Taste of Darkness (Healer, #3)

by Maria V Snyder

Book 3 in the Healer series. 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. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

• ISBN10: 0778315851
• ISBN13: 9780778315858
• Publish Date: 31 December 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I think third books are hard, especially when readers binge the series. Because I liked the first book, enough to keep reading the series. But most series lose focus through the second and third books, the character arcs either don’t change them enough (Avery being stubborn and making the same choices again and again got old fast). Or the character arcs change them in a direction that loses everything you liked in the beginning.

And the plots have to expand without losing track of the early interesting elements. Avery’s healing ability becomes less of a focus in this book which is ok but there’s a ton of questions—about magic and bonds and the lilys and their role in the plague and their function in general, there’s new aspects of magic introduced (Noak) and offshoots (Flea) and while there’s answers in the end they aren’t revealed with any depth and feel like they lack some cohesion. These are the big questions of this world and they consume a significant amount of time as Avery broods about them and asks the same questions again and again and then it’s like two lines in a conversation “by the by what do you think of this” “oh right is just that” and then it’s done.

Plus have I mentioned that I don’t like Avery’s perception of Ryne and how she gets mad at him for doing exactly what they wanted him to do? There’s so many realms and leaders in this war and a lot of the action happens off stage that it’s hard to really be invested in it. The personal conflict with Tohon and Avery and Kerrick and Ryne and the other players is so much more interesting. A little less “muaahh” from Tohon and a little more dimension from Ryne and it could have been really interesting. Also, Danny and Flea are more interesting than the war and the movements of troops or whose in what mountain range or realm or whatever.

And yet, Kerrick and Avery haven’t been that interesting since the first book. Not because they were fighting in it but because they were interacting. They’re separated almost the entire second book. And a good portion of this one too. And when they are together they don’t talk much, because anything they’d say would just be a recap of what they went through separately and the reader already knows that. Or they’re riding horses or they’re fading to black. It’d have been more interesting if they worked together more to figure out the story questions or... I don’t even have an or other than do something more than kissing and recapping and then go off on their separate ways. Interact in some significant way that makes the story happen.

All that being said, Snyder balances a pretty big cast and a fairly big plot with mostly interesting characters in a very well developed world. For all my complaining there are worse things you can read. I think it’s just one of those things where I liked the characters quite a bit and there was so much potential that I wanted it to be good enough to live up to all that. And it’s more disappointing when it could have been really good.

[Leigha]

In the last installment of the Healer series, Avry finds herself caught in-between allies and foes as she battles to help save the fifteen realms from malicious rulers.

I have to give this book credit - it had a lot of loose ends to tie up, but it did it well. While still not as engrossing as the first book, it remained enjoyable and intriguing. Every character's story wraps up (one way or another), while the fate of the kingdoms is officially decided.

My biggest regret is this book really didn't explore the system of magic or the lily's sentience any further than the last two books. I would have liked more of an explanation about certain aspects, particularly the bonds built between magic users. At some moments it felt like magic worked as a tool to move forward the plot, but not as a natural part of the setting.

tl;dr Memorable characters and a satisfying ending intertwined with some world building issues still make this an absolute must read for fantasy romance fans.

[inlibrisveritas]

Taste of Darkness is the last installment of the Healer series. Everything has been building up to this point and Maria doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to get stuff done. I thought that this was a satisfying and fun end to the trilogy.

There are some fantasy books that are just fun to be immersed in and despite all the stress that comes with the story you’re still sad to see it end. That’s how I felt with Taste of Darkness. This book (and the others) had me on a roller coster ride of panic, Is Kerrick going to die? Is Avry going to die? Is Belen dead? What the hell is going on with Tohon? So MANY questions! In fact if you look at my notes for this one, it’s mostly just questions and random sentences of panic. Needless to say Maria manages to answer them all and in some cases go above and beyond what I wanted. The plot thickens but keeps it’s quick pace, even as we see new places and meet new people. I really liked the addition of the Skeleton King, because not only is he a threat he is freaking creepy. I thought that everything tied up well and while there was some things I wish were more spectacular I’m pleased with how everything came together.

Avry is still our stubborn and recklessly brave girl, who is surprisingly good at getting things done the fly. No matter how many plans this girl makes she still ends up improvising and figuring out a plan. Kerrick is still Kerrick, though I was surprised with the twist his story arc presented and even though it was a bit heartbreaking I kind of loved it. Everyone gets some time in Taste of Darkness from the Monkeys to Mom, and it was really great seeing everyone again before saying good bye.

While it took me a while to get use to the point of view and Avry, I really came to love this series. It’s a wonderfully constructed world with fantastic characters and interesting creatures.

[Amber]

Okay, so this entire series has been one giant letdown for me. I am a huge fan of Snyder's Study and Inside series, but the Healer series has been disappointing me the whole way through. Why did I keep reading? I hear you ask. I hoped it would get better. Like I said, the previous two series of Snyder's (that I have read) were fantastic. Poison Study remains one of my all time favourite books. I couldn't not try.

But my attempts didn't work. I just really dislike this series as a whole. There was no epically grand finale to pick this series up, and the book itself fell flat.

Something about Avry's voice just isn't engaging. I haven't been able to relate to her much of the way through this series, and sometimes that's not a problem if a character can pull me in. Avry did not. She was likeable in the first book, somewhat okay in the second, but in this one she just sent me to sleep.

It didn't help that I'm not a fan of any of the characters in this series, not just Avry. I feel like they're a rehash of the characters in Snyder's Study series, and there was nothing to make them unique. I especially hate Kerrick, who was an abusive arsehole in the first book, and who certainly didn't improve once we got a look inside his head. I will not forgive a man who beats a woman. Full stop. Period. The end.

Another problem I had with this book was that there was little action in the beginning. After the somewhat thrilling ending of book two, I was expecting a lot more to be happening at the beginning of this one. But no, the characters traipsed around the forests and caves and whatnot, talking to Lilies and ... that's pretty much it. On top of the less than thrilling characters, this plot was a bust.

I wouldn't recommend this series, especially if you're a fan of the Study series since the characters are giant rip-offs and none of them feel developed. I felt no connection to any of them, let alone sympathy or emotions towards them. I was hoping for a grand finale, instead I fell asleep while reading it. If you're looking for a good fantasy series, I would recommend trying the Study series by Snyder, the Grisha series by Leigh Bardugo, or Graceling by Kristin Cashore instead.