The scent of magic is elusive and captivating. It plays with the senses, evoking a feeling of wonder and enchantment. Like a whisper in the wind, it beckons you to a realm beyond the ordinary. There is no one scent that defines magic. It is as diverse and unique as the spells and incantations that weave its tapestry. It can be the comforting aroma of ancient books and dusty libraries, or the ethereal fragrance of a blooming garden at twilight.

Scent of Magic

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.

Genres FantasyYoung AdultMagicRomanceHigh FantasyFictionAdventure

414 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2012

About the author

When Maria V. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting. at all. Bored at work and needing a creative outlet, she started writing fantasy and science fiction stories. Over twenty novels and numerous short stories later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and has earned her Masters of Arts degree in Writing from Seton Hill University, where she is now a faculty member. Her favorite color is red. She loves dogs, but is allergic, instead she has a big black tom cat named…Kitty (apparently naming cats isn’t in her skill set either). Maria also has a husband and two children who are an inspiration for her writing when they aren't being a distraction. Note: She mentions her cat before her family.

When she's not writing she's either playing volleyball, traveling, or taking pictures. Being a writer, though is a ton of fun. Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn how to ride a horse, study marital arts, learn how to pick a lock, take glass blowing classes and attend Astronomy Camp and call it research? Maria will be the first one to tell you it's not working as a meteorologist.

Readers are welcome to check out her website for book excerpts, free short stories, maps, blog, and her schedule at http://www.MariaVSnyder.com.

It can be the comforting aroma of ancient books and dusty libraries, or the ethereal fragrance of a blooming garden at twilight. Magic holds within it a hint of mystery and intrigue, and its scent reflects this intrigue. It can be the musty smell of a forgotten attic, where secrets wait to be discovered.

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Please excuse me while I go and cry in a corner about having to wait so long for this book. Those who loved the first should totally understand how I feel.

*goes and wails pitifully*

UPDATE: *stares zombie-like at the cover* Ooooooh. Purdy.

What. Why. Maria V. Snyder. How could you.

I had the opportunity to read the ARC of "Touch of Power" over a year ago and absolutely loved it. Avry, Kerrick, Belen, Flea and the monkeys had such great chemistry, and their adventures really sucked me in. Although, I would have to say I loved the first book way more, but worry not because this one far from disappoints.

First of all, I really liked how Snyder found a way to continue the concepts from the first book. The gang has to find a way to stop Tohon before he brings war to the 15 Realms. In the meantime, they have to warn everyone about the unusual army and figure out the secrets of the Peace and Death Lilies, as well as any possible connection tying them together.

The other thing is, usually when a character goes through so much, they tend to change in the second book as they either become depressed or really angry. I liked that Avry continued to be the character that I loved so much in book 1. She was so selfless, no matter friend or foe. She was brave and determined, and she had that spark that made her so admirable.

One of the reasons why I thought the first book was so great is because of the supporting characters. In this one, they kind of had their own roles, and even though it's all part of the big plan and the camaraderie is still there, this book lacked that interaction between the gang. Don't get me wrong, there are scenes where they are together, and you do see that fondness they have for each other, along with the great dialogue. Along with that was that Avry and Kerrick had their own roles to play, so this book doesn't have that tension and the constant bickering that intrigued me. And there are new friends, but it's just not the same. And my favorite character was hardly in the book!

The other thing is this book alternates between Avry's and Kerrick's point of view, and as much as I love Kerrick, I almost wished his part - or maybe the majority of it - was cut out for this book. Now before all of you Kerrick-fans start grabbing your pitchforks, his POV was kind of a side story because they did not share the length as Avry's. Also, I kind of felt his adventures were kind of insignificant, for lack of a better word, at least in this book, especially compared to Ryne's or other characters in this book.

