• Taste of Darkness

  • Healer, Book 3
  • By: Maria V. Snyder
  • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
  • Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (491 ratings)

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Taste of Darkness  By  cover art

Taste of Darkness

By: Maria V. Snyder
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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Publisher's summary

She's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?

Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.

But there's a more immediate threat. 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.

Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision....

©2013 Maria V. Snyder (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
  • Series: Healer, Book 3
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

What listeners say about Taste of Darkness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Headstrong, Stubborn is NOT admirable

So sick of a Avry being willing to die to save one random stranger knowing that by doing so her death will leave their entire world without a healer - not just once but repeatedly. That's not admirable - that's criminally negligent behavior.

Also, sick of her ALWAYS thinking she knows more about military tactics than the professionals and throwing temper tantrums and stamping off to do what she thinks needs to be done and AGAIN putting herself in danger to get her way and to Hell with the needs of incoming casualties or existing patients.

Avry: Spoiled, selfish, ignorant child.

Why, why, WHY do so many authors (FEMALE authors, no less!) so often create heroines like this. A woman can be strong without being a stubborn selfish pain-in-everyone's butt.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

she never fails to draw me in

Maria V Snyder is one author that pulls you in with a story and doesn't let go.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Book=love, but I would hate to be Avry's friend.

Goodness, what a nightmare child Avry is. I agree with other reviewers that the characters in the healer series. Closely resemble the study series, which (in my opinion) is FAR better. I've read and reread/listened to the study series several times and I like the characters a lot and the world Snyder created. HOWEVER, I had some issues with Yolena being stubborn and headstrong, somehow naturally understanding military workings and strategy far better than veterans who have trained for years, never listening to the opinions of others, though she constantly says she trusts them and their strategies /judgment, etc. and Avry is SO MUCH WORSE THAN Yolena!!

Yolena drove me crazy, but at least there were some people in the world who she acknowledged were more expert on some way and she did SOMETIMES listen to other peoples' ideas and feelings. Avery is impulsive, disrespectful (and seemingly proud of that disrespect, just ask the Prince), inconsiderate, inconsistent (she says she understands strategy and motivations and agrees, but ultimately will always do what she, the genius 20 yr old with 3 yrs experience hiding. Believes is the right thing), and honestly, besides kindness, Avery has very few redeeming qualities, and the ones she DOES possess, are inexplicable in nature and not probable to her character.

I understand that Avry is a military genius and possesses a kind heart and unbelievably unique talent, but her behavior is unacceptable and, honestly, cruel. She doesn't treat those around her well, yet they all stick with her, follow her hairbrained schemes that, somehow, Always work out for the better (she makes mistakes, but it still ends up better) and treat her with respect. You'll hear/read a lot of, "well, this plan went terribly wrong and almost cost many lives for a crapshoot chance of minor success, but we did manage to accomplish/learn something that can potentially solve all our problems!" basically, trust Avry no matter what. Abandon allegiances to follow her lead; afterall, Avry is a prophetess who is ALWAYS right.

Okay, after that rant, you may wonder why I gave this 4 stars for the story. I gave it 4 stars because I really like the story. I sometimes even like Avry, kindness and friendship are a really important qualities. I love Gabra Zack an narrating, but overall, the book and main character are a little weak. I enjoyed the book and will reread it like I do all the books I really like, but I had to vent the Avry-annoyance a bit because that is my biggest issue with the book series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Well

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

While I definitely enjoy Maria V. Snyder's books, and I loved this series, this one for me fell just a bit flat in comparison. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, if you've listened to the others in the series, definitely listen to it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Maria V. Snyder? Why or why not?

Absolutely, I've thoroughly enjoyed every single one of her other books.

Which character – as performed by Gabra Zackman – was your favorite?

I don't think I could pick a favorite, I think she's a wonderful narrator

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, disliked the voices

I should’ve stayed reading the book. Audible made it easier to multitask but my goodness the accents and nasal voice was not a match.. especially for kerrick. He is supposed to be a stoic sounding person but he sounds so nasally like a whiny complaining person, made me cringe every time he spoke instead of swoon lol

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Never disappointing

This is an awesome team! I enjoy the stories written by this author and Gabra Zackman is gifted with the perfect story telling voice. I was not ready for the book to end! Now what is next?

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

This was an overall disappointment. From the writing to the performance, I just didn’t have a good time and couldn’t wait for it to be over. I really love the first book in this series, but this one was just…ugh. The love story between Kerrick and Avry was cringy at best. I felt a lot of things came out of no where, like this imprinting thing that didn’t even get mentioned until the last 45 minutes of a what - 12+ hour book? Why did we spend SO much time with the Melina issues and virtually no time with the skeleton king? Why did we talk about ifs maybes could be’s so often when it came to the strategies of all the major players? It really just turned into a really overwhelming exposition on a boring boring boring world. I know Kerrick loves Avry but man that character turned into something else entirely from who he was in the first book. Virtually nothing about him is that same character. I was sick of hearing how they were snuggling, how much they missed each other, how much they worried. I already knew they were feeling those things, instead I would have loved them to find a way to cope with those feelings while still bringing something else to the story. Speaking of - what even was the point of going back and forth between their experiences? It just proved to be an easy way to get the tenses and perspectives mixed up and confused. I also felt like Gabra Zackman’s narration was pretty off. Let alone my ongoing concerns with this series for basically copy/pasting the characters in Poison Study. It just didn’t feel like enough thought was put into how the story would be overall. I needed more showing and less telling. I might have even broken this up into two separate books for proper emphasis on each situation and more in depth SHOWING rather than so much telling. I will absolutely read/listen to touch of magic, the first book in this series, again but I will never put myself through this last book ever again. Pure torture.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A satisfying conclusion

This book was quite a bit darker than the first two and that made me enjoy it a bit less. My favorite line from the narrator was, “That filthy cannibal needs to die!” I just felt all the things: a rush of affection for the character saying it, agreement at the sentiment, humor at the stating of the obvious. This installment was a fulfilling ending to a truly epic narrative.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

So many adversaries, I was on edge getting to this ending.

Avery is compelled to action by her abilities even knowing it can be fatal. Imagining how people live and die during pestilence have me growing in a better understanding of human nature. We are living through disasters daily now; this book was a good coping tool for me. I love Balin, wish I was more like him. Grateful I don't have to be.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great book fabulous ending.

Maria Snyder is an awesome writer, and the narrator was fabulous. I loved the story.

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