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tckcallahan's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly recommend the series. Enjoying seeing how Mags handles himself and his outlook on life.
mbs1236's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
0uterspacebookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ladyethyme's review against another edition
2.0
I like the first book a lot better. The second one not so much, it seems to be focused far more on teenage angst and the sport kirball, Which is clearly just a stand in Quidditch. The entire book basically seems to be a copy of some of the later Harry Potter books, including the weird sports and the school and getting in a fight with your best friend because he thinks that you're selfish and self-centered…
They should really be categorized as a YA book to be honest, there's really not much in it besides sobbing, wailing teenagers, accusations of selfishness, and sports. And a somewhat endless description of minutia that could easily have been edited out as it serves no purpose whatsoever.
I had to skim an entire chapter because of the sports. Unlike in Harry Potter where Rowling tends to sum up most of the games at the high points, Lackey just goes on and on with grating and exhaustive detail describing every single play in the game. There was so much that I just skimmed through, I feel like half of this book was wasted.
And to be perfectly honest, Lena is pretty much a awful person. That she would run up to him while his best friend was seriously injured, knowing how close they were, and stand there and blame him for being responsible for it, as if Dallen had no independent thought or mind of his own or could make choices.
That's..........not how friends work. At least not any friend that I have ever had. You talk to them, find out what happened, and if you love them, (which you should because they are your friend), you need to empathize with them and understand them. You don't just run in and start flailing accusations.
I mean it's like imagine you were in a car with your dad, and you got into a horrible accident.
Then you're sitting at the hospital with blood pouring down your face, feeling terrified, traumatized, in pain, worried about your dad, feeling awful… and then your best friend in the whole world comes in and starts screaming at you about how it's your fault, why did you want to hurt your dad, why would you do such a thing to your dad? And you're just supposed to sit there and take it...?????
Frankly Dallen is the adult in that relationship. but Lena runs up to Mags and says that he's an awful person and how selfish he is and rants and raves and when he throws even one line of (truth) back in her face she stares at him like she didn't expect him to give as well as he got, and then of course starts sobbing and runs off again. AGAIN. AGAIN.
gfmatt's review against another edition
2.0
Bears a distinct resemblance to the arrows series and the ones with the thief main character but not nearly as engaging. Rather shallowly written.
kraley's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed revisiting Valdemar. It has been a long time and has led me to re-read a bunch of my favorites. I like the character of Mags, but feel that the Quiddich type game was forced. What made her think that she needed something so obviously copied from Rowling? Also, the three characters so strongly resemble Harry, Hermione and Ron (except Bear is actually talented at something and this Hermione is immature and not as smart). Well, I'll definitely read the next book in the series when it is released. I liked Foundations better, but this one was alright.
nicole_the_bookworm's review against another edition
4.5
As always, I love Mercedes Lackey ❤️ The part when Mags was really depressed (and suicidal) was so well written that it actually got to me, and I had to walk away for a day or so. It felt too real 😅 But overall a lovely book, I really like Mags.
mikilla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0