Feuds edited by mercedes lackey is a short story collection taking us back to her well loved world of Valdemar. As a long time fan this collection feels like coming back to my hometown and meeting up with my old friends for weekend. I loved it and can't wait to snag a physical copy this holiday season.

I enjoyed these short stories, especially the novella by Ms. Lackey. It was like meeting up with old friends with most of the stories.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short story collection in Mercedes Lackey's world of Valdemar. While I have a few of the books in that series and have wanted to read them for a long time, reading this just made me want to pull them closer to the top of my huge TBR pile. Only one story in this anthology was written by Lackey, but they all made me want more of that wonderful world! A few parts were a little confusing, but not enough to ruin any of it. I enjoyed my time reading this anthology. Definitely recommend this if you've read any of her Valdemar books, and if you haven't, be warned, you'll be buying up her books to read them! 😉
Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. These opinions are my own thoughts!

The theme of this book (much like the title) is Feuds. So we've got a lot of stories about drawn-out conflict. The exact meaning of 'feud' is obviously up to interpretation, but unfortunately what this results in is a lot of stories either about loud and persistent bickering, or about one-sided abuse -- I do think the editor could have stood to break them up with the more plot-based ones instead of stacking most of those toward the front, so that we didn't necessarily read multiple stories of characters doing nonstop griping at each other back to back, especially since the ones towards the back half of the anthology have more variety in what the Feuds look like and how people react. But the stories themselves were, as a whole, extremely charming.

The Price of Anger
Brigid Collins
Nice to see Lillia again! I was a little sad to see that my notes from Collins' Anything with Nothing's story were correct and the lifebonded pair didn't actually like each other. As the child of divorced parents I'm rooting for Lillia here, I can't imagine how much worse it would be with parents supernaturally attached to each other for life and beyond lol. Anyway, Lillia can see imprints of the past, and has to decide how to deal with the fact that other people are really enthusiastic about something traumatic to her. A good little story.

Consequences
Dylan Birtolo
There's a type of story I consider a "Hey! Wouldn't it be fucked up if this happened? Anyway, it has, story over!" genre. This is one of those, but it's a well-written and fun one of them.

A Bad Business
Jeanne Adams
It's nice to see an investigative aftermath of a main storyline story like Take a Thief, but this one didn't work too well for me. I didn't love that Vatean's crimes got covered up in order to benefit Haven politically, didn't feel like much justice for the victims, and the pace was a bit bumpy, but it was good to see this taken a bit further to help take down a network.

A Tale of Two Cooks
Charlotte E. English
Two chefs' rivalry over royal favor gets out of hand. A fun little story. I wish the POV had stayed with one person or switched more than once just to get a clearer idea of what was going on at both ends throughout, but a fun one here.

A Bite and a Pint
Louisa Swann
I like the premise of this -- a herald-trainee comes home, only to find that his mother now has a feud against the brewmistress and both appear to be performing pranks on each other -- but I feel that it almost had a stronger, less vignette-like story in it than it did <SPOILER>ie, I was thinking that the animal companions were spirits or demons that were driving them to it, rather than just pets who picked up on their owners' discontent and began to do the pranking themselves</SPOILER>. Maybe this one's just me, though!

Dueling Minstrels
Jennifer Brozek and Marie Bilodeau
Not my favorite story in this anthology; the twist was pretty obvious up front if you've read other Valdemar works (and why wouldn't you have if you're reading this) and the rest was just musicians squabbling. Still, the way the music battle was written was really charming. They shoulda kissed.

A Scold of Jays
Elisabeth Waters
This one was very satisfying to me. This one falls more under a feud being one-sided and the other side just doing their best to make it through and survive, but the one strike back being stronger than intended ended up making it feel more balanced.

