From the ages of 10-17, I lived in a town so small it's listed as a "census designated place." We had a library, but it was literally two small rooms, staffed by volunteers (this was my first "job," actually) and only open for a few hours two days a week. This was not enough for young me, which led both to me getting cards from the closest towns with libraries (30 and 60 minutes away, my mom was glad when I got my license bc it meant I could drive myself to the library whenever I wanted) AND to me re-reading all of the books I owned endlessly. 

Enter The Elvenbane. 

I don't even know that I thought it was GOOD when I read it, but I bought it bc of that cheesy-ass Boris Vallejo cover (there is not a single fucking dragon in the whole book that looks like this, btw) and then read that MMPB copy to tatters. To TATTERS, I say!

I re-read it bc Mercedes Lackey has said she's finished writing the manuscript for the fourth and final book (following a fuckton of dramz with Andre Norton's estate) and a friend has a project going where she's reading ALL of Lackey's work, so we read together. 

I have so many fuckin questions that never would have occurred to me 30 years ago and there are so many little things that bothered me. 

AND YET it was somehow still super compelling? I had forgotten most of the back half of the book (which is understandable bc I think that's where it starts to fall apart) and had a hard time not just plowing through the whole thing in order to be able to discuss it coherently. 

Really looking forward to getting to the next book before this one drops entirely out of my head. 

(Added a ¼ star bc of nostalgia, tbh.)