Touch of Power - Maria Snyder

(This cover is my favorite, but you may know Touch of Power by it's alternative cover, seen here.)

Seeing the approval on Netgalley for this book made my week, and that's not an exaggeration. I've been hyped for Touch of Power since I first heard about it, and being as Snyder is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, you can imagine how excited I was to get my hands on an advanced copy of the first in a new series. And it had better be a series, mind, because I would cry if this book didn't ever get a sequel.

Touch of Power is the story of Avry, a woman with the ability to heal others by taking on their wounds. One would think being such a self-sacrificing being would make Avry loved, but the opposite is true: in Avry's world, the healers were accused of causing and refusing to heal one of the worst plagues in history, one which killed so many people that it completely destroyed all government systems everywhere. Those healers who are still alive are hunted, a bounty on their heads. It would be easy for Avry to stay hidden and pretend that she's normal, but every time she tries, she can't resist healing a sick child, and is forced to go on the run again after the town tries to turn her in. It is after being caught that Avry meets Kerrick, a man who busts her out of prison just before her execution. Kerrick believes that Avry's powers can be used for a good cause, his cause, and is willing to do what it takes to make her agree.

I loved Touch of Power. I just adored it. It's an adventurous, slightly romantic story mixed with a lot of lovely fantasy, amazing characters, and a good dose of humor, and the only bad thing about it is that it ends, in my opinion.

The fantasy aspect is there without being overwhelming, the way a lot of books are. Instead of throwing so much magical jargon at you that you can barely stand, any terms that Snyder uses are eventually explained, and there aren't a million references to keep track of. There's nothing worse than reading a fantasy novel that reads like a DND campaign when you've never played. After the fifth ring of Serrapis or whatever, you tend to lose track of what goes where and what does what, and I love that Snyder doesn't just load her stories up with fantasy just because. There's a good bit of magic and wizards and such, but there's just enough to make the story great without making it complicated.

I adored Snyder's characters in this book. Avry is a the kind of female heroine that I love, a stubborn, strong leading woman who just happens to be completely awesome. She's strong willed without being stupid, she's ethical, and she's no damsel in distress. At the same time, she's not the overly hard butch chick who saves everyone. She's more of a character and less of a stereotype, and I love that. She's not weak, but she's not so strong that there's no point to the story. She needs saving sometimes, but she does the saving sometimes, so maybe, more than saving, she just needs help. She's one of the best main characters I've read about in a while.

Besides Avry, great characters include Kerrick and his band of men, among others. Kerrick is devoted and willing to be cruel for his cause, but too softhearted to actually keep this cruelty going. His men include a street rat, two chivalrous men who would risk their lives to protect others, and a large beast of a man that could easily rival Hagrid in size of form and heart. Even the villain, for all that he's, you know, evil, is pretty well fleshed out. He's honorable despite being cruel, and there's a method to his madness.

If I had to pick out the weakest part of this book, I'd say it wasn't so much the setting that was built, so much as how it was built. The setting itself is pretty cool, and I loved the idea of Death and Peace Lilies, I loved the fantasy-esque setting, and I loved the magic system that Synder set up. But at the same time, I was a little hazy on the details of this universe, and I really hope it's fleshed out a little more in other books in this series, because right now I don't know what to classify it as. It's a gorgeous setting, really it is, but I can't figure out what exactly it is. Sometimes it seems like a glorious fantasy setting full of magic and castles, then the next it seems like it might be not too far from the world of today. I can't tell if the setting of Touch of Power is supposed to be a 'our world after the plague wipes it out' type of world, a 'medically advanced medieval' type of setting, or something like a world that is our own, but in more of a developing nation setting with magic. I just don't know what to think when this fantasy world has characters start injecting people with syringes. It just clashes, in my mind.

Overall, I loved Touch of Power, almost as much as I loved the Poison Study that caused me to become a fan of Synder to begin with. It's a great first book in what I can't wait to become a series, with a main character I can't wait to keep reading about. The book ends at a point that makes me crave the sequel right now, without being such a cliffhanger that I'm obsessing, and it's books like Touch of Power that make me realize that the worst part of being an ARC reviewer is having to wait extra long for the sequel.

I'd recommend Touch of Power to Tamora Pierce fans, first, because Synder and Pierce seem to go hand in hand to me. I'd also recommend Touch of Power to the YA crowd, although it isn't strictly YA based on the characters themselves, just because it has the same feel that YA usually does. And I'd recommend it to anyone who just wants to read an amazing book, whether they've heard of Maria Snyder or not.

So if Touch of Power sounds interesting to you, please pick it up when it comes out in one month, on December 27, 2011!

Fire Study - Maria Snyder

As expected, it took me less than a day to finish Fire Study by Maria Snyder, the last book in the Study series and I'm pretty satisfied with the series as a whole. I'll probably end up buying copies of the books for my shelves, so I can reread them whenever.