Future-Proof
J.L Gribble
I loved this one right up until the last page or two; a really compelling Feud with great writing and interesting characters. Unfortunately, the very end introduced a complexity: <spoiler>implications the Companions were criminally negligent at following up on the human rights abuses they knew about in enough detail to be able to send clear and specific visions about. I'd assumed they were also captive, but if it's a test, that's a whole other situation.</spoiler>

A Single Row of Vines
Brenda Cooper
This one immediately caught my attention for the all-but-stated premise of "what would it have looked like if Tylendel (and Evan Leshara) had emotional support through their feud?". The situation they set up isn't identical; the two people in this one are BOTH Herald-Trainees, which makes it a bit of a different case since they HAD to learn to work together, and neither were the actual Lord Holder (one of them was even a 'spare' child explicitly) so the apparent <i>need</i> to withhold traditions for the family was different. But the story calls it out explicitly by suggesting they look up songs about Tylendel. (Which is also an interesting note since Stefen had trouble finding much info about him -- implies that STEFEN was the one to write these songs?). Anyway, this one's super well-written and shows the weight that the family feud can have on people trying to live their own lives and not as extensions of their family, though it was a little sad that the conflict resolution was all offscreen -- that's the most interesting part! (Side note, the main character in this implies that people who flunk out of their Herald training might get repudiated and then both might die, but like, Gala didn't just keel over, she threw herself in front of Tylendel's attack, you know? She used her body as a shield. And it makes some incredibly skeevy forgotten realms moonblade-style "You're worthy or you die" implications, so I'm choosing to believe that Cooper either misunderstood or was emphasizing an unlikely scenario around the Companion and Herald's mutual mental health here.

Most True
Kristin Schewengel
This one was sweet! There was basically no feud, just two bards with extremely mild artistic differences & jealousy, but that was fine; it was a nice break after all the other ones so far. Loved the themes of duets and complementary personalities and history, and it was tidily written.

Detours and Double Crosses
Angela Penrose
A strong story with a Bard mentoring a Bard Trainee when the two of them come across a situation with a child in trouble from his own relatives and no Heralds in sight. I liked the level of depth and twist that Penrose managed to work into such a tight space, though I wish we had a little more detail on if [SPOILER] the mother was actually good to the boy, because the only source we had on that was the person who'd lied about other things originally. [/SPOILER]

Trade is Trade
Fiona Patton
A pair of constables follows up on some friendly (and sometimes aggressive) rivalry between pubs over who's the oldest in the city. I found this one a bit hard to follow, and it had a sense of building stakes that simply ebbed with no real resolution. What did the bards have to do with it, or were they just flavor? I can believe that people keep on arguing after historical records come up, but then why was the idea of authentic records so important in the first place? But the characters and flavor of the story are fun. (Side note, I simply can't not notice these days when a cop character casually admits to treating one group better for the same crime because they're the group that could harm their reputation, lol.)

By the Ticking of my Thumbs
Rosemary Edgehill
A clockmaker starts a one-sided feud with a new clock & toymaker who came to town. Really well-written, and one feels Verrigan's paranoia. I found parts hard to believe, but in a way that upped my intrigue (he thinks someone's come to murder him and he acts that calm and welcoming?? Tell me more about this guy). Some parts could have used stronger editing (like having "Harper" sneak through here instead of Bard).

Harmony
Anthea Sharp
Loved this one. Two extremely talented rival Bardic trainees are incidentally using their Bardic Gift to influence people and causing a split in the student body, it's up to their teacher to figure out a way to even things out. Really well-written, and it has a strong focus on the <i>impact</i> of the feud and dealing with that, more than resolving the feud itself.

Playing Peacemaker Once More
Dee Shull
I imagine this is a reoccurring character, since his past is teased but not made explicit, but it didn't affect anything and all the information we needed was clear and forward. I liked this one -- a misunderstanding that grew out of hand and anything else would be a spoiler, but it was tidy and charming

Pairmates
Ron Collins
This is another reoccurring miniseries in the short story anthologies, and while that's something I like generally, at this point there's almost too much history for me to easily follow without me having read the earlier ones (six characters are introduced in the first two paragraphs). Still well-written, and the story events in this are technically stand-alone, but it's so thoroughly tied back to the characters' histories that I was lost to the emotional beats of it.

