Tuesday, December 11, 2012

.Blog Tour #Review #Giveaway: Scent Of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Today, is my stop for the Second book in the Healer series
 Scent Of Magic by Maria V. Snyder where I share with you my review and some awesome giveaways! Check out my review for the first book in the series Touch Of Power HERE.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Scent Of Magic
By Maria V. Snyder

Paperback, 400 pages

Expected publication: December 18th 2012 by Harlequin MIRA



As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomaniacal 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 confidant, 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.
 
 
 
 
 

 
Purchase Links:
 
Goodreads:
 
 

Maria's Bio 
 
Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft. 
 
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornados, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornados you had to predict where they might form. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her. 
 
Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study. 
 
Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal. 
 
Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University. 
 
Readers are welcome to contact Maria at the following email address: maria@mariavsnyder.com. 
 
 

Where you can find Maria: 
 
 

Blog  








A journey to discovering secrets, making new friends, as well as reconnecting with old friends. With lies, and deception,  and an imposing war, that include vile creatures, and zombie like soldier's,  Fantasy fans  will enjoy the next phase in the healer series, and will be left yearning for the the next book.



The second installment of the Healer series picks up right where the first one ends, Avry has escaped Tohan's  deranged hand, none to well. Lay dying, she is saved by Kerrick and he has brought her back from the brink of death, but as Kerrick is the only one whom knows what has happened to Avry, the others in her group are left to fear she has succumbed to her injuries, Kerrick comes up with a plan so only Avry and himself know she is alive, as they continue to fight Tohan and is soilder's.

Now, Avry must hide her identity, with magic as she ventures through part of the Nine mountains, alone, having parted ways with Kerrick, so they keep up their rouse, of her being dead, he must too, venture alone back to his kingdom, and the others whom await word from him, as to what direction needs to be taken as far as Tohan and his army goes.

Avry, knowing the only person left of her surviving family, whom despises her, is still alive, has left Avry with the need to save her, as well as trying to save another young girl, she heads off to where both girls are at, a place where Tohan has not yet acquired, in his journey to take over and rule all the kingdoms of the land, Estrid's Army.
Keeping her rouse Avry, becomes Irnia, as she squirms her way into the army of Estrid's company,  and explains to them she can teach them to move through the forest without detection, a valuable skill, they allow her into the army as she is now Sergeant Irnia, of the Gubkin Realm. Becoming close to the groups of leaders of the army, proving her worth leaves her with allies, as she teaches them the skill that was once taught to her by Kerrick, she knows this skill will come in handy while battling the army of the dead.


Kerrick in the meantime has to keep up his rouse of Avry's death as he is left to journey in the opposite direction as her and return to his kingdom to become what he is destined to become, King, a role he is not interested in. He also must keep up his rouse, and lie to his small ban of soldier's whom, have journeyed with both Avry, and Kerrick in the first book. These men have grown to love Avry, like a sister, and Kerrick whom also loves Avry, but as more of a woman,  must fake being sad, and lie to them about her being alive. Saddened, the small group has now separated and have their own duties in the role they play in the fight against Tohan and his army of the dead.


Because so much happens in this book, I'm not going to spoil it for you,  but  I will say that once you get into the story it does develop well and I enjoyed it more and more as the story continued. The last half of the book, had secrets revealed, battles, escapes, unlikely friends, and surprises, as well as death, hardship, and more. As the ending shared more than one surprise we are left with a cliffhanger, the next book in the series Taste Of Death, won't be released until 2014, oh woe is me....


Told in dual pov's throughout the book left me confused at first, as well as picking up from the last book, I felt I needed a refresher in the beginning, but once I got used to switching over of the POV's and I remembered the events from the last book, this one started to flow well at about the 40% mark is where I would say I started to enjoy this book. Being that Kerrick and Avry where not together, like in the first book, I wasn't too sure I would enjoy the direction Miss Snyder was heading, but she proved me wrong, and I did enjoy the story, as well as the many new characters throughout the book. As it seems the impending war has yet to begin fully, in this book it seems to be a slow build up to achieving friends or foe's who will stand up to battle and face Tohan and who will side with the evil monster. Miss Snyder has left me wondering, wondering what direction she will take the Healer series, and I highly anticipate the third book to be epic, as this book seems to be a stepping stone of sorts.