I'm sure his scenes lead up to the next one, but I almost felt as if Snyder used his POV because they had to be separated and TOP fans would be upset if Kerrick wasn't in it. For me, however, it was frustrating because it kept interrupting the story, especially because of the way she ended each chapter - just about all of them were so climatic they were a mini-cliffhanger. It's like watching TV, and they give you that surprising "dum, dum, dum" right before you cut to commercial break. It was infuriating because I wanted to kno what happened next. And by the time I got back to Avry's point of view, some of that anticipation has kind of worn off so I just didn't feel as excited about it. I don't think I would have missed much if he recounted his tale, as other characters did, or even make his story a novella or make them longer scenes and fewer parts that constantly interrupt Avry's story.

And the end. OMG. Only this time, there wasn't another chapter for me to find out. Why, oh, why?

Sigh. I guess I'll just have to wait another year, as Snyder has announced that "Taste of Death," the conclusion to this trilogy will be out December 2013. However, the name does not sound to promising, now does it?

Update 12/21: Check out my interview with Maria V. Snyder where she takes my questions about Scent of Magic on my blog.

I'm disappointed, really disappointed. I've heard of Maria Snyder's sequel 'curse', but I've never experienced it firsthand, having never read any of her sequels. Though that's probably a good thing, because from what I can tell, Scent of Magic is Magic Study all over again: a letdown that wastes much of the promise of the first book.

I hate to say it, but everything I loved about Touch of Power has been completely leeched from this sequel. When I first met Avry, she was this awesome character, on the run from everyone, the last healer in the Fifteen Realms. She had me at that first scene when she was agonizing over whether to heal that little girl, and scene after scene after that, as she's facing her impending execution, slowly building relationships with Kerrick and his gang, deciding whether to heal Rhyne, facing off against Tohon, I just kept thinking, wow, she's such an enormously complex and conflicted character. Well, no more, because Scent of Magic drops all that in favor of plot development which barely treads water, and I'm sorry to report that there's almost zero character development. Where's that girl who impressed me with her inner turmoil over her role in a world destroyed by plague? I never found her, because this entire book is just Avry doing whatever the plot mandates, mostly by Tohon's machinations, occasionally by someone else, Jael, the soldiers Avry's training, or, when she has the time, angsting over Kerrick. Avry's few scenes with her sister, one of weaker parts of the first book, provide one of the few glimpses into her character and just left me deeply unsatisfied.

Part of it is also Snyder's choice to split up Avry from Kerrick, and the two of them from everyone else. The camaraderie of their little group was one of the highlights of the first book, and I highly question Snyder's decision to send Kerrick off to do his own thing in alternating chapters of third person point of view, while separating Avry from Belen and the others - who we barely see - and introducing new characters who just couldn't fill the hole left in the group dynamic. It's not like Kerrick's mission was all that integral to the plot of the story - I can see how it'll turn out as a Gondor calls for aid type situation in the next book, but the whole thing felt oddly out of place in this book, in the fight against Tohon, like Snyder’s saying, here’s some new stuff that doesn’t fit with anything else but it’ll be important later, trust me. but it only ends up making the chapters focusing on Avry's 'plan', training Estrid’s army against Tohon’s undead while undercover, really really repetitive and boring, like she’s in a holding pattern. Then there are the parts where Avry thinks Kerrick is dead, and her reactions when she gets news about him is just unbelievable and weird. Actually, the emotions just never felt right – including with a big spoiler concerning the status of a favorite character from the last book. Oh, and the constant cliffhangers every time the point of view changes gets really old really fast.