Battle of the Bands
Dayle A. Dermatis
A minstrel troupe scrambles to get ready for a competition and perform when a rival hides the information on the competition until it's almost too late. But the rival isn't exactly a stranger. This one was perfectly well written, but didn't really do it for me. <SPOILER> The love rivalry over the same girl getting resolved after Brower met another nice girl fell too close to the stereotypes of just needing *A* girl to fix the problem between men, if that makes sense, and with the way Orla was described I was hoping she'd get scouted as a Bard or something, but that would interfere with her and Brower falling in love after Brower was, uh, only rude to her. She felt a bit like a prop rather than a person, and unfortunately her femininity was a huge part of that being-a-prop narratively.</SPOILER>

Tangles
Diana L. Paxson
Loved this sweet little story about Deira! It was a tidy little vignette, and I'm intrigued by what look like Gifts starting to awaken for her.

Payment in Kind
Stephanie Shaver
Oh, this one was fantastic. It was emotionally complicated in all the right ways, managing to fit both the A plot and a very emotional B plot into the short space without feeling like it was skimping on anything while dealing with a fantasy-lens look at capitalism. Really felt properly in the spirit of all things Valdemar.

A Determined Will
Paige L. Christie
Kind of an odd one (dealing with a woman who went home to receive an inheritance and got challenged on it by the person's surprise supposed grandson). I'm not familiar with the folks mentioned in it but it's got just enough ties back to the standard Valdemar setting that it still does feel like it fits. It was a fun addition among all the other feuds, and the writing on it was fun.

The Ballad of Northfrost
Phaedra Weldon
A Herald with undiagnosed PTSD keeps pushing away everyone he could care for, but in the end he needs to lean on others for help when his past catches up to him on a job. Gorgeously written and very evocative. I hadn't cared for Weldon's short story in Anything with Nothing, but I adored this one.

Uncivil Blood
Mercedes Lackey
Vanyel and Savil solve Romeo and Juliet (without bloodshed). This is everything I've wanted -- for decades, I've desperately wanted more novellas and short stories filling in the timeskip gaps between the Last Herald-Mage Trilogy and this does that perfectly. It's fun, delightfully written, and I smiled my whole way through it. This one gets a full five stars for me, rounded down to four due to some of the other short stories not quite landing quite as well.

Tales from Valdemar

The central organizing theme of Feuds in Valdemar makes for both equally interesting and lively tales.
Whether it’s kyrees like Nwah and Maakdal, or a herald going back to the dangerous place he’d been raised, there’s something for everyone.
I loved Lackey’s story featuring Herald-Mage Vanyel and his aunt Herald Savil on a clandestine mission for the king.
Another excellent anthology centered around the intriguing world of Valdemar

A DAW ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

The individual volumes in the long-running Tales of Valdemar series (this is the EIGHTEENTH collection!) each center around a theme. The theme of this one is clear – as it says so right there on the label. Each of the stories herein centers on a feud. Not a battle, not a war, but a feud.

Think of the infamous Hatfields and the McCoys, names that we only still recognize because they had, you guessed it, a feud that lasted so long it made it into history and legend.

Feuds are usually not fun – and a lot of these stories are not. The collection is very good, but it isn’t nearly as lighthearted as the Shenanigans collection. Howsomever, there is still plenty to savor for repeat visitors to this fascinating world, while newcomers are sure to find something that will leave them thirsting for more – even if it’s not another story about food and drink as there are several of those in this year’s mix!

I picked this up because Valdemar is a world I knew I could slip into and be comforted as well as entertained – even though the theme of the collection isn’t necessarily comforting at all. And that’s exactly what happened.

Because I had such a good time – and ripped right through the whole thing without even bothering to come back to the ‘real world’ until I was finished, this is one of those times when each story is going to get a rating of its own and then I’ll attempt some very fudgy math to rate the whole.

