Scent of Magic - Maria V Snyder Book Review

Release Date: Available now 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen Australia

Pages: 416pgs

The Story

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 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 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.

My Review

SCENT OF MAGIC by Maria V. Snyder's is the second instalment of the Healer series. This author has once again put forth such vivid descriptions, beautiful and captivating words that will not only draw you into the pages but also give us some wonderful characters that you will easily enjoy.

Maria creates sassy characters – strong main leads, and an array of wonderful supporting characters to blend throughout this story. Her characters are always filled with such depth; you cannot help but like them. More so in this instalment as we see into Kerricks thoughts.

In Scent of magic we see Kerrick’s pov and also Avry’s which was nice to see. The perspective of characters changed but also turned the read into an interesting change for me the reader. We see both sides, and loving Kerrick’s character this was an added bonus for me. The only thing I would have enjoyed more of is more time with Avry and Kerrick, I found it was a little short on the romance and page time -  but none the less still enjoyed this story. 

This story is jam packed with action, friendship and love, suspense, dangerous liaisons, a little bit of romance for all the readers whom enjoy a little heart flutter, and many emotions entwined within this captivating world that Ms Synder has created. 

The ending will leave you gasping for more with its shocking cliff-hanger and have you eagerly flying to the net to find out when the next instalment is due out loll.

A great second instalment into this series I can’t wait for the next!!!!!!!!!! 

 A big thanks to Harlequin Teen Australia for sending me an ARC copy of this book. This review is copyrighted, owned by me and cannot be copied or shared without my permission except by the author or publisher for promotion purposes**

The Transient by M W Russell book Review

Melodie Gibson never had many friends in her life — that is, not until she moved from Australia to New York. Now, they fill her every waking moment. Fresh off the plane from the other side of the world, Melodie and her widowed father have moved into Heartworth Castle, an imposing manor-turned-Bed & Breakfast in upstate New York that he inherited from a distant aunt. But it’s no ordinary castle. Full of hidden secrets and layers of history, Heartworth has its ghosts—literally. Dripping with atmosphere, adventure and epic romance, THE TRANSIENT is the first instalment in the completed “Castle Trilogy” which creates an original mythology with roots in classical and biblical literature, where the afterlife is as complicated as the present, and the rules are just as hard to follow. It centres around Melodie, a socially awkward teenager, and Joseph, a “Transient ghost” that can take human form and who was murdered by a spurned love in the latter stages of the Civil War. No one is supposed to be able to see Joseph—but Melodie Gibson does. This unexplained contact sparks a passionate romance between the two. As Mel settles into her new American home and begins making mortal friends, she falls for Joseph, but not before the Governance and some old enemies of Joseph’s begin to materialize against them. Apparently, not everyone is happy about their new found love. THE TRANSIENT is only the first instalment; the final two novels are THE SOUL KEEPER and THE DARKEST ANGEL.


My review

Having read Maree Ward Russell’s Roses at Dusk - paranormal suspense story I have to say I eagerly snavled up my chance to review The Transient..

The Transient is a ghost story filled with lots of fantasy for anyone of all ages. M W Russell always paints a vivid picture within her stories. Her characters are filled with enough description to give the reader a wonderful detailed and indepth take on them. Its like looking through a looking glass as you read the storyine, it unravels within the pages. Its like I am there !

The romance is sweet between Joseph and Melodie. It was gradual - innocent yet sweet and gooey.. But I love gooey ! sigh - Young love lol.

The storyline is set at a gradual pace but entwined within the story is a little suspense and danger. But it will certainly keep you intrigued till you have read the last word.

M w Russell has effectively created a new twist on the word ‘ghost"... lol - The story is filled with love, friendship, laughter, danger and a few extra's .!!

Characters came to life with every turn of the page, and a good deal of the relationships that were formed seemed authentic, real and certainly enjoyable to Me, The reader.

 The fact that this is  A Paranormal Romance is a bonus for me, as I love this genre... Its set more for teens , but saying this it really is  for all those who enjoy this genre - any age will enjoy for sure.


 Everything about this book is completely stunning .The prose, the storyline and even the design cover !!! I eagerly await book two !!!


This book can be purchased at Amazon for a great price of $1-99 atm

M W Russell can be found Here on Facebook