4/5 Fantasy Roses
 
 
 
 







 
 


 
Tour Schedule: 
 
12/10/2012 Parajunkee  http://parajunkee.com/      review and a Q&A 
12/11/2012 Paranormal Urban Fantasy Reviews  http://pnrurbanfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/    review 
12/12/2012 Read Now Sleep Later www.readnowsleeplater.com   Interview with Maria 
12/13/2012 The Book Heroine  http://www.thebookheroine.com/  review 
12/14/2012 We Fancy Books http://wefancybooks.blogspot.com/  Playlist 
12/17/2012 Two Chicks on Books  http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/    Guest Post From Belen 
12/18/2012 The Starry-eyed Revue  http://starryeyedrevue.blogspot.com/   Guest Post 
12/19/2012 A Great Read  http://jessica-agreatread.blogspot.com/    Review 
12/20/2012 YA Reads http://www.yareads.com/ Guest Post 
12/21/2012 The Book Hookup http://thebookhookup.com/  Review
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Two different giveaways for this tour
US/Can only(but don't worry INT)-follow the tour for the INT giveaways
Harlequin teen will be giving away 1 copy of Scent Of Magic
as well as a second giveaway for
 Harlequin Teen Prize pack
Enter both rafflecopter forms to be entered in each giveaway
Ends Dec 22


International

Parajunkee

Read Now Sleep Later

We Fancy Books

The Starry-Eyed Revue

YA Reads

 

US/Canada

Paranormal Urban Fantasy Reviews

The Book Heroine
Two Chicks on Books
A Great Read
The Book Hookup
 

 
 
 
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 
 


57 comments:

  1. great review! I can't wait to read it! My favorite Maria V. Snyder Book has to be Poison Study! Love Valek! =P Thanks for the giveaway!

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  2. I have never read anything by Maria, but this series sounds so intrigued. I am glad you enjoyed the second book in this series, and plan to add these to my shelves soon.

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  3. I really cannot wait to read this book, I just saw the Trailer this morning and it was fabulous!! As for my favorite book that is hard because I really love Poison Study but I also enjoyed Inside Out as well.

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  4. I loved touch of power and cannot wait to read this one!!!!!!!

    jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com

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  5. thank you a lot for this review^^

    i will wait for the international stop!

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  6. HMmm . . . I'm a HUGE fan of Maria Snider, but I have to go with Touch of Power. I just loved it!

    I can't wait to read it!

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  7. Review great, Maria Snyder great, series great, can't wait for number two.

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  8. So excited for this book! Just re read Touch of Power the other night so everything was fresh in my mind! <3 Maria's books!

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  9. You review has made me very excited! I cannot wait to read this book!

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  10. I've been told that this is a must-read series, but I've wondered if I would really like it. I think the concept is really cool, and I'll probably give it a try.
    Great review!

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  11. I actually haven't read any of Maria's books yet, but I've been meaning to get on that for quite some time! I'll definitely have to go pick one up :)

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  12. I actually have read any of her books yet, but I have been hearing really great things about this series. Nice review! Thank you for the giveaway.

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  13. I haven't read any of Maria's books yet but I have Inside-omnibus and will get to it soon.

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  14. I've loved every book I ve read by Maria V Snyder so far! So it's no surprise that as soon as I see her name on a cover I think of how much I loved the Study and Glass series and I follow her tales wherever she wants to go with them! In the end I m never disappointed! :)

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  15. I love Maria V. Snyder's work! Every one of her books manages to pull the reader in and hold them captive until the very last page. It's spellbinding really. I'm sure SoM will be no different.
    Can't wait to get my hands on this book!

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  16. Maria, Maria!!!! You remind me of a Poison Study!

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  17. Poison Study is my absolute favorite! I'm so excited to read Scent of Magic. I'm a huge fan of Maria V. Snyder! :)

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  18. Love all Maria's books. Would love to win a copy of this book. I started out with the study series and have been a devoted fan since picking up posion study. The first novel of this series did not disappoint my expectations and I am waiting expectantly to be able to pick up this novel and not put it down until the story has been completed.

