Touch of Power

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

(Book #1 of the Healer series)

Rating: 🍁🍁🍁🍁

Link to Blurb

The Good Stuff:

1) The magic system introduced through this novel was interesting. It's finite, with only 11 different types that manifest themselves, and they're not all equally useful or powerful. I would have liked for it to be explained a little more, but what explanation there was was sufficient to move the story forward.

2) The plot was also interesting - a world trying to pick up the pieces after being ravaged by an incurable plague.

3) Avry. She was smart, tough, sarcastic, and fun. At times she bordered on being too doormat-ish, but on the whole she does come across as a force to be reckoned with.

4) The pacing of the story kept me turning pages well into the night, wanting to see what happened next. There was a palpable sense of adventure throughout, and it made for an entertaining read.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

1) The world building was lackluster. I still have no idea why there are 15 kingdoms. Or republics? Some had kings, others had presidents (though the position was hereditary, I think?)...nothing is really explained about any of it. There's also no sense of the geography of the world, other than that there are mountains somewhere.

2) Who on earth would think that sending all the future leaders of the 15 kingdoms to the same boarding school was a good idea? That seemed like a rather blatant plot manipulation created to give the main characters a history, which would be fine if it wasn't so hard to believe.

3) I ended up liking Kerrick overall, but definitely could have done without the whole "let's slap and torture the stubborn female" bit. Sure, he repents and she forgives him, but it didn't really add to the story as far as I could tell.

4) [**spoilers ahead!!] Could the ending have been any more predictable? We all knew Avry wasn't going to die. I will give props that she didn't survive the way I thought she would, through the whole magic synergy thing she had going on with Kerrick, but it undermined the author's attempts at dramatic tension and suspense to know that the plot's main conflict was going to be resolved right from the get-go.

5) What the heck is up with the lilies???

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was entertaining and fun, if confusing at times. I'd definitely classify it as YA despite it supposedly being aimed at adults.