Taste of Darkness (The Healer Series)

With Tohon supposedly beaten and Estrid having retreated to her home country, the war is down to Celina (who took control of Tohons army), The Skeleton King and Ryzan who trying to make peace. With a new biological warfare on the horizon, being sandwiched between the two army's and Kerrick missing will Avry and Ryzan be able to make it out of this one with the 15 realms in tack?

I wasn't really sure where this was going to go. It appeared everyone is always at odds with each other. And with the death and peace Lillies abilities being discovered it makes for an interesting read. These people die and come back to life so much they could rival the Winchester's ??

It's always interesting when a series you follow comes to an end. The endings either work or they don't, and in the case of Taste of Darkness, it worked. Every last bit of this story wrapped up nicely, perhaps a wee bit too nicely.

What's great about Taste of Darkness lies in Avry. She's certainly changed from when we learned of her in Touch of Power, but at her core, she remains the same kick-ass, brave young woman with a stubborn streak a mile wide. Her intelligence, and her knowledge of her gift, has greatly developed throughout the books. It gets put to the test in this one many times, which often results in emotional, overwhelming situations that she has to overcome. Still, Avry is strong and reliable, and there was no doubt in my mind that she would figure out a way to solve things.

While there was certainly a number of skirmishes and unanticipated military tactics that I was not counting on, Taste of Darkness somehow felt... quieter. There were lots of moments where tension was supposed to be running high, a few clashes that had me worried, but nothing that felt too intense. Perhaps this is a more personal quirk, as I truly didn't feel emotionally attached to anyone or any situation in this book. Even though I rejoiced during the happy moments, and got worried during tense situations, it just didn't really feel that way; it was more of a mind thing, than a heart thing.

Still, it's easy for me to say that I enjoyed how the Healer series has come to an end. I was riveted by the clever twists that Snyder played with, as well as interested in seeing what Avry would decide to do in any given situation. Even though it didn't strike as strong a chord with me as its previous installments did, Taste of Darkness still won me over in the end.

I was waiting very patiently for this one. I knew this was to be the last in the series and I hoped that it would have a satisfactory ending. It's Maria Snyder! I shouldn't have worried!

One thing I always have loved about Avry is that she doesn't like to be used and she doesn't like to be cornered. She has a hard time taking orders from Ryan. It's not so much that she wants to do her own thing. But more along the lines that she can see the better way to get things done. And she's always trusts her instincts, which don't always match up with what everybody else is doing. I admired her courage when Kerrick is missing and presumed dead. I love her interactions with the Peace and Death Lilly's. She always puts others first to the point that some of them leave out little details to keep her from putting herself in harms way.

Kerrick was interesting to me. He's character took a drastic physical transformation that I found fascinating. Turns out his forest magic is way more intricate that I though possible. But for the longest time I wondered how he would be able to help Avry and his friends. He has way more limitations that he ever did. At times I did enjoy this though because it required him to step back and admit that Avry could do that work.

There's a lot of details in this book. Way to much to cover in a short little review. But, the story was surprisingly fast paced. Enough so, that as I reached the end I wondered if we would see a conclusion or if Maria would surprise us with a 4th book. Thankfully it ended in a way that didn't really surprise me. I'm just thankful those damn Lilly's are around!

I have no idea what's up next for Marie, but you can bet I will be reading it!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this whole series and was happy with the final outcome. Similar to the Poison Study books, the first book is the best one. This final installment does have its drawbacks, but overall I'm happy with it and how the story played out.

This story was captivating like its predecessors, but things just seemed overly drawn out. So much is going on with enemies on every front. It felt repetitive with the planning, Avry going AWOL, capture, freedom, repeat. I also missed Kerrick--he has his own issues and it felt like he was missing during so much.

Avry is still a great heroine to read about. She's still trying to solve the mystery of the plague and the lilies. She's tough but still a girl. She knows her limits and works with them and around them. I loved that we get to spend time with Kerrick and the merry band of friends. I loved that even though Avy and Kerrick have declared themselves, they haven't changed who they are. Avry is still just as stubborn, and Kerrick is still just as determined. They don't live in each other's pocket, but they have separate adventures.