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  19. So excited for this new book of Maria's! I've enjoyed all her books so far.

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  20. So excited for this next instalment!

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  21. I haven't read any yet, but I hope to really soon! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  22. I think this is going to be awesome. I heard the ending really has a cliffhanger. I can't wait for this and Taste of Death to come out!

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  23. Love Maria!! Can't wait for this next book, although her first series is still my favorite! = ]

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  24. My favourite of Maria's books is currently Spy Glass. I always switch between which I love most

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  25. I've heard awesome things about this author and series!! Your review is lovely, and it's obvious it's an action-packed story that focuses on characters. I love dual POV:))

    Thank you:)

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  26. I am soooo looking forward to this book. There are just so many tantalizing little details about the world that haven't been explained yet!

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  27. I've read all of Maria's books except for the 2 in this series. I need to get on that! I love her other books, especially the Studies series.

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  28. Sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing and for a great review! I haven't read any of Maria's books but they are on the top of my wishlist :)

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  29. I legitimately can't pick my favorite book of Maria's. They are all just amazing. I would have to say I love the Study and Glass series a lot, but still it's a close call with all of her books! She's such a phenomenal writer!

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  30. Great review, girlie!! Second books often have a tough time and since she had the two main characters apart, it WAS a big risk but I'm glad she came through for you!! WIN!

    I haven't read Ms. Snyder yet *hangs head in shame*... sorry! BUT, I will!!! Next year is the year I get caught up on all my back reading!!! I've sworn it to Geeky, I'm backing off the review books (oh, wish me luck on that!!) and tackling the TBR and hitting the library. I'm adding these books to my TBR right now :)

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  31. Great review! I still haven't read Poison Study yet, but I need to get these books read! They sound awesome. Thanks for the giveaway!!

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  32. Great review as always! The book sounds great. Thanks for the great giveaway!

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  33. It is great to hear that the story develops further in the second book. I haven't started this series yet but hope to. Thanks for your thoughts and the giveaway!

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  34. Actually haven't read any yet but I can't wait to! I hear great things about her.

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  35. This is an amazing giveaway and the book looks so interesting! I hope I win so I can enjoy this amazing book

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  36. Thank you so much I can't wait to read this!! :)

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  37. Awesome review. Love all her books!

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  38. I haven't read any of her books yet, but I heard so many great reviews about them!

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    1. I really love the cover. Plus, I've heard so many great reviews about the series so I can't wait to read it!

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  39. I've been waiting for this book forever >.>
    I read ToP 4 times in the last week >.<

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    1. Also my favorite Maria V. Snyder book is either Poison Study or Touch of Power (can't decide)

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  40. I am really anxious to read this! I loved Touch of Power and all of the Poison Study books.

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  41. My favorite...all of the Poison Study books!!!

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  42. I haven't read any yet, but I really want to read Touch of Power and the Poison Study books because I've heard nothing but great things about them :)

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  43. I haven't read anything by Maria V. Snyder yet, but I have Taste of Magic and I am looking forward to it. Now I looking forward to this second book in the series. I have heard it will knock my socks off!

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  44. I can't wait to read Scent of Magic. I loved the first book, which I would say is my favorite, and can't wait to see where the story goes.

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  45. Can't wait for this one. I was talking about it the other day and how I needed to add it to my list of things to get, and then open my email this morning and there's an email from Maria about this tour! =)

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  46. I am so excited for this second book in the series! I loved the first book, and in fact I've read all of MVS's works, and loved them, so this would be a great birthday/holiday present for me, and I could review it on my own book review site, Butterfly Books!

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  47. BTW, to the person who wrote this review, I think the word you mean to use is RUSE, not ROUSE, since the former is about attempting to fake her death, and the latter is nearly the word from the Princess Bride that means "Rodents of Unusual Size"

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  48. I love the characters in Touch of Power and can't wait to continue with them in Scent of Magic!!

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  49. I loved Touch of Power and can't wait to read Scent of Magic. As for my favorite book, it would probably be Poison Study.

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