Taste of Darkness

*****

5 Stars/5

Avry is desperate because Kerrick has gone missing after he is poisoned by Death Lily toxin. Even though she is the only one who still thinks he is alive after searching for weeks, she has to focus on her patients as a new type of plague seems to be arising. With people developing new powers, Avry wanting to fulfil her promise to mom and look after her patients, and enemies surrounding them, including the disturbing Skeleton King, will Avry and her friends be able to survive and find peace?

Taste of Darkness is the brilliant third and final book in the Healer series and is darker than the previous books. This book has lots of twists and turns, which at some points was a bit confusing, with action, romance and an edge of your seat story. However, one criticism of this book, and the rest of the series, is that is that no one stays dead, so after the third time of hearing that someone has died, you tend not to believe it.

Avry is the same as the last books as she is caring strong and selfless, but she does not want to be anyone’s puppet anymore, even Ryne’s, and wants to do what she thinks is right. Kerrick is weaker and more jealous than in the previous books but is still a good hero of this book and whilst Avry and Kerrick are together more than the last book (Thank the Flea!) I wish they were not apart as much as they were.

 I love the secondary characters especially the Monkeys and Flea, and I feel they really make this book. Also the enemies are brilliant in this book, even though there feels like there are too many, and we get to meet the creepy and spine-chilling Skeleton King, who makes Tohon seem like a normal person.

I would love to see more books based in this world and I would recommend Taste of Darkness and the Healer series to fans of Maria V Snyder’s other books.