2.75 stars, rounded up.Well, that was random. This book is the epitome of middle book syndrome. It's like Lackey knew she needed to get her characters from Point A to Point B, but she had a bunch of loose ends to tie up before she could do that. This book doesn't really have a point except to tie up those loose ends from the first book - in a rush all at the end - and tie together some lore from previous books - just because it's cool, I guess - and get Elspeth, who teeters between Queen B and M...

http://bookslifewine.com/r-winds-of-c...Note: There will be light spoilers for Winds of Fate in this review. Please read Winds of Fate prior to reading this review.The ending of Winds of Fate left the K'Sheyna Vale and its inhabitants in chaos. Darkwind's father, Starblade, has been freed from Mornelithe Falconsbane's control but still deeply damaged. Nyara - Falconsbane's abused daughter - has gone into hiding with Need and the gryphlets have been cleansed from Falconsbane's taint. Unfortun...

Perhaps reading this one straight after the first was a mistake... this instalment was full of contradictions which constantly frustrated me. The writing continued to be simplistic which, again, was so at odds with the adult content. The inner dialogues of the characters in no way matched their age.... i could go on. It’s such a shame as the world was super interesting and had lots of potential. Sadly the execution let it down.

Oh, oh, oh! I haven’t been this excited about a couple in literature since Vanyel and Tylendel / Stefen from The Last Herald Mage trilogy, which was, ironically enough, written by the same author as The Mage Winds trilogy! Mercedes Lackey is nothing if not a fantasy author, but she also creates some of the most touching and memorable couples I have encountered… and I am romance cynic!Elspeth and Darkwind. Two powerful warriors from two completely different worlds now thrown together in a joint e...

3.5* rounded up. The plot, the world building, the diverse and likeable cast, the obsessed villain... It all worked together well. The book wasn't just sitting in the middle of a trilogy, it did a lot of heavy lifting to provide lore for the upcoming books, to foreshadow the next series, the Mage Storms, and to both tie things up from the first book and introduce the next. But I'm conflicted. Super conflicted. The romantic subplot could have been satisfying, but Darkwind and Elspeth both seemed

I read this the first time when I was reading all the Valdemar books back in college. I've reread Talia and Vanyel's series since then but not Elspeth's. I enjoyed this book and the four stars is for nostalgia. If I were rating it as a new book, it'd be a 3.Having read it before, it's hard to accurately review but the plot was enjoyable and I enjoyed Darkwind and Elspeth's relationship. I'd forgotten a lot until it was reintroduced and my memory was jogged. I'm looking forward to rereading the 3...

Had Mercedes Lackey not been such a prolific author, I feel this particular volume would have been widely acclaimed in mainstream literature. It is probably the best of all her novels, in my eyes. It is extraordinarily rich in characters deeply fleshed out, their motivations clear, in breathing settings the reader can walk in to, and in plot development. I am impressed!The character Darkwind has an immense appeal as an Aragorn-type character. Elspeth really comes into her own and shows a much ap...

I like the books Mercedes Lackey writes, she is good at creating a believable world and people to populate it. While her writing is not the strongest I do find it engaging ang and enjoyable. I like a series I can live inside of and her books are ones that have characters I feel invested in and a world I believe could exist.

"Mercedes Lackey is one of my all-time favourite authors. Her 'Heralds of Valdemar' series is my favourite series of hers. Every now and then I re-read them. This is the second part of the Mage Winds trilogy. Herald-Heiress Elspeth and her companion Herald Skif with their Companions, Gwyna & Cymry, are at K'Sheyna Vale & have been made wingsibs. Elspeth is there to learn magic from Darkwind." Darkwind finds Elspeth alternatingly attractive and frustrating as she seems to intuit on her magic less...

I read the first book in this series first 20 years ago, when I was a teenager, and then again in 2008, on a whim. I always meant to get around to reading the rest of the series, but something always came up, so I didn't manage to get to it until now.For all that this book is quite adult in its content, it also has an air of childishness to it. Sometimes I found that endearing, and sometimes it was annoying. I felt differently about it when I was 14 years old, but not so much now that I'm in my

I had some major issues with this novel far more than I usually have with the Valdemar novels.The character of Elsbeth was written like a spoiled brat Mary Sue. First of all, all her angst about her place and her duty did not ring true for a young woman her age who has been a herald for sometime and has seen war. She came across as teenager. The Mary Sue came in with the whole becoming an adept mage in less then a year. Please in all the other stories it takes years for a mage to make adept stat...

Winds of Change is both better and worse than Winds of Fate. The writing is substantially more even - we spend less time in Darkwind's head, which is the main problem with the earlier book. The stupid jealousy subplots are present and just as stupid - this is one of my chief pet peeves, the plot where lovers work themselves into a tizzy assuming their lover is attracted to someone else, when the reader - having access to everyone's head - knows that this is totally not the case. Total waste of m...

Lackey is one of my favorite authors ever! I started reading her in 8th grade but I will still pull out her books to reread them. Her character building is really her main strength – you want to meet her characters – which is probably why I always reach for her books as a pick-me-up, it’s like talking to old friends. Another trilogy, events occur after the "Arrows" trilogy and Lackey's writing style improves quite a bit. The reason I gave it three stars is because I have a soft sport for her ear...

