And once again, we return to the "Modern" era of Valdemar, which as I was reminded of, is on the planet Velgarth. (I have a friend who only refers to it as such; I personally only remember seeing the planet name in this trilogy.) As such, we're back with Queen's Own Herald Talia, as she's put in her whites and sent on her internship riding circuit on the Northern Border.
Mind you, she's paired with Herald Kris, who's working partner is Herald Dirk, whom Talia has fallen for. However, Kris is one of the most handsome in the land, and women fall over themselves for a relationship with him...
While that underlies the book, much of the focus is is on Talia's missing training, a point brought out by Kris's Uncle Orthallen, who tells Kris rumors swirl that Talia is using her Empathic gifts unethically to influence politics. When Kris mentions this to Talia, it eats away her confidence. This finally gets corrected when they get snowbound in the Forest of Sorrows, and Talia learns the basics of control finally. It also sets up events a few books down the road as something in the Forest is watching to make sure they're ok.
By the end, Talia is in control of her gift totally and ready for her position, but along the way, we get glimpses of how powerful her gift can be.
Good read, and there's a definite improvement in the quality from book 1, which happens with series fiction, as the author becomes more comfortable with their creation.
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