Scent of Magic

After her adventures in Touch of Power Avry now has to find a way to counter King Tohon's army of the dead. This is made even harder for her by the fact that she and Kerrick need to go on separate paths. Kerris is bound north to join Prince Ryne's forces and then to battle the wild tribes who threaten to invade the northern realms. Meanwhile Avry enlists in Estrid's army to try and make things right with her sister Noelle as well as to gather useful information for Ryne.

I really like Maria V. Snyder's books. Her current series featuring Avry of Kazan is even more gripping than the previous books. Her world-building is very good. It is easy to picture the characters and places in one's mind. The world makes sense and little things may show more turn out to be important later on, all is interconnected. Just as a good fantasy-world should be.

The author's vivid writing style manages to capture the reader's attention and it is really hard to lay the book down for more important things. This is especially hard between chapters because Maria V. Snyder has a knack for finishing chapters with a cliffhanger. Generally the narration flows well.

Although I read the first book in the series a year ago and did not re-read it before starting Scent of Magic I didn't have any difficulties in getting back into the story. Some things had slipped my mind but the mention of those occurences brought the memory back quite quickly. Still this a book where one should have read the first installment at some point to get into the story and world.

In this book Maria V. Snyder tried something new by introducing passages written from Kerrick's point-of-view. Considering that Kerrick and Avry are separated for most of the book and Kerrick's adventures and achievements will probably play a certain role in the next book that secondary perspective was probably necessary for the book. Apart from that it is a nice change to get a closer view at the love interest of the protagonist. Kerrick's passages were rather short in comparison of Avry's, but I found the length appropriate for him. Enough to give a feeling of his adventures and paint a mental image of his surroundings but not so much that the focus is distracted from Avry.

The fact that Avry and Kerrick spend most of the book in different parts of the world also means that the romance aspect takes a secondary place in the book. While Kerrick and Avry are lovers and miss each other this doesn't make them unable to function on their own. They are still able to think of other things and concentrate on their tasks at hand. I really like this about Maria V. Snyder's books. The lovers still have a life apart from each other.

Avry itself is a strong and believeable heroine. She can cope without being rescued by a man (well, there are moments when she gets help from a man, but she has to deal with a whole army, so a bit of help is excuseable). However, she doesn't reach her goals easily, either. She has to work to gain other people's trust and friendship and to succeed in her task.
I especially liked her attitude and behaviour towards Tohon in this book. It showed real strength and character on her part. Also I was pleasantly surprised that there is no love triangle in this book. Shortly I feared that there might be one, but fortuneately this didn't happen.

Not only is Avry a likeable and vivid main character, but the secondary characters are also well-developed. It is easy to form a mental image of them that instantly returns when they are mentioned or appear later on in the book.
This holds true for old characters that already appeared in the previous book as well as new characters that are first introduced in this installment.

In general I also liked the ending. However, there was a situation at the beginning of the last chapter where some things happend a bit too fast and coincidental for my liking. That seemed a bit forced and didn't fit the author's overal writing style and ability to make characters act rationally and believable. That scene could have done well with a bit more explanation or hints leading up to it. But this is only a minor grievance that doesn't really distract from the book as a whole.
As most of Maria V. Snyder's books this ends with a cliffhanger that makes the reader wish to pick up the next book at once. Alas, the next book has not yet been published, so people who need to read the next book in a series instantly after finishing the earlier book should be warned of this.

All in all this is a wonderful fantasy adventure with vivid and fluid narration that I can wholeheartedly recommend; especially for people who tend to get tired of lovesick main characters who can't think of anything else than their lover. show less

Scent of Magic is the second in the Healer series by Maria Snyder. The story picks up immediately after the events in the first book, Touch of Power. While it is possible to read this book as a stand alone, it is a much richer experience if you read the series from the beginning.

One of the things I like most about Maria Snyder’s writing is her plotting. Each book feels like a self-contained story while also advancing the larger story of the trilogy. New storylines are introduced while other plot points are wrapped up. Nothing feels tacked on, it feels like you are seeing the bigger picture along with the characters. Likewise, her characters show real growth. They grow from the beginning of the book to the end and from the beginning of show more the series to the end.

