Another love story, well told, but does not get very far. (Boy meets girl, girl takes him home to her parents. Meet his family in the sequel.) ( )

LMB turns Mills and Boon: This is possibly the first LMB book that I am considering giving up on. It started well, and kept my attention for the first 7 or 8 chapters. But then it turned into a love story, and has mostly stayed that way for the next 10 chapters. I still have 3 chapters to go, but I am seriously asking myself 'what's the point'.

Warning .. chapter 11 is a complete waste of Scifi/Fantasy paper. They make love for the first time. Normally I'd expect a simple statement like 'and then they made love'. No, LMB devotes a whole ~15 page chapter to that single line. After a couple of pages, I skipped to the end of the chapter to realise my fears were founded.

It picks up slightly from there. They go meet her parents - yawn! But seriously, this is 80% love story and 20% fantasy. Still, the writing is Bujolds and deserves some merit. It's the subject matter that is boring.

Leslie.

Fawn Bluefield wants out of her family farm and into the outside world and Dag, a Lakewalker patroller attracts her and takes her under his wing. Lakewalkers are waging a war against "malices". Malices are immortal entities who draw life out of people and make them into warped versions of themselves.

When Fawn is taken by malices Dag has to rescue her and this changes their relationship forever.

Bujold is a great writer and I have never been disappointed by her, this is no exception. ( )

I like the author's fantasy novels as they are good fantasy without being a LOTR try hard. The characters are interesting and well developed. The fantasy world's laws are easy to understand and plausible. A great read well worth the effort. Looking forward to the rest of the series. ( )

I am always amazed by the efficiency with which Bujold can take you into a new world. This book is an introduction, you know there is much more story to follow at the end of this book, but it is a satisfying read as she introduces the two principle characters, their cultures, and their world via them getting to know each other. ( )