Even with my hang-up about the delivery, I really liked this story. It made me want to read it all from the very beginning again...which I did. I just had to read book 1 again. And really, it all comes down to that fact: You know it's a good read when it makes you want to revisit the entire series from the beginning again.

The Healer Series
Touch of Power (Healer Book 1)
Scent of Magic (Healer Book 2)
Taste of Death

Taste Of Darkness
Maria V. Snyder
Mira, Dec 31 2014, $14.95
ISBN: 9780778315858

As probably the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry feels frustrated having found her ailing lover Kerrick only to have him vanish before she can save his life. In turn, Prince Ryne is frustrated with the Healer who helped him defeat the evil King Tohan as she captures enemy combatants only to free them and now deserts him accompanied by her friends in search of her beloved before he dies.

As Tohon's army of the dead rise, Avry fears the deceased ruler is returning as he haunts her nightmares. Making matters most dangerous is the Skeleton King plans to use the chaos to take control of the Fifteen Realms. Avry realizes she must intervene in the war before her world is destroyed even if that intervention most likely means her death and that of her Kerrick.

The final Healer young adult fantasy is an exciting thriller that questions the morality of executing, incarcerating or freeing a captured enemy similar to issues re prisoners at Guantanamo; as Stalin said: "The death of one man is a tragedy; the death of millions is a statistic." Although the key heroes beginning with Avry and Kerrick act inanely out of character at times and the ending feels rushed, fans will enjoy this dark climax to the exhilarating sensory trilogy (see Touch of Power and Scent of Magic).

Harriet Klausner

NOTE: I received the book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really couldn't wait for ToD to come out. I loved the previous two installments in this series, and was quite impatient to get my hands on it. I've fallen in love with Maria V. Snyder's books and I had great faith that she will finish off the Healer Series with a grande finale. Which is why the lack of one surprised and disappointed me.

I guess the reason is that I expected too much. But come on! This is Maria V. Snyder we're talking about! An author who has mastered the world of fantasy way beyond expectation!

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I didn't like ToD. However, the ending chapters didn't feel like they fit naturally with the story. Rather, they felt forced and rushed out of proportion, compared to the slowness of the first 3/4 of the book. Everything ended so fast, i was left confused and not even remotely glad to be rid off the bad guys.

Seriously, I didn't enjoy the demise of any one character.

And there's something else as well. The fact that the story remained unreasonably optimistic until the end. I mean, come on! This is war we're talking about, and none of the good guys died? Sure, some nameless soldiers left their lives on the battle field, but our group of six? Nope. Rumors of death, fake death, whatever - there was plenty of that. Real death? Nope.

By the end of the book, I was borderline tired by all the fake-dying that I'd witnessed and was begging for a real victim! Honestly, Quinn or Loren should've been buried with honors or something. Or Odd.

Anyway, enough of this rant. Let's get serious.

Writing style:
Impeccable, like always.

Story line:
see rant above

And to add to it, that weird bond between the triangle Kerrick-Avry-Tohon, how exactly was it forged? I was confused because 1) when she was with Kerrick, why didn't the bond strengthen? and 2)Tohon is only seeing Avry in her dreams and still his bond is stronger?

Sure, there was a vague explanation about it, but you know what? It just doesn't work for me.

Themes:
-Revenge
-Loss
-Fear of helplessness
-War strategies don't account for individuals

Characters:
Oh boy, here goes..

Avry is the same stubborn girl we met in book one. I admire her even though she's way too perfect to sound real. Sure, most of the time she didn't do things on purpose, but still - how come each of her decisions, every single action, is ALWAYS freaking right come the end? I got why Ryan was so frustrated with her all the time. I was too!

Kerrick... I felt sorry for his condition. I really loved how much he cared about his friends and Avry and how tormented he felt for not being able to help them with campaigns outside the forest.

Ryne. Gosh. That man was devious. I wanted to strangle him most of the time for being such a prick and for never considering people's feelings. But he was a brilliant strategist and I just couldn't hate him for that.

