Review: Taste of Darkness - Maria V. Snyder (+ UK Giveaway)

The final battle begins . . .

Powerful healer Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought a plague and survived. She took on corrupt King Tohon and defeated him. But now her true love, Kerrick, is missing and Avry fears he's gone forever.

Yet she faces a more immediate - and deadly - threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own.

With the territories' armies in disarray and the dead not staying dead, Avry's powers are needed now more than ever.

Torn between love and loyalty, she must choose her path carefully. For the future of Avry's world depends on her decision . . .

Healer Series:
Touch of Power
Scent of Magic
Taste of Darkness

Visit Maria V. Snyder's website or the Touch of Power website for more information

Review:
I have been a huge fan of this series ever since I read Touch of Power two years ago so I was eagerly waiting for the final instalment in the trilogy. It's always a bit scary seeing a favourite series come to an end though, you have all those fears about whether it will live up to expectations and you'll be pleased with the way things turn out and you have to prepare to say goodbye to the characters you've come to love. I'm happy to say that Taste of Darkness was worth the wait and was a fitting end to the series.

Maria V. Snyder has really upped the stakes in this last book, not only is Kerrick missing and presumed dead by everyone apart from Avry but they are also facing a new enemy who seems even more powerful than Tohon. As if that wasn't bad enough Prince Ryne's soldiers are getting sick and it looks like Avry has a new version of the plague on her hands. There is so much going on and the story is pretty much non-stop action as the characters push forward from one disaster to another trying to save the Fifteen Realms.

I was very happy to see that Avry and Kerrick spend more time together in this book than they did in the last one, if I'm honest I still wanted to see more of them as a couple but every interaction between them is just so good that I can't complain too much. They really are so perfect together and I love the fact that even though Kerrick's instincts are to protect Avry and keep her out of harms way he knows that she'd never be happy if she didn't play her part and he doesn't try to stop her from doing what she needs to. Avry is a fabulous heroine, one who constantly puts herself at risk to protect others, she has such strong instincts to take care of others even when it costs her a great deal of pain and I've always been in awe of the way she is so willing to use her healing abilities. She uses her wits, intelligence and instincts to keep herself and her friends safe and she always keeps her promises no matter how hard that may be.

As much as I'm going to miss Avry and Kerrick I was also sad to say goodbye to the other characters I've come to love throughout the series. Flea, Belen and the monkeys have all played such major roles and I've also grown really fond of Odd since the last book. The interactions between all of the characters always leads to some light hearted moments which was desperately needed since this book was quite dark in places. I'd say this is easily the darkest of all the books in the trilogy and while I loved that I enjoyed the light hearted banter even more because of it. Having read both Maria V. Snyder's Healer series and her Study series I have to say it's very hard to pick a favourite but I'm tempted to say that this one wins out slightly. They are both wonderful series with strong, kick ass female characters which seems to be a trademark of this author and I'd highly recommend both of them. I'm quite pleased that I still have the Glass trilogy to dive into - I'm hoping it will help me get over my withdrawal symptoms from this one!

Source: Received from Mira Ink in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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Paperback / Kindle:



Giveaway Details:

Thanks to Mira Ink I'm very excited to be able to give away a copy of Taste of Darkness to a lucky UK winner. To enter just fill in the rafflecopter form below.

• One winner will receive a paperback copy of Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder.
• This giveaway is open to UK entrants only and the winner's prize will be sent out directly by Mira Ink so by entering the giveaway you are agreeing that I can give your address to my contact if you are the winner.
• To enter please use the rafflecopter widget below, there are optional extra entries for following or tweeting about the giveaway but these are not required to enter.
• Duplicate and invalid entries will be deleted and the winners will be chosen at random from all remaining entries.
• The giveaway will close at Midnight GMT on the 2nd of February 2014 and the winner will be contacted soon afterwards with their prize.

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