Winds of Change

In Valdemar, Princess Elspeth is the heir to the throne and a herald, but in K'Sheyna Vale, she's just another mage in training. After becoming members of the Hawkbrothers, Elspeth and the ex-theif Skif part ways momentarily to complete their own tasks. Elspeth is beginning to learn magic, and it's becoming obvious from the start that she has it in spades. Her teacher, Darkwind, finds himself facing the challenge of teaching a slightly uppity (and not to mention attractive) woman while relearning much of the magic he swore never to use again. Meanwhile Skif and Wintermoon, Darkwind's brother, start too look for Nyara, the changechild of whom Skif is still quite smitten with. Nyara is also the newest wielder of the sword Need. It appears that Need is the only one that can help her become independent of her father, the cruel adept, Morenlithe Falconsbane. who is planning on striking again soon. He will stop at nothing from stealing the power of the Vale's heartsone. Elspeth, Darkwind, and the other mages of K'Sheyna Vale know they must stop him but they know that he's impossible to defeat alone.This book was just as good, if not better that Wind of Fate. The first book in the trilogy was merely warming us up for the thrills you'll find in this one. There are many good parts about this book. Me being a closet hopeless romantic, love to watch the mere attraction between Darkwind and Elspeth grow into something possible more. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the next book. The character Nyara, who almost annoyed me through certain parts of the first book, really grows in leaps and bounds in this one. She's now one of my newest favorite characters. I'm also pleased to see Elspeth calm down a bit in this one. Her character is also turning out wonderfully. This is an amazing book filled with many twists and turns and memorable scenes. If you've read the first book I highly recommend reading this one as well.

Heralds Elspeth and Skif have journeyed far from their native Valdemar in search of mages to protect against the dark forces of Ancar of Hardorn. Their search has taken them to the Vale of the Tayledras Clan k'Sheyna, where they have been made Wingsibs of the Clan. Thus, Elspeth begins her mage training under the tutelage of a Tayledras scout and former Adept, Darkwind, and two gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona.But an evil force is lurking in the Uncleansed Lands, a Dark Adept that will stop at nothing to destroy the Tayledras through the rogue Heartstone he has created. Will Elspeth and Darkwind be able to stop him before it is too late?"Winds of Change" is the second book in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds Trilogy. I really enjoyed it and went through it very quickly. There was lots of action and rarely a dull moment. The love scenes were sweet and not overly graphic, and thus lightened the mood and allowed more intimate glimpses into the characters involved.Lackey is so good at creating a thoroughly, convincingly real world that the reader feels like he or she has actually been there. It is a real treat to read her books. I feel like I go somewhere completely new and different each time I start another of her books.The characters are absolutely wonderful as well, especially Darkwind. He is one of my favorite Lackey characters, and I greatly look forward to finding out what will become of him in the next book. "Winds of Change" completely changed my attitude towards Elspeth. She has never been one of my favorites (the only thing that really got me through "Winds of Fate" was Darkwind), but she really started to mature and grow finto someone I really respected and liked in this book.As with "Winds of Fate," "Winds of Change" is filled with Tayledras characters. So if you like the Tayledras, this is a must read.Don't get me wrong. I really loved this book, but there were a few small things that bothered me about it. First, Skif and Nyara's relationship. It is just too weird for me and almost too scripted. Like, how did he know that he truly loved her and wasn't just falling for the spells put on her? It just never came off as being as realistic as the rest of the book did. Second, Mornelithe Falconsbane's evilness. He is just too evil. It seems to me that Mercedes Lackey tends to make her villains very one-sided and so unexplainably evil that there is no way the reader can feel sorry for them. I'm just one of those people who likes to be able find the cause for the evilness so that I can better understand why a villain is the way he or she is.Bottom Line: A nice addition to the Valdemar series and another absolute treat for my fellow Tayledras lovers out there. Make sure that you read "Winds of Fate" first!

The Mage Winds trilogy is perfection. I have never reread anything as many times as I have read Elspeth's story - and this comes from someone who knows nearly every book she owns by heart, and who's books are so well loved and frequently read that they fall apart. All three are covered thickly with packing tape to keep them in some semblance of being in one piece. If you have any love of magic, read them. If you have any love of adventure, read them. If you have any degree of love of romance, humor, action, or intrigue, read them. Misty was able to rise to the difficult task of meeting the incredible story of Talia, and she achieved what could have been impossible - she rose above. I am a HUGE fan of all of Misty's Valdemar books - read them all! These three, however, are the ones I started with and the ones that got me hooked.

This book is my favorite book of all time. In the book, Elspeth has traveled long and far to finally find someone to tutor her in the use of her magic, which she plans on bringing home to the defense of her people against the tyrant ruler (Ancar) of their neighboring country. She finally found the mythical Taledras and found one who was willing to tutor her even as he himself relearns magic. This is a beautiful, winding book of action, romance, love, hatred, jelously, humor, and oh so much more. I fell in love with the characters even as the book drew me deeper within. Warning: This book will keep you up late at night, reading into the unholy hours of the morning! If you want a series to read, this is the one (if you are into this genre of reading). I would suggest you first read "Winds of Fate", then this book, then the last in this series. If you aren't already hooked on Valdemar, you will be! Any other Heralds of Valdemar out there, feel free to email me ([email protected])! Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

After reading Winds of Fate, I couldn't help but read this book. Although Elspeth's aggrevated attitude started to get to me after a while in Winds of Fate, she began to go through a transition in this book, becomming someone I could actually relate to! I still love Darkwind as I did in the first book, and finding out that Firesong was...not as he seemed made my jaw drop! An exciting, multi-faceted, and altogether wonderful fantasy!