The Skeleton King revolted the crap out of me. He was gross and I had to wonder why nobody dared to just cut his head off and be done with the likes of him.

Tohon... Sadly, I miss the evil, sophisticated idiot that he was.

Estrid was one piece of a crappy queen. Perhaps the Skeleton King could've taught her a few lessons. Ha!

Odd was a really nice guy. Loyal and fierce.

Flea annoyed me a little, because he was acting like a kid way too much. Sure, he had some responsibilities now, but heck - who didn't?

The monkeys... well they were just the same as always. Fun to be around. Always catching up to speed.

I guess that's all I have to say. Good book, but not a grand finale.

I've really enjoyed Maria V. Snyder's Healer series. Taste of Darkness is the last book in the trilogy. The previous book, Scent of Magic, left off with a bit of a cliffhanger, so I was a bit nervous to read it. Although parts of it seemed a bit drawn out and some parts were rushed, I really did enjoy the story overall.

It's very difficult to do this review without spoilers, so we'll just say that Kerrick and Avry have spent a lot of time apart. They are in the middle of a war, so they really haven't had a moments peace together. I kept feeling so bad for Avr because most of the time, she didn't know where Kerrick and certain friends were, nor did she know whether they were alive or dead. There were other times when I felt like she was taken advantage of. Avry handled it all like a champ, and proved how strong she was.

I'm always leery of reading the last book of a series. They're usually hit or miss for me. However, Taste of Darkness leaned towards the hit side. I only wish there was a little bit more closure and answers at the end. Things just seemed to wrap up so suddenly, despite the overwhelming odds. There was also a particular character that I had come to know and love, who just seemed to fall of the radar three fourths of the way through the book. We never learned whether he lived or died.

With that said, I cannot decide if my favorite thing about this series is the world building or the characters. It's a close call. I love the idea of a world where people have magical abilities. I think it would be interesting to be a forest mage or a healer. Of course, it would also be scary to be a death magician, or to have contact with a person who uses it for evil purposes.

The characters in this series are unforgettable. I think my two favorites are the monkeys- Loren and Quain! I loved the comic relief they provided. They were also fiercely loyal and protective of Avry. Avry was an inspiring heroine. She was tough, yet compassionate, and always put others before herself.

In the end, I am very glad that I read this series. It's one that I can see myself re-reading at some point, and I cannot wait to read even more books by Maria V. Snyder!

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley.)
This is book 3 in the ‘Healer’ trilogy, and picks up where book 2 left off.
Kerrick is poisoned by a death lily, and taken by the forest. Avry has no idea what has happened to him, why she has a whole bunch of patient’s dying, or what is going on with Tohon and the Skeleton King.
Will Kerrick ever come back? Can Avry heal her patients when it seems a new plague has arisen? And can they defeat their enemies once and for all?

This was a good end to the series, and surprisingly it wasn’t all about the war.

Avry took charge in this book, and really showed her strength as both a healer and a leader. She continued to put her own life at risk to help others, and kept her faith in Kerrick, even when all seemed lost. She also put real thought into trying to solve problems, and finding the best ways to do things.

The storyline in this was pretty good, and I was pleased that it wasn’t all politics and war. I really couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Kerrick after the end of ‘Scent of Magic’, and I was happy with the way things turned out.
There was some action, and some twists, and there was also a little touch of romance. I thought that the story flowed well, and there was just enough going on to keep it interesting, but I didn’t think that it was all that exciting strangely enough.
The ending was okay, and I was happy with the way things turned out. We did get a happy ending, and things were all tied up satisfactorily.
Overall; a good end to the series.
7 out of 10.

4.5 Stars

Ah, finally! The latest and most likely last novel in Maria V. Snyder's lovely Healer series. The utterly evil cliffhanger at the end of Scent of Magic will torment me no more! Since this is the third book and I've reviewed all the others, it will be a challenge for me to find new ways of expressing my love of the series. Just watch, though; I'm up to it.