Another part of the skillful way Snyder tells her story is her description of the magic in this world. Because of the fact that it is set in a world devastated by a plague that wiped out most of the population, you are discovering the extent and limits of different types of magic as the characters do, even though the magic system is long-established in the world. The characters are mostly young and much knowledge was lost with the plague, so it feels natural to be rediscovering it. The unique plants in this world, the lilies, are almost a character themselves and their description and role in the plot is fascinating.

The story in this book departs from the more linear nature of the first book by splitting up two of the main characters, Avry and Kerrick. Each pursue separate paths through most of the novel which leads to new discoveries and new angles to advance the overall plot.

The characters themselves are largely well-fleshed out and distinct, making them easy to care about and root for. Maria Snyder’s writing has an effortless feel to it which really keeps the pages turning. There is never a lull. Those who enjoyed the first book won’t be disappointed by this second entry, and will eagerly await the next volume. If you haven’t discovered Maria Snyder yet, do so now. You won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended. show less

This is the second book in the Healer trilogy by Snyder. I didn’t like this book as much as the first book, it was pretty much a war and strategy fantasy read. It’s missing a lot of the mystery, adventure, and romance we saw in the first book. I recommend reading the first book before picking up this one.

Avry leaves Kirran and infiltrates the holy army both to try and catch up to her sister Noell and to do what she can to fight against Tohon. Kerrick is sent back to Alga to deal with a different invasion and battle.

I didn't like this book as much as the first in this series. Nearly the whole book has Avry fighting in one part of the battle while Kerrick is sent to Alga to deal with a battle on a different front. I honestly thought show more the whole thing was pretty boring. Lots of battle strategy talk and intrigue but not a ton of action. We don’t get any of the tense interplay between Kerrick and Avry; the monkeys are split up for much of the book as well.

I didn’t feel like any of the characters grew or changed much throughout this book. Avry does learn more about the Lilies and she does grow some in power. Kerrick does finally realize that he neglected his home kingdom while he was trying to find a cure for the Prince. Outside of that it was all preparing for battle and then a face-off between Tohon’s undead army and the holy army.

There isn’t a ton of action. Avry is masquerading as a sergeant and spends a lot of the book teaching soldiers how to move silently through the forest. When she isn’t doing that she is trying to hide what she is, and she doesn’t do a very good job keeping her secret.

The best part of this whole story is the mystery surrounding the Death/Peace Lilies. Avry does interact with the Lilies quite a bit in this book. Rather than get answers though, we are mostly left with more questions.

The book is decently written, I just had a lot of trouble staying engaged with the story. Not a lot happens and I didn’t care much about the characters by the end of it all. Since most of the major characters are separated we don’t get the fun rapport between characters that we did in the first book.

Overall an okay addition to the series, but lacking in the adventure, mystery, and romance of the first book. The book is well written but mostly focuses on battle and strategy...not things I enjoy reading about. We don’t get the witty dialogue between Avry, Kerrick, and the monkeys since they are separated most of the book. So in the end I had a lot of trouble engaging with the story and caring about these characters. At this point I am uncertain whether or not I will read the final book in this trilogy. I would recommend reading Snyder’s Poison Study series instead of this one, that is a much better story. show less

*many thanks to Harlequin MIRA & NetGalley for allowing early access to this title*

When one of my best pals, Heather, introduced me to Maria V. Snyder's books, I had no idea it would produce such a love affair. It's really the only way to describe it. I LOVE Snyder's books. They're comfort books...books that I come back to over and over again. I can't help myself. The nice thing is that they're good for me. :)

A lot of times with sequels, I have to do a quick refresher with the previous book so that I remember what was going on. Not with Snyder. Her stories stay fresh in my mind and it's like I finished Touch of Power yesterday.

Scent of Magic is fabulous. I love Snyder's storytelling ability & her worldbuilding. With each addition to the show more series, the world becomes clearer and we have a better view of what's happening. I love being able to tie things together from one book to the next. I love this world that she's created, in all its fantastic and sometimes super creepy glory. One of these days, I'd like to sit down with her and talk inspiration and imagination.

I really liked the way this story was told. The chapter starts out with Avry's perspective and then we get a bit from Kerrick. It was easy to distinguish though, for two reasons: Kerrick's part is clearly stated at the beginning of each new bit, and it's told in third person. No confusing dance around the different first person narratives. I really like that. For me, this is the best way to do a multiple POV story.

I still really love the characters and can't wait to continue the story. After the ending in Scent of Magic (WHAT!??!?!?), I NEED the next book. I need it yesterday. Alas, I have a year to go. *cries*

For any fans of Maria V. Snyder and/or fantasy, this is your series. I promise.

