Cover:
This cover is simply beautiful. I love it!
Synopsis:
Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs 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 Fifteen Realms, 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...
Released: December 20, 2011.
3.5 Stars
Avry is a healer in a harsh world where healers are hunted, because everyone believes healers started a plague. In fact, most healers have already been killed, and she has been in hiding for two years trying to avoid being murdered. She is soon abducted by a group of rogues who are trying to convince her to heal a prince that she really doesn't like. Throw in the fact that if she saves him, she loses her life and you see why they must convince her that the prince is worth saving. They take a long, wild journey to find the prince.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the adventure and characters. Avry is a sweet, strong, smart, selfless character. Usually when I think about a character so selfless the term "doormat" comes to mind, but this is absolutely not the case with Avry. She's willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good, but if you make her mad she will get in your face with a sharp comeback. Her band of friends are also really fun. Belen was such a sweetheart, and Kerrick was a great leader. I loved the loyalty and bond they shared for each other.
The plot was okay. I would give it stars for originality as I do think it was a unique story. For me it was a nice pace. The story moved quickly, but was easy to follow. Deduct stars for the fact that the plot pretty much goes nowhere, though. More about that in spoiler below.
What I did not enjoy was the predictability and pretty much everything about the ending. This part contains spoilers so more on that is here: (view spoiler)
This is my first book from Maria V. Snyder, and I find her to be an excellent story teller. Snyder's world building was exceptional in this book. As they went on their adventures I felt there with them in the forests, caves, castles etc... Her descriptions were raw, and the parts where Avry took someone's illness to herself felt really intense.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book until the last 1/3 of it. Despite my complaints, I feel the book was still quite good, and I'm glad I read it. I will definitely continue to read this series.
This is a YA book, but I think it will be enjoyed by readers of any age.
