Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey

I read Arrows of the Queen because I inadvertently purchased an ebook copy of the first book in the next series after this one. I'd always wanted to read the series, especially when I was younger--as a horse girl, my imagination often supplied an endless amount of adventures with a trusty horse companion!

Overall, this is a sweet little book that I probably would have delighted in as a child. I'm unsure why I never read it, but I think it was just that my mom wasn't a fan of Mercedes Lackey. I don't really recall any of her books being on our shelves. Despite being a sweet little story that wraps up cleanly, I have to say that the writing is heavy handed. There wasn't really a market for young adult novels in 1987, so I doubt it ever was considered YA. I would absolutely say that it fits the bill for YA now, and if it weren't for Talia and Skif's attempts to hook up, it would be appropriate for middle grade as well. I wouldn't purchase it for a library simply because there are so many more diverse options now.

Talia is a relatable character with a keen sense of feeling out of place all the time. She constantly struggles with the concept of being worthy of love, friendship, and her place among the Heralds. As a character, I love her. I was painfully shy as a young girl and Talia's masking of her emotions was something I dealt with as a child as well, though not on the same scale as the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and stepmother. 

While the fantasy trope of the "chosen one" is heavily played out now, I think I very much would have loved reading this series as a young girl. In the year of our lord 2023, it's an outdated piece of fantasy literature that I wouldn't recommend just because there are SO many more diverse and interesting options. For what it's worth, I feel that it was a great novel in it's day but just doesn't hold up with the evil foreigner trope. Everything else it does is pretty solid--some LGBT representation, feminism, equality, etc.