Worse still, Scent of Magic highlights a lot of the weaker aspects of the first book I'd been able to brush aside previously, but really can’t ignore anymore. Setting has never been this series’ strong suit, but it’s pretty obvious now the heavy character focus really carried Touch of Power. Because the first chapter of this book? A recap of the world building done before, and it really shows how shallow the Fifteen Realms are, with the characters just reciting a bunch of names, lines, and dots on a map. What sets Kazan apart from Sogra? What’s unique of Pomyt? These are the little details that make reading sentences basically saying we’ve just spent X days getting to town Y on the map fun, well, unless the characters make the journey enjoyable, but this time around, they didn’t, they were just traveling. And Tohon. I’m appalled, he was a serviceable villain in Touch of Power, but now. I’m embarrassed from him. He lets Avry get away with way too much without any rational reason – basically, he’s only a threat because Avry’s got too much of a conscience to actually kill him. The handling of the Death and Peace lilies too, there are some new developments and mysteries but I don’t think I learned anything new about how they work, that, Tohon’s undead, the fill in the blanks geography made worse by the ‘training’ and the ‘patrols’, the slow pacing at the beginning and the almost blink and you’ll miss it resolution of an ending, it really shatters the fantasy immersion.

Hmm, the only thing that doesn’t bother me is the cliffhanger ending. If you pay attention to the writing, what we know about Death and Peace lilies, and particularly the foreshadowing, it’s quite obvious what’s going on. But. I don’t know what to say, between the incompetent villain, the flat setting, Kerrick’s mess of a B-plot, the supporting gang almost vanishing into thin air, and Avry losing every interesting aspect to her character, Maria Snyder, what happened?

OMG THERES A SECOND ONE?

Expected publication 2013

Phew, It's been changed to December 2012!

But still.
WHY CAN'T THE BOOK BE ALREADY PUBLISHED :(

I wasn't planning on reading this since I disliked the first book.
When I saw it at the library I decided to give the author another chance (I'm nice like that) since I loved her Study trilogy so much. I also reasoned that it couldn't possibly be as bad as the first book. Thankfully, it wasn't. However, it wasn't any better either. So, I guess that's something — right?

I had a lot of issues with this… I think it's easiest if I just list them below in a disorganised and ranty way:

-The writing and dialogue didn't suit the fantasy type setting — it was too modern. The slang, speech and inner monologue took me right out of the story. For example:

'I missed a lot of cool stuff' and 'we're screwed' and 'Kill. me. now' and 'ewww' and swell and super.

With writing like that, I'm hardly going to be thinking of magic, fantasy, kings, kingdoms and swords. No, I'm going to be thinking of high school, malls and Gossip Girl. The writing should reflect the setting of the book.

-The characters called each other stupid nicknames, like: the monkeys, Mom and poppa bear. Belen aka 'poppa bear' was meant to be a strong deadly soldier but every time someone would call him 'poppa bear', I could no longer buy his role as a respected and formidable warrior. No, instead I just thought of him as a giant dumb cuddly bear. The nicknames felt completely out of place.

-Kerrick's POV was dull, he made Avry's bland narration seem almost exciting. For the majority of the book, they were separated … Usually I hate it when authors split the couple in the sequel but I didn't mind it this time around since Avry and Kerrick were even more boring together than when they were apart.
At times I felt like I was reading two different stories as Kerrick's POV rarely reflected or intertwined with Avry's. I'm guessing that Kerrick's journey to his own kingdom, his capture and his time with the tribes will play a role in the final book but that doesn't change the fact that for the most part his POV felt out of place.

-I noticed that Snyder attempted to redeem Kerrick's abusive behaviour towards Avry by giving him a taste of his own medicine. However, his 'redemption' didn't work on me. Kerrick ends up beaten, tied to a tree and starved — was I meant to care? I didn't. Him being tortured didn't lessen or erase what he did to Avry.
I also felt that Tohon was only depicted as a rapey violent douche just so Kerrick could look good in comparison. It was a bit like 'Ooh… Kerrick beat Avry but it's okay he's a decent guy because he only did it because he was stressed and he was remorseful afterwards… and when you compare him with the other 'love interest' he's the best guy for her. He's dreamy compared to Tohon who is an unapologetic sadistic fucker that kills kid.' Yea, I'm not buying it. Kerrick should come across as a decent hero on his own merits and not because he seems good in comparison to someone else.
I have no doubt in my mind that Kerrick would hit Avry again if he ever lost his temper. Sure, he made a vow not to hit anyone again… but if he struck out at a defenseless girl before when he lost his temper, then I hardly think him saying he won't do it again would stop him. He didn't even seem all that passionate about his 'vow'. I really don't think that he felt remorse or regret for slapping and torturing Avry.. the most emotion he had in regard to his past treatment of her was a little bit of sheepishness. He didn't redeem himself at all.

