Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Length: 284 pages
Format Read: Library ebook
Published Year: 1987
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I did not expect to love this little book as much as I did. I read the first book in the Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey called “The Arrows of the Queen” and I enjoyed this fantasy very much. It has very strong themes of Found Family and anti-patriarchy and love for friends and coming-of-age for a book from 1987.
The story follows Talia, a 13 year old girl who lives in a “Holdhouse” with her immediate family, including all of her father’s wives. The adults tell her that she’ll be married off almost immediately to any of the possible men, all the way from someone “young” to one of the older men to be one of his “underwives”. She (I say, understandably) does not want this, declares she wants to be a Herald, and runs into the woods. She’s found by a Heralds’ Companion, which looks like a horse but is a type of Familiar. The Companion takes her to the Heralds’ school where she learns about her gifts, herself, and how to trust others.
I loved the themes in this story, from self-love and acceptance, found family, trusting friends, and coming-of-age. The coming-of-age elements were very well done. I did feel at times that the characters acted a bit too emotionally mature for their declared ages, but the story does explain that Heralds are different from most people in this respect due to their magic and their bonds with their Companions. Otherwise, Talia’s encounters with friendships and bullying throughout the story are relatable for a coming-of-age. The little romantic elements are also cute and well done, I felt.
I deeply felt a lot of the things that came from Talia’s point of view. I was taken back mentally to my own preteen years and I almost cried at the hollow feeling that echoed when Talia thought “How can I trust these strangers to care about how I feel if my own blood family doesn’t care about how I feel?” It hit me right in the feels as a person that was told repeatedly as a child to “stop crying, I’ll give you something to cry about.” It gave words to my experience that I didn’t realize was still a wound for me.
By the end, she grows significantly; the story covers a few years’ time period, even though it is a relatively short book. She learns about herself and her gifts and her newfound family helps her along in this journey, and I thought this was also a very nice part of the story; she’s a Chosen one in a special role, but she’s not alone in her journey and her found family helps her in every step of the way.
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