Scent of Magic by Maria V Snyder

GoodReads Summary: 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.

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Expected publication date: 18/12/12

Fans of Touch of Power will be pleased to know that Scent of Magic does not have second book syndrome, it is an enthralling read that will leave you wanting more!

For the most part Avery and Kerrick were not together in SoM, so the POV alternated between the two. Scent of Magic follows Kerrick on his journey to his home country and Avery on her mission to 1) rebuild her relationship with her sister and 2) take down Tohon.

You know what I love most about this author? Her ability to write such layered characters, even the secondary characters grow/develop as the story progresses. As well as the introduction to some new characters we are reunited with the gang again, which of course means you can expect some hilarious banter and emotional times.

Tohon. Props to Snyder for creating such a cruel and manipulating villain, one that in an instant can seem almost charming. He's the kind of character you'll love to hate!

Snyder has done a brilliant job of not falling into the romance trap. What I mean by this is that even though the couple are apart for most of the book they don't let their emotions blind them to what's important. They miss each other, but are strong, independent characters that don't whine/complain about it.

Some shocking revelations came to light AND we finally get a deeper exploration into the ever fascinating Death/Peace Lilly's.

SoM ends on a cliff-hanger that I did not see coming at all. The wait for the 3rd and final book in the trilogy is going to drive me insane as I NEED to know what happens next!

Full of action and intrigue Scent of Magic was a fantastic read! 

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