“The Price of Anger” by Brigid Collins
This was a great story to kick off the collection of feuds because it’s a story about the costs of feuding. It’s also a story on two levels, as a young Farseer keeps seeing the ghosts of earlier students feuding while she dodges current students who can’t stop trying to exploit her gift. It’s only when she sees the results of the old feud that she understands that she’s falling into the same trap. Escape Rating A-

“Consequences” by Dylan Birtolo
It’s a stupid feud and an even stupider fight. Not that the story is remotely stupid, but the reader gets the same urge as the Herald – to knock some heads together in the hopes that some sense will break loose. It’s only when we see how things got this way, that a good idea once upon a time is having terrible consequences in the present that we see exactly how this particular road to hell got paved. Escape Rating B because it takes a bit to figure out that we’re seeing the story peel back in history for the point to come through.

“A Bad Business” by Jeanne Adams
A direct follow-up to the book Take a Thief (which I admit I have not read yet), this is a story about what happens in the aftermath of a horrific case. Just because the central villain has been removed from the equation it doesn’t mean that there aren’t still a whole lot of dirty loose ends to clean up. Even though I hadn’t read the case being wrapped up, this story is complete in itself and an appropriately messy clean up to a horrific case. Escape Rating B+

“A Tale of Two Cooks” by Charlotte E. English
This was one of the few relatively light-hearted stories in this collection and it made a refreshing change from the darker stories. Not that this couldn’t have turned dark as well, as it’s a case of too many cooks deliberately spoiling the soup – and the rest of the meal – in ways that could have been deadly. But the poisonous plans of the feuding foodies are thwarted by the quick decisions of one smart and able assistant and her cousin – a savvy Herald. Escape Rating A- because of the excellent way it relies on wits and banter to see its way clear to the solution.

“A Bite and a Pint” by Louisa Swann
Home may be the place that when you have to go there, they have to take you in. But that doesn’t mean they have to listen to you, not even when you come home after a year’s absence as a Herald Trainee on your way to the Collegium in Haven. A feud has broken out between the new Brewmistress of Petril’s tiny village and, unfortunately for him, his own mother. Each believes the other woman has poisoned her best goods, and it’s up to a boy that no one is quite yet willing to acknowledge is a man to find his way to the truth. This was another light story, the solution wasn’t really a surprise but it was a lot of fun getting there. Escape Rating B+

“Dueling Minstrels” by Jennifer Brozek and Marie Bilodeau
This is one of several stories about minstrels and minstrel rivalry in the collection. Minstrels Ozan and Aimar bring out both the best and the worst in each other. The worst behavior, and the best of their Bardic Gifts. But those gifts, combined with their ever-present feud, threaten to set their town literally on fire if they can’t find a way to make their rivalry work for them instead of against each other. Escape Rating B

“A Scold of Jays” by Elisabeth Waters
This is a story about karma being a right bitch – and deservedly so. A nobleman basically throws away his older son after an injury that will leave him with a limp – and not a single bit of other damage. That the nobleman disowns this boy as useless while continuing to indulge his self-indulgent, utterly villainous and downright murderous younger son results in exactly the situation one would hope for. Everyone involved gets EXACTLY what they deserve – many times over. This story is a direct follow-up to one that appeared in the earlier collection, Shenanigans, “A Cry of Hounds” and is even more fun as the karma continues to flow exactly where it should. Escape Rating A.

“Future-Proof” by J.L. Gribble
The feud in this particular story is a tragedy based on a fraud – with two young men paying the price for their elders’ evil deeds. Duri Phran and Cam Aylmer are both persona non grata among the unaffiliated noble students in the Collegium, forced to pretend to hate each other to keep their respective families from punishing them further. It’s only when they’re forced to work together that they realize that there is more wrong in both of their terrible situations that either imagined – and that salvation is waiting for them both if they can just manage to reach beyond what they’ve been taught. I had mixed feelings about this one because the ending felt a bit more deus ex companion than I wanted so Escape Rating B

