Over halfway done with our final year of #ReadingValdemar, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I pick up the second book in The Herald Spy trilogy. The previous book, Closer to Home was an unexpected Romeo & Juliet retelling with a twist (obviously, we’re in Valdemar!). Could this book be another retelling with a twist? It doesn’t seem like it from the synopsis, but there is only one way to tell… 11 books. 12 months. 3 ...

  Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I are halfway through the year and it’s finally time to start a new Valdemar series! This whole year we will follow Mags and his family through Lackey’s 11 most-recent Valdemar books. I can’t wait to see what sort of drama Mags and Amily get up to now that Mags has his Whites… 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes.    In some ways, Closer to Home was very predictabl...

  And so we’ve come to the end of The Collegium Chronicles – Lackey’s only Valdemar quintet book series. Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I both found the previous books to feel like more of the same over and over again. As we come to the conclusion of this quintet will we feel the repetition again? Or will Lackey finally break her streak as Mags’s story concludes? 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes. ...

  Typically, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels are either standalone or trilogies. This month, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I read the fourth book in Lackey’s first Valdemar Quintet – The Collegium Chronicles. This is Lackey’s first Valdemar series that extends beyond a trilogy. Will it be worth it? 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes.  Last time in Changes… Despite everything seeming to ret...

  Continuing my Great Newbery Quest, I have made my way into one of the few poetry winners. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices won the 1989 Newbery Award and is only the second book of poetry to ever win this prestigious children’s book award. As April is National Poetry Month in America, I thought it would be fitting to finally pick this book up. As I enjoy listening to poetry read aloud, I opted to listen to the audiobook. This audio...

  Typically, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels are either standalone or trilogies. This month, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I read the third book in Lackey’s first Valdemar Quintet – The Collegium Chronicles. The first two were slower but addicting. Will the trend continue? 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes.  Last time in Intrigues… Mags has finally started to acclimate to life as a Trainee Her...

  Last month’s Valdemar book, Foundation, left me wanting more from Mags and the Collegium. I had hoped for more plot but ended the book with an urge to keep reading the series immediately. A strange combination for me. As Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I continue reading The Collegium Chronicles, I can’t help but wonder if Intrigues will follow a similar format. 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes.  Last time ...

  Here we are – the first review for #ReadingValdemar 2021! This year, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels and I are reading the most recent, and final, 11 Valdemar universe novels. All these books follow the same character, Mags, and his family. It’s time to settle my biggest worry: Will I enjoy Mags enough as a character to enjoy #ReadingValdemar 2021? 11 books. 12 months. 3 series. The journey concludes.    So. This was unexpected...

  I love my Science Fiction/Fantasy book club. We are all well-read people who are passionate about literature but in very different ways. That said, the biggest challenge is to find a book the majority of us haven’t read. When The Lives of Tao was recommended for our book club and hardily seconded by the only other person in the group who has read it before (actually, the only other person who had heard of it before…), I knew I ...

  Continuing my quest to read all 100 Newbery Award Winners before January 2022, I have finally reached Smoky the Cowhorse. This book is one I know The Captain @ The Captain’s Quarters grew up loving. As such, I picked up the 1927 Newbery Award Winner with excitement. I should have known better, though. I was never really a horse-story girl… The little horse was having a great time up in that high country, and if he’d seen more...

The State of the Jackie
About Me , About the Blog / February 4, 2022

  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...

The End of #ReadingValdemar: A Retrospective
#ReadingValdemar / December 23, 2021

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...

Closer to the Heart
Book Review / July 29, 2021

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...

Closer to Home
#ReadingValdemar , Book Review / June 24, 2021

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,...

Bastion
Book Review / May 27, 2021

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: Recommending Diverse Classics
Classic Remarks / April 30, 2021

  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...

Redoubt
Book Review / April 29, 2021

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...

Between the Lines: Poetry in Translation
Between the Lines / April 24, 2021

              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...

Joyful Noise and I Am The Phoenix
Book Review / April 14, 2021

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: Favorite Poems from Classic Poets
Classic Remarks / April 2, 2021

  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...