Magic's Promise

Magic's Promise
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage (#2)
Publisher: DAW
How Received: library

The wild magic is taking its toll on the land, and even Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage to ever walk the world, is almost at the end of his strength. But when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a call for help from neighboring Lineas, both Herald-Mage and Companion are drawn into a holocaust of dark magic that could be the end of them both.

I enjoyed Magic's Promise just as much as I did Magic's Pawn - that is to say, I managed to get into it, but it's not one of my favorite books. This time the emotions weren't over the top, but the plot line seemed a bit hurried at times and a bit too slow at others. The characters were much more realistic, though, and you can see Mercedes Lackey thought about them a bit more. Vanyel was still as grief ridden as ever at the thought of lost lover Tylendel, but what can you do? They were life-bonded, so it has to seem bad... though it was a bit over the top at parts, and just right at others. All in all, a great read for fantasy lovers.

Overall Rating: 8/10.
Magic's Pawn or Dragon's Blood?: Bonded to a horse-like creature or to a dragon? Too much realistic, over dramatic emotion or too much fake emotion? Likeable characters with some faults or likeable characters... with... some... faults? Okay, you get my point. It all depends on the emotions and the creature you want to read about, as they get the same rating.

Happy reading!

~Nicole