Fire Study picks up with the end of Magic Study, with Yelena in Sitia still trying to help take out the warpers and keep the Sitia from going to war against Ixia. Cahil has begun to follow the warpers, believing they can help set him on the throne, and to make matters worse, the warpers are trying to release a new threat: a fire elemental like being known as a fire warper, one of Yelena's worst fears.

I liked Fire Study a lot. Not as much as I loved Poison Study, but definitely more than I liked Magic Study. With Magic Study, it seemed like the plot was being dragged on without actually being concluded at the end, whereas Fire Study had some of the same plot, while having the conclusions that Magic Study demanded. Fire Study is a fantastic ending to a really good series, and I'm happy with the way it everything ended up. I adored the way Yelena's powers developed, although I won't go into details about them for risk of spoiling the story, and I loved the way Snyder chose to close the story.

The book, and indeed, the entire series, seemed like a great mix of all the aspects of a good book. There was a good story, good characters, and a romance that was interesting without taking up the entire goddamn book, like so many YA books seem to. I'm glad to finally find a good YA book that doesn't seem to turn into 'wow, which of these gorgeous perfect devoted guys should the main character end up with' instead of the original story. *coughFracturecough*

That being said, if you read Poison and Magic Study, you probably don't need me to tell you that you need to pick up Fire Study. And as always, a specific recommendation to fans of Tamora Pierce~! If you haven't read Poison and Magic Study, I'd recommend it to all fans of the fantasy and YA genres, although I hope I haven't spoiled the first two books for you in this review!

Magic Study - Maria Snyder

Wow, I'm really in a Snyder phase at the moment, haha. But I figured I'd finish the Study series before I move on, and I'm trying this whole review every book I touch before I touch another one kind of thing, so here we are. I'll probably end up doing Fire Study at some point soon, too, haha. That being said, onto the review!

Magic Study is, as you may have figured out, the second in the Study series by Maria Snyder, and the sequel to Poison Study. If you haven't read Poison Study yet, you might want to skip past this review until you're done, because I'm probably going to ruin it for you otherwise.

Magic Study continues Yelena's story after she's forced to leave Ixia for being a magician. After leaving behind everything and everyone she knows and loves, Yelena heads into Sitia with Irys and the other children from her orphanage, all of whom are believed to have been originally kidnapped from Sitia's magic families. Yelena meets her family, finds out she has parents, a brother, cousins, and more family in general than she can remember the names of, and goes on to study her magic. But having grown up in Ixia, Yelena's ways clash up against many of the Sitian customs, and seems to gain more enemies each day she remains in Sitia. And to make things worse, she comes to travel and study with a young main who claims to be the rightful prince of Ixia, and who is involved in a plot to get himself back on the throne.

I can't decide how I feel about this book. On one hand, I really wanted something more like Poison Study, and this book kind of takes Yelena's story in a completely different direction. On the other, I kind of like the new direction, too. Poison Study had more of a theme of rebellion, which I loved. I loved the idea of Ixia's command, I loved the setting, I loved the people, I loved Yelena getting stronger, and the love building, and I just loved it.

Magic Study is less about Yelena growing and rebelling and her relationships, and more about traveling, trying to prove that she isn't a spy every 5 minutes, and exploring her magic. Well, that last one makes sense, given the title, but still. Without being in Ixia, there's no real rebellion to be had, the setting changes frequently, with none of them as likeable to me as the Ixia castle was, and, while many of the characters from the first book are present, the relationships are already built with them, so it just isn't the same. There are new characters, obviously, but few of them are very likeable, since this book kind of revolves around Yelena's enemies and clashes in the new culture. That isn't to say there isn't good relationship building, so much as it's just different.

Just because the stories are different doesn't mean this one isn't good, of course. There are a lot of new aspects to Magic Study that I like. Yelena explores her magic, which leads to some pretty awesome developments, not to mention her family and the school. I won't say too much, to keep from spoiling this story for you, but I thought it was still an excellent book. But personal preferences in mind, Poison Study was spectacular, whereas Magic Study is just good.

If you liked Poison Study, then you should obviously check out Magic Study. They're not the same, but if you liked Poison, then you probably want to follow Yelena, haha. And if you like Tamora Pierce, I'd once again recommend both Magic and Poison, because they're definitely in the same place, I think, as far as genre and such.

Check back, and I'll probably have a review up for Fire Study soon, the next book in the Study series.

Poison Study - Maria Snyder

Shortly after finishing Inside Out, I couldn't help but grab the first in Snyder's Study series, especially when the Glass series was only a spin off of it. After reading, I can easily say that Snyder is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Poison Study is about a woman named Yelana, who, at the start of the book, has been tried and confessed to killing the son of her benefactor, and is about to be executed. Shortly before her execution date, however, Yelena is offered a second option: as the next person to be executed when the military dictator of the country's food tester has died, she is offered the position herself. Given the choice between dying on the noose and living for just that much longer, Yelena accepts and begins training to detect all manner of poisons, kept loyal through the use of a continual poison she is tricked into taking the first day, and the antidote she must take every morning to keep it's effects prolonged.