“A Single Row of Vines” by Brenda Cooper
The setup for this story is similar to the one in Future-Proof, but this time it’s two young women on opposite sides of a village feud who are afraid to put that feud aside as Herald Trainees in Haven. This one worked better for me because the Companions refuse to solve their humans’ problem, instead the girls have to work it out in spite of the tremendous amount of indoctrination they’ve heard for their entire lives. Two girls alone can’t end 40 years of feuding – but they can make a start – and they do. Escape Rating A-

“Most True” by Kristin Schwengel
This one combines the minstrel rivalry of “Dueling Minstrels” with the “consequences” of the story of the same name. In this story, however, it’s those consequences that bring about the ending of the feud, as two gifted bards learn that they are only gifted enough to reach mastery if they reach for it together, and only AFTER the consequences of their feud have nearly ended one if not both of their careers before they’ve truly begun. Escape Rating B.

“Detours and Double Crosses” by Angela Penrose
A story about the cleverness of Bards, the foolishness of people who try to use those Bards in their own nefarious schemes and the stubbornness of one Bard Trainee who proves to herself that she’s more than good enough to become a full bard by saving a young heir from a deadly plot by chasing a villain down no matter how fast he runs. This story was typical of these collections in all the best ways and I fell right into it. Escape Rating A-

“Trade is Trade” by Fiona Patton
As an earlier story was all about food – it’s fitting that this one is all about drinks. Or at least the bragging rights thereto. The feud is entirely predictable – as are the results. The Crown is planning to give a plaque to the oldest pub in Haven. The Guards really, really, really want the Crown to get on with it, because the rash of trouble-making and sign-stealing is driving them to more drink than they can collectively afford. As this story reminds me a great deal of the Discworld City Watch subseries AND it’s a loose follow-up to one of my favorite stories in the Anything with Nothing collection, “Look to Your Houses”, Escape Rating A.

“By the Ticking of My Thumbs” by Rosemary Edghill
A really interesting take on feuding as the feud is, literally, all in their heads. There’s no precipitating event, no history, and the participants have never even met. But they really, really should have. The whole feud is based entirely on their assumptions about each other, and those assumptions have thoroughly made asses out of both of them. It’s sad but fascinating to watch them assign motives to each other that have no basis in anything – and such a beautiful catharsis when they finally figure out where they both went so terribly wrong. Escape Rating A.

“Harmony” by Anthea Sharp
Another story about feuding, dueling bards, there isn’t much harmony in this story – which is the point. Because this is very much a story about pride going before a really, really big fall, and how beautiful music can only be made out of, well, harmony. Not just the harmony of the notes and the melody, but the harmony among the people – ALL THE PEOPLE – who take part in the performance. That age and experience manage to outwit youth, skill and hubris added just the right bit of tartness to an excellent story. Escape Rating A

“Playing Peacemaker Once More” by Dee Shull
Considering the title, it’s a bit of a surprise that this is actually a story about boundaries. Specifically about defending one’s own even as one does their best to get others to examine the placement of theirs. Like the final story in this collection, Uncivil Blood, there’s a bit of a Romeo and Juliet aspect – or perhaps that should be Romeo and Tybalt – to this one that gets worked out much better than Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. Escape Rating B

“Pairmates” by Ron Collins
This one didn’t quite work for me, which I was really sad about as it’s the one story in this collection that features nonhuman protagonists. I think it just passed me by a bit because I couldn’t place it in Valdemar history and wasn’t quite sure how it fit to the overall world or when. I wanted to like it more than I did but I had too many nagging questions at the end. Escape Rating C.

“Battle of the Bands” by Dayle A. Dermatic
This battle of the bands is a family feud, as brothers Eldriss and Davon haven’t spoken to each other in years because Davon claimed that Eldriss stole his sweetheart and married her. Beyond the fact that Shalna isn’t an object to be stolen, that claim is more of an excuse than a reason. Eldriss just wants his brother back, and a mixup at a musical contest – where the brothers enter as the leaders of competing bands – gives them the opportunity they’ve been waiting for for over a decade. A good story with a happy but not surprising ending. Escape Rating B.