4.5 Eiffel Towers show less

I hate-read this book, I'll say that up front. I complained every step of the way about how terrible it is, but I read it start to finish nonetheless. That's the problem with Maria V. Snyder - I think her technical writing skills are subpar and she really needs a better editorial team, but I do enjoy the universes she creates.

There are so many awful aspects to Scent of Magic, though. It takes the telegraphed plotting of Touch of Power, the mannerisms and language that don't really aid the fantasy setting (I mean, sarcastic narrative voice using extremely modern American slang and jarring names, for example), and awkwardly two-dimensional characters and just...makes it all worse.

For one thing, nobody stays dead in this book, and that's show more not just a comment on the fact that the villain is a Life Mage who can create what are effectively zombies. It's kind of frustrating that the dire consequences of actions that draw the plot aren't so dire. Also, as part of her disguise at one point, Avry basically gets Botoxed, or whatever it is that makes lips fatter. That was stupid as hell - in a better book, it might have been clever, but in this one with shortcuts being taken all the time for plot ease, and those shortcuts being weirdly modern American versus the established Fantasylandia setting, it was incredibly jarring.

Another problem - the book is split into two narratives when the love interest Kerrick splits from the main party. This completely destroys a lot of the suspense for the reader - or at least for me. And then it's kind of obvious what is going to happen to him almost every step of the way, because Snyder relies so heavily on common tropes and isn't very good at the subtle foreshadowing.

Actually - I'll take it back. There was one thing which I didn't figure out, regarding the supposed spy in the camp that was sending messages to the villain regarding the military plans. So I should be charitable there - I pegged the wrong person.

Of the good parts of the book - I really did enjoy the way Snyder developed the magic and the history of the plague which wiped out most of the population. I also liked the element of Lilies (Death and Peace) and am curious to see what other special powers they have. But otherwise, I'm not really sure why I felt so compelled to finish the thing when I kept tweeting "this is so stupid!" as I went along. show less

Touch of Power ranked among my very favorite books I read last year. Needless to say, I wanted Scent of Magic like my cat wants deli meat. With such high expectations, it's perhaps not surprising that the book fell a bit short. This is definitely not her best book, but still ensnared me. Scent of Magic may not be as beloved to me as the first book in the series, but there's plenty of action and powerful women.

One of the best thing about reading Snyder books is that they will always be chock full of incredibly strong, sassy women. Avry, the heroine, of course, has healing powers, which can also be used to fight, in addition to being well-trained with weapons. On top of that, she's incredibly bright and willing to do just about anything show more to help friends, and almost as much to help people she does not even know. What I love about her is how little vanity she has; at one point, she offers to heal a friend's facial injury to save her from the scars, even though then Avry would have to bear them instead. She also prefers practical clothing to beautiful dresses.

However, Avry's not the only strong woman in the book. Jael and Celline are varying degrees of bad guys, but are incredibly powerful. Even better, women fight in the armies of this world and can even rise to positions of authority. Women like Leah and Wynn do not have any powers to aid them, but they still kick so much butt. A lot of novels have strong heroines, but, in order to emphasize her uniqueness, otherwise contain only meek female characters.

Snyder also gets the villain just right. Tohon ranks pretty high up on the list of villains that horrify me. He has insanely powerful magic, which he can use to make zombies and to make Avry weak in the knees (I did not like what happened with that at all btw). Aside from that, he's crazy. He goes from friendly to murderous in no time; his moods are unpredictable. Not only that but Tohon's the brilliant kind of crazy: he pretty much equals Ryne for military strategy. Basically, he's terrifying because it's very easy to imagine him winning.

Sadly, I didn't feel the same love for this installment as the previous. I think a lot of that had to do with the separation of Kerrick and Avry. At the end of the first chapter, Kerrick and Avry part ways to accomplish different things in the war against Tohon. One of my favorite things about Touch of Power was the dynamic between the two of them, which obviously can't happen if they're not together. Plus, now that they're a couple, they don't have the same sexy banter that they did before even when they're together.

The other issue with the two of them being apart for most of the novel is that Snyder changed the narrative style. All of Touch of Power was from Avry's first person perspective, even when the group separated from what I recall. In this one, Snyder added relatively brief chapters from Kerrick's perspective. Avry's perspective remains in first person, but Kerrick's bits are in third person limited. This device might have worked better for me had his sections been counted as chapters (only Avry's are numbered, while his are headed merely Kerrick) and been written in first person as well.

