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 might think, “Duh, Jackie.” But the first three months lulled us into a sense of pattern. Between 0-4 months she was easy. Eat, sleep, poop, and spend the time in between just looking around peacefully from a stat ..read more

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 long series (heyla, The Wheel of Time). But I’ve never intentionally read a series of books all set in the same universe. When I read a series, I like to connect dots and predict ..read more

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, educated, and treasured as a trainee in the Herald's Collegium at Haven. Singled out by the King's Own Herald, Mags would thrive in his secret training as a spy ..read more

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, Mags has found a supportive family, including his Companion Dallen. Although normally a Herald in his first year of Whites would be sent off on circuit, Mags i ..read more

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 is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less pro ..read more

  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 provide your link in the comments, though I want to see your posts linked below, too! This Week’s Prompt: Recommend a diverse classic.   This is such a fun prompt it’s actu ..read more

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 spy in order to uncover the secrets of a mysterious new enemy who has taken an interest in Mags himself. Why is the even deeper mystery. The answers can only be ..read more

              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 world. This presented me with a problem as I started to seek out my favorite translations. Because… is a poem ever truly able to be translated? I chose instead t ..read more

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, sometimes simultaneous -- here is a recording of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the bo ..read more

  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 provide your link in the comments, though I want to see your posts linked below, too! This Week’s Prompt: What are some poems you enjoy from classic authors?   I love poetr ..read more