-I had no respect for Avry AT ALL. She was such an annoying martyr and I couldn't stand her. She excuses Kerrick hitting her and mentions the fact that she managed to forgive him for it… And the way it was written was as if it was the right thing to do to learn to forgive the man that slapped, hurt and starved her. That's right girls, when a guy hits you… you just need to get over it and not be a bitter, hateful, resentful bitch. A good heroine girl forgives guys for beating and torturing them!!

'I remembered my own hatred when Kerrick had backhanded me. Even after his apology and promise never to do it again, I couldn’t trust him. It took time and courage to change my mind.'

What utter bullshit and lies! It didn't take time or fucking courage! She was pissed at him for all of 5 seconds — she trusted him more or less straight away even though he'd done nothing to earn her trust. And since when has it been courageous to forgive and trust the guy that's beaten you?!

-Avry's forgiving ways irked me a great deal. Her so called friends (Ryne, Quain, Flea and Loren) abandoned her when war broke out. They purposefully planned on leaving her on her own so they could be safe themselves… they also left knowing that she would be captured by Tohon - an evul bastard that they knew wanted to rape her. They left her without a second thought when they were well aware of all the dangers she'd have to face. Did Avry feel mad? No. Did she feel betrayed? No. Did she feel angry or bitter? No. She was just slightly pissed at her 'friends' for a couple of paragraphs and then she was totally cool about them fucking her over… Because that's just the way she rolls. Ugh.

-Ryne pissed me off. In the last book he was at death's door, and Kerrick desperately searched for a healer/Avry to save him. Avry didn't want to heal Ryne because he was responsible for the execution of thousands of healers (including her friends) but Kerrick and co convinced her that they needed Ryne to defeat Tohon and his evil zombie army… apparently no-one else had the brains or skill to win a war against Tohon. Avry gave her life for Ryne because he was going to save everyone. Naturally, I was expecting Ryne to wow me with his genius tactics since he was made out to be so vital to the war. Kerrick's motto was that they couldn't possibly win without him. So I was expecting to be blown away by this character that would use his superb skill and superior knowledge to best Tohon. Is that what happened? No. Sure, the characters were all saying that the strategies Ryne was coming up were brilliant but nothing he said or did struck me as particularly intelligent or inspired. Where was the so called military genius? After all the drama about Ryne the speshul snowflake in Touch of Magic, I thought I'd actually get to read about his super speshul snowflake abilities. Instead, he came across as mediocre and easily replaceable… everything he did was more meh than genius.
His 'genius' ideas to win the war were as follows:

-Team up with another army (Estrid's) so they would have a chance at beating Tohon. Yea, that was just common sense not genius.
-Take his own soldiers and leave Estrid's to fight so he could run away and hide from Tohon's army. That wasn't genius — it was cowardly and disgusting.
-Fight Tohon's army by ordering small groups of soldiers to sneakily attack some of Tohon's men. Again, anyone could have thought of that… it wasn't a brilliant or brave move.
-Safely hide in a cave whilst his soldiers do all the work.

What exactly was genius about any of that?
It's not enough to just be told someone is a genius, I need a character to display it in some form or another… I need to be shown it through characters actions, decisions and choices. And Ryne didn't… which just makes the driving force behind the first book (Avry giving up her life to save Ryne so he could save everyone else) a joke.