These next couple of points will reference spoilers, though without specifics. While I love these characters and want them all to survive, you guys know how much I appreciate an author that will make their characters really suffer. Snyder can do this, I know she can, but she doesn't exhibit that ruthlessness here. Everyone freaking kept coming back to life! It's to the point of absurdity. Sure, a few people Avry cares about dies, but the main characters can apparently not be killed. That really lessens the impact of the plot.

Despite those issues, I was still debating between 3.5 and 4 for the rating, since I did really enjoy the book and get caught up in it. The deciding factor ended up being the ending. The fact that she ended this installment on the exact same cliffhanger as book one makes me want to throw all the things. Avry and Kerrick are once again united and temporarily safe, but one of them might die of a disease! Oh noes! Goddammit! Obviously neither of them is going to die permanently, so why even bother? Plus, this is so incredibly redundant. I hate everything about the ending.

In spite of everything, I did still quite enjoy reading Scent of Magic and will be eagerly awaiting book three, and really anything Maria V. Snyder chooses to write. I need to find time to read her first series, because I've heard it is worlds better than this one, which I like a lot.

More of my awesomeness can be found at A Reader of Fictions. show less

A swing and a miss for veteran fantasy author Maria V. Snyder. The first novel, Touch of Power, was a great introduction to the newest series by this prolific writer, but much like what happened for me with her Study series, the sequel left a lot to be desired. It took me a while to sort out how I felt about this novel after finishing it, especially deciding on the rating. 3 stars? 2.5? I just split the difference and settled with 2/75. What I have decided is that this is a far cry from its action-packed predecessor. All the key elements are here - Avry, Kerrick, their chemistry [for the 30ish pages they're together...], the monkeys, the new spin on magic. Where Scent of Magic fell apart for me was the slower pace, and the complete and show more utter lack of any actual plot momentum. I was bored for a lot of this read - and for a novel that clocks in at a hefty 416 pages, that's a lot of time to be bored.

I had to sit and think on this, but I seem to see a pattern with Snyder's inability to follow-up awesome first novels. It's a shame, because this series, with these likeable, usually interesting characters, have a lot of potential. I was frustrated with so much of what doesn't happen over the duration of the book. There's a lot of Kerrick missing/worrying about Avry, and her the same about him. EVERY CHAPTER, it must be stated how worried one is about the other - give me a break. It feels like filler, and it doesn't help that in the first 120 pages, nothing important happened. I distinctly remember thinking, "C'mon, Snyder, you're better than this." Another irk for me was the POV shifts from Avry's first-person to Kerrick's third person. They go their separate ways early on, and while I can see why Snyder's used multiple POVs to show the larger story at play, I will never be a fan of such rapid, and vastly different POV styles.

For all the POV headjumping, all the trekking around from one place to another, the endless woods-training and all the hidden identities and secrets and foul play, not much of note happens in Scent of Magic. While the characters can pick up some of the slack, there isn't a whole lot of evolution going on for them, either. It's unfortunate, but it doesn't seem like Avry or Kerrick or anyone else really grew or changed from the version shown of them in the first novel. Avry is well-written and a strong female character in a fantasy world (which are few and far in between), but her trials and tribulations seem small - except in the case of her sister. Kerrick, whom I loved in the first book, was somewhat..... wooden and flat in this. He had moments of brilliance and interest, but I didn't invest in him the same way I had before. Sequel syndrome struck with a vengeance here, for both plot, characters, pace, and momentum. It's a shame, because this series (still) has the potential to be awesome. I'll hold out hope for book three - Taste of Death - but not my breath.

I always want to like Maria V. Snyder's novels, but I can't help but see patterns and similarities the more of them I read. Even characters can read reminiscently of ones from before (like the "monkeys" from this series and Ari and Janco from the Study series, or Valek/Kerrick). Snyder really seems to struggle and end up disappointing with sequels after a promising first novel (see also: the Study series rapid decline from awesome to blah to baaaad). With so much potential and so many plotlines to engage with, it's a shame that Scent of Magic fails to live up to it's predecessor and fails to advance the plot in any meaningful way. So - 2 stars for fun, interesting - if stagnant - characters, and .75 for all the mess rest. show less