“Tangles” by Diana L. Paxson
The feud in this particular instance is a feud between rival shopkeepers who are determined to keep far away from each other in spite of being located in the save Haven district. However, this is also a story about two determined – and somewhat magical – pieces of furniture that make a matched set that are equally determined to be put back together. To the point where they throw a bit of magic in the way of the best person to untangle a web that goes back decades. There are several Romeo and Juliet-type stories in this collection and this one is another, but it’s marvelously twisted because the feud happened because they didn’t marry – although it’s still not too late to fix things the way they should have been! Escape Rating A

“Payment in Kind” by Stephanie Shaver
The title is in reference to what happens when a cheating landholder stiffs a bard for her fee. But underneath that is the saddest story in this collection on multiple fronts as the problem set before that bard and her Herald twin-brother is about a whole village being oppressed by that rapacious landholder – who is also a liar and a cheat – a healer caught between her oaths and her duty, child labor and child murder, and one woman with cancer who wants one last day in the sun – even as she keeps her condition a secret from those she loves the most. Escape Rating A+.

“A Determined Will” by Paige L. Christie
This is a story about going home and discovering that the things you remember aren’t quite what you thought they were – unless they are and someone is trying to swindle you. This one was surprisingly fun in spite of itself, as Guard Trainee Teig has come home to bury the closest thing she had to a father. That he left her everything he had isn’t really the point – it’s more of the last note of a memory. But when someone arrives out of nowhere and attempts to cheat her out of it, she puts all of that Guard training to excellent use! Escape Rating A.

“The Ballad of Northfrost” by Phaedra Weldon
This is a hard, bitter story with an excellent satisfying ending. Reyes fate reads like many of the videogames I love. He’s wounded, near death, in the dark, between a rock and a very hard place, determined to get justice for people long dead who once saved him and set him on his path. That his own ghosts rise to help him take the final steps to safety, freedom and resolution was a bright candle in a very dark story with just the right and necessary ending. Escape Rating A+

“Uncivil Blood” by Mercedes Lackey
A much better version of Romeo and Juliet, with more political shenanigans, considerably fewer deaths, a more sensible ending, and the reappearance of one of Valdemar’s favorite characters who has not graced the stage for entirely too many years. This was my favorite story in the collection, Escape Rating A+.

Escape Rating Overall A-: This was as grand a trip to Valdemar as I hoped it would be. My favorite story in the collection was “Uncivil Blood” by Mercedes Lackey herself, followed by “The Ballad of Northfrost” by Phaedra Weldon and “Payment in Kind” by Stephanie Shaver. If you’ve EVER visited Valdemar this is a great time and a great way to go back for a return trip!

Feuds is an anthology of short stories. Unsurprisingly, feuds are the over arching theme. I was quite surprised with the variety of feud types. They ranged from friendly rivalries to undisputed enemies. While most resolved in a manor for the better, there were some darker stories. Some of my favorites were The Price of Anger by Brigid Collins, Trade is Trade by Fiona Patton, and The Ballad of Northfrost by Phaedra Weldon. I was most excited for the new Vanyel and Savil story Uncivil Blood. It’s a Romeo and Juliet retelling and written in the most delightful way. I have long been attached to Vanyel and Savil and I was not disappointed. While I feel having read her other Valdemar books would be helpful it is in no way a requirement to enjoy Feuds.
I received an advance reader copy and am leaving this review of my own volition.

Blog post goes live on November 22nd
Will definitely be featured in a Youtube video to come
Purchased my own copy so I'll likely feature it at least once more on Instagram


**TL;DR**: I don’t know how this hit so good but I loved this one just like the last one
**Source**: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher - I also purchased my own copy so thanks to me too

**Plot**: Various plots but the theme of this collection was Feuds, fights between families or friends, small squabbles.
**Characters**: Most of these featured Heralds, Bards, or Healers which are usually intelligent and hardworking. I love all those things in characters.
**Setting**: VALDEMAR! If I was going to pick a fantasy world to live I’d pick Valdemar so I loved these
**Fantasy:** Very magic forward, though no HUGE fireballs or such. It felt magical to me.