The book begins with Kerrick missing after being poisoned and passing out in the woods, leaving Avry and the rest of the band absolutely frantic and almost everybody believing he is dead. Well, Ryne is a little too strategic to become frantic, but he was quite concerned as well. Now, Avry has been told that Kerrick is dead before, so she decides not to believe it and continues to hold out hope. I just love Kerrick and Avry's relationship; even separated throughout most of the series with armies and magic and horrible beasties between them, they still manage to have such a lovely romance.

This book is darker than the previous novels, what with the introduction of the Skeleton King and his minions as very, very, very creepy new villains. They are truly shiver-worthy and add an interesting new plot-line. Tohon is as nasty as ever and they battle against him grows more complicated by the growing bond between him and Avry. I really liked that particular thread through the story for some reason... Multiple characters develop fascinating new abilities, but to tell you who or what sorts of abilities would be cheating, so I'll just say that it's fun and occasionally painful to watch.

I have the same small complaint about this book that I had with Scent of Magic; the POV and scene switches are sometimes a little weird and confusing. Part of that could be the e-book formatting, but not all. However, when the story and characters are so wonderful, that is a fairly insignificant problem.

Since it's the last book in the series (or at least this story arc), many loose ends are tied up and there is all kinds of delightful kissing that made me smile. The ending was perfect. For the characters, for the story, for me personally... just perfect. There are enough threads still hanging to leave room for more stories in the world and to keep it from being bound in too neat of a bow. I do hope Ms. Snyder decides to revisit this world in the future. I would dearly love to see it again.

I received an advance e-copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really feel that Snyder should just rewrite and re-release this book and pretend this version never happened. It was such a waste of potential. I loved the first book. The author created such a great storyline in an incredible world that should have been unbelievable, with the man eating giant lillies and whatnot, but that I didn't question because it was so well written and just so good. Then she ended it with this.
If you want to save some time and money, I can sum this book up pretty quickly. Someone has been captured...we must go save them...travel travel travel...yay, we saved them...oh no, someone else has been captured...repeat. Kerrick is tired, Avry is stubborn, which by the way of the only excuse she needs to do whatever she wants to do regardless of the consequences. Several favorites die, but don't worry, not many stay dead in this series.
I think that may be one of the things that bugged me the most about this book. Usually I hate it when main characters die in books, but honestly someone really needed to die and stay dead. It just got very boring knowing that every time a main character was in danger, that they would ultimately be fine. Someone should have died just to keep the reader guessing. I would sum this book up as predictable, repetitive, and just an unsatisfying end to something that should have been great.

Maria never ceases to amaze me with her writing, being so exciting, plot driven, romantic and the surprising plot twists.
I was into it the whole time, always wanting to keep reading, and find out what Avry would disobey and where her instincts would lead her next.
My heart was pounding wondering if against all hope that Kerrick would be alive and that he and Avry could get their happily ever after.
I still love the secondary characters, the monkeys, Flea and his new ability with the added trouble of wondering what is the moral choice and if the good can possibly outweigh the bad with his magic.
She knows how to write an enemy that you just want to hate. They do such evil things, and I never know what to expect from them next.
The ending worked well for me, and I am still in love with the characters. Although I am not sure if this is the last book in the series or not, I mean it gave them an ending sounding ending, but it also left some strings open, and I can't find any info about another book.

Bottom Line: Exciting, fast paced and romantic addition to the series.

Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder is the conclusion to the Healer trilogy. It concludes the story of Avry and Kerrick and their fight to bring peace to their continent after the devastating plague destroyed the fabric of society. Taste of Darkness, and the Healer series in general, struggled a bit with trying to tell too long and epic of a story in three moderately-sized books. I ended up frequently feeling rushed, but also excited about everything that was happening. That being said, I found Taste of Darkness to be a very satisfying end to this fun and creative fantasy trilogy.
Note: I received Taste of Darkness through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.

Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder (Healer #3)
Published by Harlequin MIRA on Dec 31st, 2013
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Length: 400 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley
IndieBound - Book Depository - Goodreads
Purchases made support this blog
She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.
Strengths:
Taste of Darkness continues the POV switching between Avry and Kerrick, which worked really well. It gave Taste of Darkness a chance to tell a complete story about the things going on in the world, since again Kerrick and Avry spend a significant time apart. It’s also fun to see what they think of each other *swoon*.
Gah! The bad guys get creepier if that’s possible! There is a new villain (pseudo-king) on the scene and he makes Tohon look like a sadistic kitten…. Tohon is still making trouble of course though, leading to all the shenanigans!
I enjoyed the intricate plot twists and turns that Taste of Darkness contained. You definitely need to be paying attention, let me tell you!
Taste of Darkness had quite a satisfying ending. I wasn’t in love with all the choices made, but I think people will be happy with how things turn out :).
We get to find out more about the plague and it was awesome! Avry is so clever and used fairly accurate (if you consider magic is involved) medical know-how, woot!
Weaknesses:
OMG why won’t people just stay dead???? You know how someone dies in the first book but then… yeah that continues A LOT. I won’t tell you who or when of course, but after the third time someone tragically dies, but then really isn’t dead in this series, I get annoyed.
Some of the gang of secondary characters conveniently changed personalities and discovered a savant ability when it was obviously really convenient. Ugh.
Maybe I was just too tired while reading Taste of Darkness at times, but wow did I get confused at times. Especially in my eARC, there weren’t chapter divisions between Avry and Kerrick’s switches, making it all the more tricky to figure out who is narrating and what is going on.
Due to the sheer number of events that are stuffed in to Taste of Darkness, I felt that I got disconnected from Avry. Where is that spunky character that I wanted to be BFFs with in the first book? She’s off doing something and being tough, which is all well and good, but she lost a bit of her human element.
Summary:
Taste of Darkness is definitely a finale that most people will enjoy. If you’ve read this far in the trilogy, you might as well finish right! Plus, there are so many cool things we finally find out about in Taste of Darkness, so I really do recommend it if you’ve enjoyed the first two books. This trilogy in general made me constantly wish it had been stretched into about five books so that we could spend more time with the characters and not rush through events as much, but it is what it is. If that hasn’t bothered you yet, no reason for it to bother you now ;-).

[...]

I remember reading Maria V. Snyder's "Study" series a couple years ago and finding myself completely enraptured by the crazy adventures the butt-kicking heroine went on. Which, of course, led me to devouring all of her other books with a speed faster than the Road Runner--beep beep. "Taste of Darkness" is the finale to the "Healer" series, bringing Avry's fight against Tohon and the Skeleton King to a close. Forgive me if I'm sounding a little lukewarm; I hate to say it (trust me, I really do), but I was so relieved when I finally hit the last page because the book was just so slow! Disappointment is a big, fat jerk.

Avry of Kazan has fought death and won. She survived the plague and defeated King Tohon, but when she wakes up one morning to find Kerrick gone from her bedside, Avry knows only fear. But that's not all that she has to deal with. The Skeleton King is plotting to take the Fifteen Realms for himself, and armies of the dead threaten to overwhelm Prince Ryne's forces. As virtually the last healer in the realms, Avry is needed now more than ever. Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully, or the kingdom will crumble under darkness.

I mentioned earlier that I found "Taste of Darkness" slow. And, unfortunately, I meant it. The plot of the final book in the "Healer" series is frustratingly plodding, even to the point where I ended up skimming over a good portion of the book. There really isn't much that happens in the story. In fact, it seemed as if Ms. Snyder was just using the last installment of the trilogy to wrap things up and give her readers a nice, clean ending. Having said this, wrapping things up doesn't have to be in such a lackluster manner! It's strange because I don't recall feeling this way whatsoever with the previous books in the series, yet with this last book, I was just bored out of my mind. I never got the feeling that something was at stake. Sure, I got that the Fifteen Realms would fall under the Skeleton King or Tohon's rule, but I never really felt that tension. In fact, I think one of the major problems in the storyline is that there really isn't a clearcut antagonist. It's basically Avry and her friends against the Skeleton King, Cellina and Tohon, and, because there are so many enemies, their respective threats diminished greatly. It's just such a huge disappointment, because there's some awesome potential with the series, and it had to end this way!