Poison Study was not at all the book that I was expecting, which has a lot to do with the fact that, much like Vampire Academies and Bloodlines, I read the spin off series before I read the main series. Lucky me, I once again knew more about the main character that this book even touches on. Because of that, though, this book was completely new to me, besides the names of a few key characters. And even though it wasn't what I was expecting, it was still very good.

I love Snyder's characters. There's no way I couldn't. Her main character is amazing and has depth, the love interest is amazing and has depth, even the side characters, like the military commander whose food she tastes and the cook in the kitchen, are amazing and have depth. Everyone in the book has their own special story and background, and it's frankly amazing. I think I may have loved a few of the side characters more than I loved Yelena, and that's pretty hard.

The plot was pretty awesome too, I've got to say. I was expecting magic and Yelena kicking ass and taking names, from the glass series, and instead I got a country that abhors magic, Yelena being a poison tester(but still awesome), backstabbing, betrayal, love, and hope. This book is definitely one of my new favorites, and I'll be getting a copy for my bookshelves when I get the chance.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy. Fans of Tamora Pierce will probably love Yelena's story as well, as she often came to mind when I was reading Poison Study and the Glass series. There's also a kind of dystopia feel about this book and setting, without it actually being real dystopia, so fans of the genre might want to pick it up as well, just to try it.

Poison Study is out now, and is the first in a series, so if you think it sounds interesting--or if you agree that the cover is gorgeous--, grab a copy next time you get the chance. You won't be disappointed!

Inside Out - Maria Snyder

I actually met Maria Snyder several months before I'd even touched one of her books, after the lovely Zenita D and I went to her book signing to support a friend who helped put it together. She was signing Inside Out, and I didn't make the connection between her and the other series of hers that I read last year, the glass series, until Zenita pointed it out to me a few months ago. When I saw Inside Out again recently, I couldn't help but pick it up in the hopes of it being as good as the glass series. I'm really happy I did!

Inside Out is about Trella, who is a member of the low class in the Inside. Note the capital I. The inside is a huge structure that is made of metal and interwoven with hundreds of pipes and vents. As a member of the lower class, called the scrubs, Trella's entire life consist of mind numbing work, in her case that of cleaning the small pipes that only she and those of her size can fit into. Other scrubs do everything from fixing the parts of the Inside to doing the cooking or tending the hydraulics, and all scrub grow up taken care of by Care Mothers, never knowing their parents or siblings. Scrubs are ruled over by the Pop Cops, who are part of the upper class, and who ensure that the scrubs follow the rules and can't rebel. Trella is the Queen of the Pipes, meaning that she considers scrubs useless, and spends most of her time sleeping and hanging out in the pipes themselves. This changes after her one friend, whom she grew up with, Cog, finds a prophet. Prophets are common, always preaching about a mirror of Christianity, and how one can go Outside if they are good during their lives Outside. Trella has never given into them, until the newest one that Cog finds happens to ask for her by name. And more than that, he may have physical proof of the exit of Inside. It's up to Trella to find out if he's telling the truth, and if so, escape.

I actually really liked this book. As always, I'm a massive fan of any kind of dystopia stuff, which Inside Out reeks of. Anything that reminds me of The Giver or anything like it makes me happy, which means that in today's YA world, I'm a pretty damn happy camper. That being said, Inside Out was good for more than just the setting.

The plot of Inside Out was really good, and Snyder is really good about foreshadowing and providing just enough hints to make the reader think without giving away the entire story. I honestly thought I knew how this was going to end from the very first few chapters, only to get to the end and be pleasantly surprised, which isn't something that happens very much, anymore. Everytime I though I knew what was going on and what was about to happen, it seemed, something else that I hadn't considered would just show up.

As far as characters go, I have to say that I'm a fan of Trella, too. She's a complete badass, which I like, without being the typical 'mary sue' boringly perfect character who just kicks every one's ass and is awesome and unbeatable. She has her flaws, she has her problems, and she actually becomes aware of these.

Overall, I have to say that I really, really liked this book, and I'll probably be grabbing the sequel, Outside In, very soon. It's a nice blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopia all in one, and I'd definitely suggest it. If you're a dystopia fan, pick up Inside Out soon, and tell me what you thought. If you like books that let you think and try and puzzle out the story before you finish it, pick up Inside out and you won't be disappointed. If you're just looking for a new book and you like sci-fi and awesome, grab Inside Out next time you're at your local library and bookstore!

And if you like Inside Out, keep watching, and I'll probably have a review of Outside In sometime soon!