**Thoughts**:

Last year I loved Anything With Nothing, I still do. I have a copy of that book on my shelf and honestly, I’m adding this to that collection. These stories are all set in Valdemar, are entry level friendly, and on the whole hopeful and interesting.

The focus in this volume is Feuds. Not wars or battles but small style fights. We had a set of Bard students who were making clashing and causing their fellow students and fans to clash. Two merchant families were fighting over matching pieces of furniture. True to Valdemar standards these end happily in some way, which is part of why I love this world and these stories so much. Mercedes contribution was one of my favorites, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with the ending we wanted them to have.

I can’t say too much on this, it’s all short stories but just like last year’s volume I say if you’re a fan pick it up. I would even recommend it to someone who wants hopeful fantasy stories. The land of Valdemar is my favorite for that and these ring true, while being engaging, fun and interesting.

Five stars, of course.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Feuds is an anthology where every story takes place in the world of Valdemar, a high fantasy world created by editor Mercedes Lackey, with many starring bards. Along with stories from debuts and established authors, this anthology includes a new novella from Lackey herself.

One of the reasons I requested this ARC is because, despite loving fantasy for decades, I still have yet to pick up a Mercedes Lackey book even though all of her series are on my TBR. Because of this, I'm not able to comment on whether or not the other authors got certain details correct or how it compares to the original work or even if characters established by Lackey made an appearance. I picked this up and read it as someone who is interested in her works but is a bit intimidated by how sprawling the world is and Lackey's extensive backlist for Valdemar.

I can definitely say that I am going to make it a priority to read at least one of her books by the end of next year. I haven't read a lot of books with bards, so this was a real treat to see a world where bards are a major player, not just one of thirteen classes. I can see someone who really loves playing bard characters in DND having a real blast with how varied the characters are and the situations they end up in. There's also a cozy element to a lot of the stories that I'm curious about whether or not it also shows up in Lackey’s work as I've often heard Valdemar described as a little bit disco.

There were a lot of really great stories so it's certainly hard to pick one or two. My favorite one was probably ‘Harmony’ by Anthea Sharp. The competition between the two students who believe their way is the right way and are so strongly opposed that they risk not graduating unless they set aside their dislike for each other. The setting of a concert to do that was very clever.

I would recommend this to fans of the Valdemar books, readers curious about the Valdemar series who don't mind possible spoilers, and those looking for more short stories involving bards.

I was lucky enough to get to read this as an ARC. I’ll be buying my own copy too. The Valdemar books will always rate a soft spot in my heart. The theme of this book would be use your words boys and girls! The stories lean towards the Bards this time and that was fun to see. The stories also are mostly feuds not of earth shattering importance except to the people so despite the more serious theme of the stories it does remain a fairly cozy volume if you’re looking for something light.

This latest anthology set in the Author's Valdemar series has numerous contributors
- some very good , some good and some just so so........ It's all a matter of preference
I have read all the original books in this well loved world , including the latest which introduces
the "companions" to the world ........... so it was easy to dip into these short tales featuring the
Heralds and their Companions and those featuring Bards
I will say that it is a better anthology than the previous one in which I felt that some of the stories
could have been written in any world but Valdemar .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I have loved the Velgarth/Valdemar universe since I was in high school, so it was such a pleasure to get my hands on the latest anthology collection. The timing of this release has been perfect as I've actually just been going through and doing a chronological re-read of the entire world, this time slotting in all of the full books and the stories from the previous 17 anthologies. I loved being able to jump right in with this during that full re-read.

This anthology has the usual combination of a new Lackey story, returning authors, and brand-new to Velgarth authors. Not every story is itself a 5-star read (due to preferences around writing styles of authors), but none were badly done and preferences come down to personal taste. We revisited characters from previous mini-series (although you can read each story individually without having read any of the prior entries from a given author!) as well as revisited and added to moments from some of my favorite Lackey books. I can't wait for the next installment. Overall I'd rate this a really solid 4.5, but rounding to a 5 star for the sake of the rating system.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers.