-Quain was a dick. The way he acted towards Avry when he found out she was alive was vile. He was pissed at her for pretending she was dead. That was fine, but he stayed angry at her for ages and ages even when she apologised and explained her reasonings. She only hid the truth to protect herself and make sure she didn't end up with a sadistic rapist. Quain had no right to act like such a bitch and throw such a hissy fit. He should have just been glad she was alive but no, he wanted to lord her one lie over her for as long as possible because he was a dick.
I hate that heroines can't ever be anything other than 100% honest otherwise they are evul lying whores… yet heroes can lie and it's perfectly okay because they have reasons but no reason is valid enough for a heroine to lie. Heroines must always be punished for lying.
And the funny thing was that after he made a huge song and dance about Avry lying he went ahead and did much worse. He hid Ryne's plan to hide from Tohon's army and then abandoned her in a middle of a war when he knew that Tohon would get her and act rapey towards her. Avry lying and hiding from Quain and co didn't put his life in danger whereas Quain's deception not only put her life in danger but also put her at risk of being raped by a sadistic fucker. Is Avry mad at Quain's betrayal? Not really. She was a bit bitter for a few minutes and then she forgave him… you see he had reasons and heroines should understand those reasons and just forgive.
The moral of the story is that a good decent girl should understand that guys have legitimate reasons for lying and they should forgive and forget accordingly — they cannot be angry, bitter or upset. They should also realise that they themselves have NO excuse or reason to lie. Whereas, a guy can lie because of course he has reasons and he can also be bitter and pissed for long periods of time if he should discover that a girl has ever lied to him… Ugh. I'm so sick of the double standards in books.

-Avry only seemed to care about the guys in her life. Even her sister didn't come across as all that important to her. It was all about Kerrick, Belen, Flea, Ryne and the other men in her life. Heaven forbid she actually have a close friendship with a female character. She did make a couple of female friends but I didn't think they counted since 1. She wasn't particularly close to them 2. They were barely in it and 3. One of them ended up dead and the other ended up evil.
Avry should have had at the very least one prominent female character that she was close to.

-Too many cliched characters — the boring overly forgiving Mary Sue heroine, the emo hero, the evul ex girlfriend, the one dimensional villain who wants to rule the kingdom just because he's evul.
There were no original or complex characters — they were all rubbish.

-What was the point of the cliffhanger? Its obvious Kerrick's not going to die. He'll probably be saved by some stupid deus ex machina. Then he'll declare his wuv to Avry even though he's never actually shown it before and then they'll run off into the sunset together… and Kerrick will beat Avry everyday and she'll love all that sweet sweet abusive love… Ugh.

All in all, a huge disappointment.

The Scent of Magic

Rachel and her brother Eric are extraordinary. She is a spell-maker, able to fly, take any shape, see far and wide with her many-coloured eyes. He is a destroyer of spells.

On the planet Ool, home of the Witches, the high Witch Heebra wants Rachel and Eric crushed, and her old adversaries the Wizards slayed. A party of Witches is dispatched to Earth to locate the thousands of children who have powers like Rachel’s, and turn them into a ferocious army.

Rachel, in search of the children, finds their magic at work across the world. In Africa she encounters the infant Yemi, whose gifts transcend all others. In Chile she meets the menacing Heiki, a girl who will perform any evil to win the approval of the Witches. And in the frozen wastes of the Arctic she and Eric engage in a desperate struggle for the hearts and minds of all children.

Reviews
'It is a spellbinding read full of excitement and suspense. A brilliant sequel to The Doomspell.' Cool Reads

'McNish tells a rattling good tale, and his well-plotted narrative races through some excellent twists and turns to a spectacular climax.' The Daily Telegraph

'The language used is rich and evocative, full of visual and sensory imagery it captures the readers interest and imagination from the beginning and holds it with ease to the end.' School Librarian

'Anyone who enjoyed The Doomspell will want to follow it up with The Scent of Magic, in which the battle between the Witches and Earth’s children moves onto our planet.' The Times

'The Scent of Magic continues The Doomspell story, but if anything the characterisations are deeper, the plot even more intriguing, and it is all carried off with a verve, pace and sheer passion for pure storytelling that make McNish’s novels so compulsive.' Amazon

Genres FantasyChildrensMagicYoung AdultFictionMiddle GradeSpeculative Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2001

About the author

I was born in Sunderland, a city in the north-east of England.
I don’t recall too much about my first 8 years of life other than I loved being outdoors especially in the woods near our house. I came home every night covered in scratches.
My first real book memory is being given C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew by my English teacher, Mrs Baldwin. I loved that, and all the other Narnia books.