Good story, WORST COPYEDIT EVERI picked this series up for nostalgia's sake; I first read it years ago, and the writing and story mostly hold up.The EDITING though, is TERRIBLE. Whoever put these books together for e-book sale should be fired. Words misspelled everywhere, with a significant predisposition towards conflating "r"s with the following letter, e's with c's and other problems. It happens thought Lackey's series and is annoying enough that I doubt I'll buy another one of her books digi...

Revisiting one of my favorite fantasy series from middle school. Notable:- pretty impressive attitude about sexuality for the early 90s, though usually heterosexual.- lots of badass bitches. - everyone is very very very white. At one point a black person from somewhere “south” is mentioned in throwaway dialogue, but I’m fairly confident no non-white character ever actually appears in this series. - classic b&w art at the head of each chapter features mullets on literally every character.

I do like her Mage section of the Valdemar series.

I found the second book in the series to be predictable with uninteresting characters. Unfortunately, Elspeth's tale is just not as compelling as the original Valdemar series.

More cheesy talking horse (and talking bird!) fantasy. Just what I need.

The Mage Winds books are really one unit. I think the publisher just decided to spare my wrists by breaking them into three volumes.

Characterization is hit or miss in Winds of Change. While women are distinguishable and unique, male characters blend together. I confused Skif for Darkwind for several pages when I let me brain relax a little, and their backstories are nothing alike: a former street thief who is now a herald vs. a tribal person who has never been in a city and has a mage gift. Because Skif has a unique background from other heralds in THE HERALDS OF VALDEMAR trilogy, I missed his unique playfulness while fighti...

Again the audio book edition for Winds of Change. In my last review I failed to mention the griffins,Treyvan and Hydona, and how much I liked them for being, griffins and also the kind of kindly teachers one wants to see, particularly after the Herald's swordmasters. It helps that they are the size, I guess, of a VWbug and have scary beaks and talons, not to mention fearfully large winds and lots of powers.I never get a clear description of how they are put together, except in my own mental cons...

This second book of the Mage Winds series tells mostly a complete story. It builds heavily on the first book and it has many significant loose ends to carry into the final book. I recommend reading in order. It is also very much a part of the larger Valdemar universe story. In fact there are many references to other series in the Valdemar universe.This is a long book. I could have done with at least a quarter less. A lot happens but much of it, especially in the first half, drags a little. A lot...

The second book of the Mage Winds trilogy expands on a great deal that was hinted at in the first book of the series, and includes a great many more hints about things to come. Among others, the developing romance between Elspeth and Darkwind, the further healing of Starblade, and matter of the Heartstone, Tre’valen’s thoughts and feelings towards the now-Avatar Dawnfire, and of course, Skif’s hunt for Nyara.And the arrival of my dear dear Firesong. Honestly, who doesn’t love Firesong?Mercedes L...

Middle books in trilogies can be trouble. You've already set up the beginning, but you're not ready for the denouement yet. Instead you have to fill the book with marching the characters from Point A to Point B, without a satisfying conclusion.I'm glad to report that Lackey, who is a professional when it comes to plotting, largely manages after the excitement of "Winds of Fate" to avoid the middle-book sag in "Winds of Change," and craft an thrilling tale of adventure and romance.Indeed, I remem...

Compared to other books, the plot dragged. I know that Lackey wants to explore her magic system, but I could have done with fewer magic lessons and more overarching plot. This meant the story bogged down quite a bit. In fact, it wasn't until chapter 14 (57%) that I really got into the book. Why is this? Because up until this point, it just felt like a lengthy training montage with quality character developing supporting it. And don't get me started about the big bad not appearing untill 73% of t...

This story is so full of rich detail, it has actually taken me longer to read than the first, as I slowed down my reading pace, to enjoy every nuance.The intricacies of the various storylines all meet together in the Vale where Elspeth receives her Mage training, first from Darkwind, then from the Gryphon pair, Trevyan and Hydona - and finally from the Mage Healer Firesong.The baddy of the piece, the once powerful Master Adept Maar, now reincarnated into Mornelithe Falconsbane, is doing his evil...

Continues the adventures of Elspeth as she continues her mage training with Darkwind. They finally call for help in handling the rogue Heartstone of the Vale, and Firesong shows up and turns it into a kind of Gate instead of pushing it toward the heartstone of the new Vale. He also takes a part in training Elspeth, as do the gryphons. Elspeth and Darkwind rescue a huge injured bird and take it to Darkwind's father to help heal both of them. They also bring in the 'lost clan' that was sundered lo...

4 stars, things are quickly heating up in the Mage Winds booksThe previous book in this series had many strong elements to it, notably the characters, and this book refines those strengths while also improving upon the weaknesses. Now that we have one central location, the Hawkbrothers get time to have their culture and society fleshed out more which does them a lot of credit and watching Elspeth navigate her friendship with Skif while also being attracted to Darkwind makes for some great intern...

This book was great! We got to see more of the character's backstories and watch them progress. The story line was well built and didn't feel like it was reaching, like many second books do. I liked that we got to see more of the character's thoughts. The only thing I didn't like was that the ending seemed a bit rushed. There was this big built up and plan and then it was all over without anything going wrong in a matter of about 2 pages. But other than that, I loved it! Great story, great writi...

Excellent book, horrible digital edition I decided to reread a much loved book, but didn't have my book handy, so I decided to buy the kindle edition. The story is as good as always, but there are a horrific number of spelling issues in the kindle version. Names are misspelled throughout the book, occasional common words are done poorly, and many times when the gryphons speak there are additional spelling problems. It appears this edition was made from a scan of the novel, and then not edited af...