Do y’all remember back in… oh, March 2021, when I said, “Maternity leave is done! I’m back from hiatus! LET’S BLOG!” … … HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I have learned so many lessons over the past 11 months. Let’s break some of those down, shall we? Babies take a lot of time and energy. My precious little girl is 1000% worth everything, but goodness. She always needs someone watching her. You...
Wait. What? We’re done?! After three years, it’s time for Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and me to hang up our #ReadingValdemar hats. After all, we’ve read every single Valdemar novel published to date. And that, my friends, is saying something. 12 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes. Reading the Valdemar books was a very different adventure to me. As a fan of speculative fiction, I’ve read many...
Title: Closer to the Heart Series: The Herald Spy, #2; Valdemar #41 Author: Mercedes Lackey Genre: Fantasy Publisher: DAW Books Inc. Release Date: October 6th, 2015 Format: Hardcover Pages: 330 Source: Library Target Audience: Young Adult Mags was a Herald of Valdemar. But he had once lived the brutal life of a child slave. When he was Chosen by his Companion Dallen, his young life was saved, and he slowly adjusted to being well fed, ed...
Title: Closer to Home Series: The Herald Spy, #1; Valdemar #39 Author: Mer Genre: Fantasy Publisher: DAW Books Inc. Release Date: October 7th, 2014 Format: Hardcover Pages: 361 Source: Library Target Audience: Young Adult Mags was once an enslaved orphan living a harsh life in the mines, until the King's Own Herald discovered his talent and trained him as a spy. Now a Herald in his own right, at the newly established Heralds' Collegium,...
Title: Bastion Series: The Collegium Chronicles, #5; Valdemar #38 Author: Mercedes Lackey Genre: Fantasy Publisher: DAW Books Inc. Release Date: October 1st, 2013 Format: Hardcover Pages: 346 Source: Library Target Audience: Young Adult Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings—his included—about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence i...
Classic Remarks is a meme hosted by Pages Unbound that poses questions each Friday about classic literature and asks participants to engage in ongoing discussions surrounding not only themes in the novels but also questions about canon formation, the “timelessness” of literature, and modes of interpretation. If you’d like to participate, the list of prompts can be found here. Each Friday, visit Pages Unbound and...
Title: Redoubt Series: The Collegium Chronicles, #4; Valdemar #37 Author: Mercedes Lackey Genre: Fantasy Publisher: DAW Books Inc. Release Date: October 2nd, 2012 Format: Hardcover Pages: 330 Source: Library Target Audience: Young Adult Mags, a young Herald trainee in Haven, the capital city of the kingdom of Valdemar, has talents not commonly found in Herald trainees. Recognizing this, the King's Own Herald decides to train Mags as a s...
is a series of posts focused on better understanding books, trends in writing, and the labels associated with these. April is National Poetry Month in America. Back on April 2nd Krysta and Briana at Pages Unbound asked: What are some poems you enjoy from classic authors? When I started to write that post, I realized that most of my favorite poets are not from the English-speaking w...
Title: Joyful Noise and I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices Author: Paul Fleischman Genre: Poetry Publisher: Recorded Books Release Date: November 11th, 2008 Format: Audiobook Pages: 128 Source: Library First Published: 1988 and 1985, Respectively Target Audience: Children Illustrator: Ken Nutt and Eric Beddows Narrator: John Beford Lloyd and Anne Twomey Joyful Noise Written to be read aloud by two voices, sometimes alternating, s...
Classic Remarks is a meme hosted by Pages Unbound that poses questions each Friday about classic literature and asks participants to engage in ongoing discussions surrounding not only themes in the novels but also questions about canon formation, the “timelessness” of literature, and modes of interpretation. If you’d like to participate, the list of prompts can be found here. Each Friday, visit Pages Unbound and...