So how did I become an author?
As a parent I was used to making up short and funny stories for my daughter, Rachel. When she was about ten, however, she wanted a story about a really, really nasty witch. This time I put pen to paper and what started off as a tiny scrap of an idea got bigger and bigger and BIGGER. It became The Doomspell.
After I finished it, I continued my love affair with fantasy by creating The Silver Sequence which I still think is probably my best and definitely my most original work. Following that, I tried to scare everyone half to death with a couple of ghost novels – Breathe and The Hunting Ground.

I could tell you more about myself, but the truth is that perhaps the biggest gift we can give anyone is our imagination and everything important I have to offer you about that is in the novels.

Or it can be the sweet, intoxicating perfume of rare flowers, hinting at the power they possess. The scent of magic can also be found in the earthy aroma of a forest after a rainstorm. It lingers in the clean, crisp air and teases the imagination. It can be the smoky scent of a crackling fire that dances in the darkness, casting shadows that whisper of hidden worlds. But perhaps the most captivating scent of magic is the scent of possibility. It is the smell of dreams taking form, of the unknown becoming known. It is the fragrance of endless potential, of miracles waiting to happen. In the world of magic, scent is a language of its own. It speaks to us on a primal level, stirring something deep within our souls. It transports us to realms unseen and opens our minds to the infinite possibilities that exist beyond our mundane reality. The scent of magic is a reminder that there is more to this world than meets the eye. It is an invitation to believe in the extraordinary, to embrace the unknown, and to create our own enchantment. When we catch a whiff of magic in the air, we are reminded that anything is possible, and that there is still so much to explore and discover. So, next time you catch a hint of an elusive aroma, let it guide you on a journey of wonder and possibility. Embrace the scent of magic, and let it weave its spell upon your senses..

Reviews for "Aromatherapy as Magic: Using Scents to Heal and Soothe the Soul"

1. Sarah - 2 stars - I had high hopes for "The Scent of Magic" after reading the first book in the series, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. The plot was lacking in intensity and suspense, and I found myself getting bored with the story. The characters also didn't capture my interest as they did in the previous book. Overall, I was disappointed and wouldn't recommend it to others.

2. John - 2.5 stars - "The Scent of Magic" was an underwhelming sequel that failed to live up to the potential set by its predecessor. The pacing was slow, and the story lacked the depth and complexity that made the first book so captivating. I also had issues with the main protagonist, who seemed overly naïve and made questionable decisions throughout the narrative. While the world-building remained solid, it wasn't enough to compensate for the flaws in the plot and characters.

3. Emma - 1 star - I found "The Scent of Magic" to be a tedious and uninspiring read. The writing style was bland, and the dialogue felt forced and unnatural. The plot seemed disjointed and didn't flow well, with random events happening without any clear direction. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked depth, making it difficult for me to connect or care about their fates. Overall, I was thoroughly disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others.

4. Michael - 2 stars - "The Scent of Magic" was a letdown compared to the first book in the series. The storyline felt repetitive, and the pacing was slow, making it a struggle to maintain interest. The world-building, which was a strong point in the previous installment, felt lacking and inconsistent here. Additionally, the romantic subplot felt forced and lacked chemistry. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointment and wouldn't recommend it to fans of the series.

5. Grace - 3 stars - "The Scent of Magic" had its moments, but it failed to live up to my expectations. The plot had potential, but it took far too long to develop and lacked the excitement and intensity I was hoping for. The characters were interesting, but some of their actions felt contrived and didn't always make sense. Although it was an okay read, I expected more from this book and would hesitate to recommend it to others.

From Alchemy to Artistry: The Evolution of Magical Fragrances