mission of the men soon reveals itself. An enemy Prince has contracted the plague, and she is the only one who can cure him. She is the last of the Healers.

The Prince may be the only one who can restore peace, but the cost of saving him could be her own life...

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Grrr, my blurby thing doesn't do the book justice. If I had my way, I'd just make everyone read it :)

Maria V Snyder has struck once more. Never let it be said that Maria isn't a brilliant author!

I love love lovie love Touch of Power, the story line is brilliant and unpredictable with plot twists happening so fast I was honestly afraid I'd miss something important if I dared to close my eyes. The writing was sophisticated and extensive but not so much that I (with my meagre vocabulary) couldn't understand it. This is a breath of pure fresh air (well, maybe not too pure because that would cause illness) Touch of Power reminded me that there are books out there that are the stuff of freaking legend, it has reminded me why I adore Maria V Snyder (not that my devotion ever wavered)

At about 400 pages, I can tell you now it won't take you that long to read it, you could argue that 400 pages is quite long, but I can assure you that the pages will turn by themselves. You could also say that the book might drag at times, but it's probably impossible for one to get bored when there is action on almost every page. Betrayals at the most unpredictable of times and by the most unsuspected people. Trust me on this one, you'll love it!

So, the main character. Avry. She is one of the best heroines I think I've encountered in all my years of reading. And yes, the fact that she throws knives may have been the deciding factor (I completely and utterly adore knife throwing). So I suppose you guys won't take my word on this and will need proof, right? Well, proof I shall give! Avry is smart, very smart but she's not impossibly smart, she's not one of those weird perfect characters that authors put in books who always seem to find a solution despite the fact that there are no clues anywhere. No. Avry puts the clues together, she thinks in a logical and rational way and dares to think outside of the box.

next. She's is kickass, hahaha! Pity the poor fool who decides to try to attack her, she'll have knives in them in seconds, but despite all her skill in knife throwing she doesn't kill. She'll maim, but not kill. Yay for her!

Another thing is that she's a genuinely nice person. Children are her obvious weakness, she'll do almost anything to help them, despite endangering herself. I just really like that. She thinks of others and not just herself.

Ok. Now that I've finished stating how awesome Avry is, I'll move on to the other characters in general. They've all got spunk, I'll give them that. You can't say that any of them are like another. I have to say that some of the characters remind me of the ones in the Study series, (another awesome series by the way), especially the funny ones. You can tell that Maria V Snyder has put a lot of effort into developing these characters and making them feel real not just another name to fill in the gap.

I just want to say, that Touch of Power is the perfect combination of fantasy, action and romance. It's cute, it's funny, it's absolutely perfect.

I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED THE NEXT BOOK!!!! WHY CRUEL FATE?!?! ANOTHER YEAR OF WAITING...

Inside Out by Maria V Snyder

"For the first time, I was the center of attention. Everyone watched me as if I were a bomb. Would I explode and cause a disaster or would I pop and cause a miracle?"

Trella is a scrub, one of thousands really. Scrubs are the least important people of the Inside, yet they are also the most, they cook, they clean and they basically do all the jobs. They are considered the “lowers” whereas the powerful “uppers” control everything. Trella cleans pipes and keeps to herself, tries not to get noticed and hopes for the best.

Yet when Trella agrees with her best and only friend to meet a prophet, someone who preaches of the Outside and it wonders, her simple life is turned upside down. She is recruited to find discs that may or may not hold the location of The Gateway, the door that is rumored to lead to the Outside.

It would have been smart to refuse, to go back to her simple life, but Trella can’t ignore her curiosity and in finding the discs she suddenly makes herself the go-to girl to lead a revolution. Now she is hunted by the most powerful of the hated Uppers and betrayal is inevitable, the question is who?

Of course I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed by Maria V Snyder’s writing! Put simply, this book is downright amazing! The main character Trella begins the books acting very selfish but as the story unfolds, secrets are revealed and she changes dramatically! She turns into the ideal heroine; she’s strong and passionate but also a little stubborn. And Riley…ah, I loved him from the beginning!

Inside Out is AMAZING!!!!!!!, I simply cannot wait to read the second book: Outside in