Naomi's Reading Palace: Review ~ Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Scent of Magic

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Series: Healer #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

Published: January 1st 2013

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

Scent of Magic was an exciting and thrilling sequel in the Healer series. We continue to follow Avry on her many challenges and adventures, but she is separated from Kerrick as he follows his own path. Kerrick’s POV is also told in this story and I enjoyed seeing what he had to deal with as well.

After the ending of Touch of Power, Avry decides to go undercover as she wants to see her sister again. Her plans change when she decides to enlist in Estrids army, so that she can teach them how to be stealthy in the forest and they may have a better chance of surviving an attack from Tohon. It was a clever tactic, but it also bought her into the spotlight, especially when her old friends return, Belen, Loren, Quain and Prince Ryne, because they are unaware of her return.

Kerrick has many obstacles to overcome as well. He returns home and has to deal with some issues in regards to his family. He leads an army to the north as the tribes are attacking and are either slaughtering or driving the villagers away. The time away from Avry makes it hard, but he is the type of man who takes his position seriously and defeating Tohon is a priority.

Learning more about the Lily’s is a great aspect of the book. They are a vital piece in the war and Avry is determined to figure it out. We learn a lot about them throughout this book; who they take, why they take them and further uses for the toxins.

There was a lot of planning, action and betrayal throughout the plot and it was a definite page turner. I was never quite sure of the direction of the story and I liked how it kept me guessing. The return of a few characters put a few twists into the story and the realisation of who holds power. Avry seems to build strong relationships with people who then begin to trust her actions. There was a bit of an exciting ending in Scent of Magic, and I’m keen to see how things go now in Taste of Darkness… it is going to be an exhilarating ride!!

I received a copy of this book from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review.