Another thing I noticed while reading the novel was that the writing style was a little awkward and pretty clumsy. Again, I don't know if it's always been like this and I just hadn't noticed, or if it suddenly got clumsier (chances are it's the former). For example, there were lots of sentences that could've flowed a lot more smoothly had there been a comma or two in them, since they ended up sounding like run-on sentences. Another thing is that the words and phrases used seemed a little...immature. I mean, Avry's already twenty one-years old, but her narrative voice gave me the impression that she could easily be fifteen. The same can be said about the other characters. I get that there's meant to be humourous banter, especially between the monkeys and within their group of friends, but it doesn't have to be lame. The characters weren't exactly witty, and the slightly awkward writing didn't help with that either.

I know I sound like I'm seriously bashing on this book, but I just have to say one more thing about the characters. I've always admired Ms. Snyder's heroines, because they're indubitably kickass and stubborn and compassionate and all that jazz. In "Taste of Darkness," I found that, yes, Avry was still a strong protagonist who has a good head on her shoulders, but she became pretty flat and static as a character. There wasn't any change within her, no more development that would've made her a dynamic and truly interesting main character to read about. This also ties in with the flat storyline, since there weren't many things that challenged her and pressed her to question herself and change into a stronger, better person.

Overall, "Taste of Darkness" is a rather disappointing finale to what could've been a fun fantasy series. Things just fell flat: the plot, the writing, and the characters. I'd probably give this one a miss--but I definitely recommend checking out Ms. Snyder's "Study" series! It's what had me thinking I'd found my new favourite author (though maybe not so much anymore).

Rating: 1/5

This third book in the series starts with a missing and presumed dead Kerrick. Avey searches for him, even though she feels nothing of him in the forest. Most believe him dead and this makes searching for him not a high priority. This is a time of war, a time of desperation and fear, man power is needed to fight not search. It is heartbreaking to read of Avery’s desperate need to find him and her unending belief that he is alive and they will be reunited.
There is a new level of bad going on. This book goes deeper into death and despair than the previous ones. Tohon, is back and bad as ever. His being bonded to Avey is bringing on a whole new set of problems. There is another big bad, the Skelton King. This guy is wicked and very scary. Things look very bad, many will fall his blackness spreads and the war may be lost.
I enjoyed this third book completely. It was horrific where is should have been. Adventurous in an edge of your seat way. Romantic with an unfaltering love, that warmed my heart.

In this 3rd series by Maria V. Snyder she continues the theme of a small but powerful group trying to overcome the power hungry evil conquers. As powers are discovered and grow so do the bonds of friendship and family. It is an amazing story of strength and sacrifice. I love this series and hope she writes another.

What can i say? Snyder weaves magic, adventure, scary horrifying thrills that catch you holding your breath in fear for our group of heroes and love and romance in her great Avry trilogy and this her third book is no different! The monastery of the grand priestess Estrid with its maniacal fanatics was one such horrifying episode i was glad Avry escaped from and wow what an escape! It could be the end of the trilogy as Snyder wove a wonderful tale of deception with many turns and twists along the way and in this book caught all the threads of the weave and tied them up beautifully and very satisfactorily killing off all the horrible threats to the fifteen realms but on the other hand it would be great to see the creation of the peace kingdom with of course Avry and Kerrick running this in their beautiful and loving way!! Maria Snyder please continue this series for your avid readers!!Will miss the group of friends of Avry and Kerrick namely Belen, Quain, Loren and of course Flea and the new young healer additions to the group Danny and Zila.

With Tohon supposedly beaten and Estrid having retreated to her home country, the war is down to Celina (who took control of Tohons army), The Skeleton King and Ryzan who trying to make peace. With a new biological warfare on the horizon, being sandwiched between the two army's and Kerrick missing will Avry and Ryzan be able to make it out of this one with the 15 realms in tack?

I wasn't really sure where this was going to go. It appeared everyone is always at odds with each other. And with the death and peace Lillies abilities being discovered it makes for an interesting read. These people die and come back to life so much they could rival the Winchester's ??