Feuds is another excellent addition to the anthologies of Valdemar. Yet again, I was able to slip into the stories and adventures of characters that have become firm favourites and who I hope will become old friends that I can continue to visit frequently.
While feuds are the central theme some feature characters we have met in previous anthologies and continue to expand their stories which for me, is gratifying. I enjoy discovering more about them.
An enjoyable read which made it far too easy to stay up late reading!

I enjoyed this anthology edited by Mercedes Lackey. The short stories all take place in Valdemar, a country in the series of the same name by Mercedes Lackey. Each of the stories involve a conflict that ultimately is settled, usually through the intervention of a Herald, their Companion or a Bard or other trainee. While the overall quality of these stories are good, individual quality varies a bit but definitely worth reading if you are a fan of the Valdemar series! Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was, rather by accident, my first introduction to Lackey’s intricate fantasy world of Valdemar. The anthology covers a number of stories, written by twenty-two different authors, including a novella from Lackey herself at the very end. Each story is based on a feud happening someone in Valdemar or one of its neighboring countries, mostly between rival families or students studying at the Collegium.

Pacing was excellent throughout the entire anthology – most of the stories were of similar lengths, and none of the narratives felt like they were dragging. Each was action packed and showed a depth of emotion and character. After the first few, I had a good grasp on the world and the roles of all the Heralds, Companions, and Bards. I’d love to go back and read all of her work in the future.

The eighteenth Valdemar anthology is centered around the theme of feuds. There are twenty-two stories including a new novella by Mercedes Lackey. Many of the other authors are frequent contributors to the Valdemar anthologies.

The stories take place in a wide variety of places and have a wide variety of main characters. From heralds to bards and even one story starring a kyree, glimpses are seen from all over Lackey's fantasy world.

All of the stories were enjoyable. Some made me feel that I was entering an established set of characters and situations which I found to be accurate as I was reading the author's brief biographies at the end of the book.

I have not read all of the previous anthologies though I own most of them. I'm not a huge fan of short stories since I find that I want to know more than a short story can fit in. I felt that way about a number of the stories in this anthology. I wanted more information and more adventures for the main characters. I did enjoy Lackey's new novella starring Vanyel and Savil. That one felt long enough to satisfy me.

After the first few stories, I felt that the theme of feuds was too repetitive but later stories expanded the idea of feuds to one-sided ones and other varieties. Fans of the previous anthologies and those just hungry for another look into Lackey's Valdemar will enjoy these stories.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!! A fabulous book of short stories in the wonderful world of Vladimar, I loved that with these short stories I was able to read a story before sleep each night and not worry about staying up to late, lol. All the writing was suburb and engaging!

Another good compilation of Valdemar stories so an enjoyable read. Nothing really stands out but the overall theme of feuds seems to have helped.

I discovered the magical world of Valdemar over 30 years ago and I've loved it ever since.
I started off with the Gryphon books (Black, White & Silver) and have read nearly every book that Mercedes Lackey (and others) have written about this wondrous place.

I haven't visited Valdemar for a few years so I was really looking forward to stepping back into my favourite world. And this anthology sure did not disappoint. A few of the stories even moved me to tears.

My favourite story of course was the last one, by Mercedes Lackey herself. Vanyel has been the stand out character for me across all fantasy books I've ever read. The Last Herald-Mage trilogy is my go to when I want to lose myself. It was like meeting old friends to find Vanyel and Yfandes working together with his aunt Savil and Kellan.

I certainly recommend this anthology to anyone who loves a good fantasy escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this Valdemar anthology is! They can be hit or miss, but this one was fast paced and full of action the whole way through. There wasn't a single story that I skipped past. Most of them were about a 15 minute read, and didn't feel too short or too long. They really hit that perfect sweet spot for a short story.

As always, I love that we get to follow along with characters written for previous Valdemar anthologies, and even met a few new ones that will become new favorites if they come back in future collections.

The final story by Mercedes Lackey felt more like a short novella, but in a good way. She brought back some favorite characters, and it was so nostalgic to be with them and their Companions again.