Eye Spy

Eye Spy is the next in the Family Spy series of Valdemar novels by Mercedes Lackey, which follows the various members of a family who serve as spies to the king.

This instalment introduces Abidela (more commonly Abi), who discovers she has a gift that means she can sense the stress in man-made structures, such as bridges, buildings and dams. She's not a herald, so she gets enrolled in the Artificer's guild and attends classes on architecture and construction, so she can eventually become a Master Builder.

I love Valdemar and it's always fun to spend time there, and I like the characters in this series. Abi is a well-rounded character - she has doubts about her abilities and experiences fear when danger threatens, but she's very capable of looking after herself and will take action where she sees suffering and injustice.

I enjoyed the book overall, but it was very picaresque. There wasn't much of an over-arching story arc - it was just a series of episodes in Abi's life, moving from the collegium, to her Master project, to a mission over the border, and back again. So, while I liked her as a character and felt invested in what happened to her, the book felt very slight and there wasn't really any sense of building conflict or jeopardy to be overcome.

Still, it was a fun book to listen to while doing chores around the house, and I will certainly keep looking out for more in this series.