Brilliantly funny. Precisely the sort of escapist novel I needed. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book, but I do love Charlotte. The relationshBrilliantly funny. Precisely the sort of escapist novel I needed. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book, but I do love Charlotte. The relationship between Alex and Lottie was predictable to a fault, sadly, but still so much fun to read....more
A fun book. I loved the puns and the episodic nature. This felt very much like reading The Phantom Tollbooth. I enjoyed the characters and their develA fun book. I loved the puns and the episodic nature. This felt very much like reading The Phantom Tollbooth. I enjoyed the characters and their development. A perfect middle-grade fantasy. Not quite perfect for me, as I felt some of the pace was plodding, but overall a very fun read I'd recommend to many. ...more
Let's start with the good: So many characters! And they are all wonderful.
Our existing characters from the previous books thrive. We get to know AmilLet's start with the good: So many characters! And they are all wonderful.
Our existing characters from the previous books thrive. We get to know Amily much better in Closer to the Heart. She's kind, quiet, intelligent, and witty. Why does her intelligence stick out to me when ALL Heralds are super-smart? Because she comes at problems sideways while still borrowing from the world she knows. I love how we're exposed to the same ideas but from a different angle.
Despite the depth of the Mags/Dallen and Amily/Rolan relationships growing, the new characters are my favorites. Keira Tremainet, first of the handmaiden-spies is actually a lot of fun. Sure, she's very Mary Sue, but it's perfect for the Valdemar universe. I also adore Lord Steveral Jorthun, the previous-previous royal spymaster. He is hilarious - bositerious, fun, sarcastic, and still an exceptional spy. He reminds me a lot of Bruce Wayne, actually.
But despite all these fun new characters, my absolute favorite "new" (okay, we met him in the last book) character is Coot. Coot is the first of Mags's orphan spies we met in Closer to Home. He's very rustic and street smart. He's young. But he's so eager. All the best lines in this book come from Coot.
Unlike most Valdemar books, our protagonists are split up. Amily stays in Haven. Nikolas goes to visit the weaponsmiths. And Mags/Kiera/Coot/Lord Jorthun head off to mining country. While each protagonist finds information critical to the plot, not everything they find is. Some information isn't relevant. Some intrigues they go on are fruitless. This felt so… right. The Heralds have always suffered a bit from their perfection. It was nice to see them struggle a bit. This kept me engaged and I kept reading!
Now, is this a perfect Valdemar novel? Certainly not. There are two glaring road bumps for me.
First, the return of Kirball. I won't lie, I expected that once Mags graduated we'd be done with this sport. Alas. It returns with a vengeance. And the worst part? While it's a completely plausible plot point, it turns out that its completely unnecessary! A red herring! Ugh. At least we only had to experience one game… I just find these games shockingly dull. But I bet someone who really enjoys Kirball would have liked these scenes, as Lackey uses them to describe how society at large, without Heralds, can play the game. Honestly, I think it's just polo but with no sticks. Perhaps that's the point? After all, polo was originally a calvary training game from Persia… I digress.
Second, the ending. Oy. It was just a prepackaged, predictable Lackey ending. As soon as I read the first line of chapter 16 I rolled my eyes and cringed. Here we go again. More of the same from the Collegium Chronicles. Sigh. And worst of all, the ending is resolved by Amily making an impassioned speech wherein the "bad guys" all reform and head home. What?! At least Amily made the speech and not Mags…
So, no, not a perfect Valdemar book. But I really enjoyed reading 90% of it. I love the characters and how they are growing, I love getting to know the smaller, daily aspects of Valdemar. Looking forward to the 3rd and final book in this trilogy!...more
In some ways, Closer to Home was very predictable. It's a Romeo & Juliet retelling from an outsider perspective. Lackey didn't follow the story precisIn some ways, Closer to Home was very predictable. It's a Romeo & Juliet retelling from an outsider perspective. Lackey didn't follow the story precisely and I really appreciated that. I often find Lackey's tales to be predictable and, strangely, Closer to Home kept me on my toes!
In this book, we get a new perspective from Amily. I enjoyed being in Amily's head. I like how methodical and patient she is; It's a nice change from most of Lackey's characters. I only wish her voice differed more from Mags. I mixed them up a few times! Oops.
And while I knew she'd become a Herald in this series (thanks blurbs!) I didn't expect it to happen in such a dramatic fashion! It's obvious Lackey is ready to expand, or perhaps even break, some of the rules she has established for the Heralds of Valdemar. I swear, I re-read that section of the book like 4 times… Anyway. I really hope we get to be exposed to more of Nikolas's recovery as this trilogy progresses. Lackey has always done a great job with characters coping through trauma.
On the opposite side of the plot, Lackey exposes us to Mags as he begins to build his spy network. Finally in full Whites, it's time for Mags to being taking Nikolas's place as Herald Spy. Closer to Home focuses entirely on Mags rescuing street-savvy orphans who would otherwise be on the street stealing for their supper. I found it exceptionally heartwarming! Sure, it might have been a bit over-the-top, but I enjoyed every scene where he interacted with them. I cannot wait to see Mags's spy empire grow and these littles grow up! So. Sweet.
I'll definitely keep reading this series. I don’t know if Lackey has an overarching thread she expects to connect these stories with, if so, it isn't clear yet. But it'll be fun....more
Jackie B. -
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