Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder **Review**

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
Series: Avry of Kazan #1
Publisher: MIRA
Release date (UK): 20 December 2011
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Waterstone's | Amazon US

Goodreads synopsis:
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...

I was fairly convinced that I would enjoy this book - it sounded like exactly my kind of read - but I didn't expect to love it quite as much as I did!
Maria didn't waste time in getting the reader into the story - we're thrown pretty much straight into the action. Avry begins the story by telling us a little about the origins of 'the plague', an incurable disease that has wiped out more than a third of the world population (although a world that we are not familiar with), and then introduces us to what she is. Avry is a healer, and the plot of the novel gets going almost immediately as she heals a sick child and throws herself into instant danger by doing so. Soon after, Kerrick is introduced into the plot and the plot begins to thicken.

It has been quite a while since I've read a book with a plot that is so well-constructed. The novel was very consistent and by the end of the novel, there were no loose ends left untied (apart from those that lead us into the second in the series, of course), which shows a great deal of skill on the author's part. And the premise of the novel and plot itself was intoxicating - I can't think of a better word to describe it - it was an instantly addictive story (the second part to which I will wait for very impatiently). The plot was perfectly-paced - fast enough that the reader is not allowed to get bored with what is happening, but slow enough so that the events are allowed to play out properly, and nothing is rushed unnecessarily. The events are also equally as exciting and intriguing and I can't wait to see how the plot develops further as the series continues.

The characters were also fantastically well-developed. Avry was a wonderful female protagonist. What I find with a lot of modern fantasy fiction (as in, books published within the last 5 or 6 years), is that the female protagonists can be quite shallow, not well-developed, whiny and even irritating, but Avry was not at all like that! She was a very believable character - amiable, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, and could quite easily have been a description of a living person. This is not just true of Avry, but of most characters in the book. I did feel that Tohon's character was perhaps a little over the top, but then again I've never met anyone as villainous as him! He was an intriguing character none-the-less, and caused me to love Avry, Kerrick and the rest of their team even more.

Kerrick is another wonderful character in the novel. Although when we first meet him, he is a brooding, bossy and apparently unsympathetic character, we soon learn that this is just a protective facade. Kerrick has things in his past that he'd far sooner forget than face up to, but after meeting Avry, he is forced to begin facing the pain in his past, and to try overcoming it in favour of finally breaking the icy shell he formed around his heart in order to survive.
The relationship between Kerrick and Avry is also entirely believable. Avry's initial reaction and attitude towards Kerrick is an entirely natural and expected one - rather than falling immediately head-over-heels for her rescuer/captor, she severely dislikes him. The relationship subtly develops however, so that by the end of the novel, their romance is realistic and much anticipated, rather than the alternative of being overwhelming (or sickening, as is the possibility with the romances in some other novels in the same genre).

I absolutely adored this novel, and I think it's definitely going to have to go down somewhere in my list of top ten favourite books that I've read in 2011!
I recommend it to all fans of fantasy, but also implore other readers to pick it up too - I think you may be surprised by what you find!