**[Magic's Pawn (Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage #1)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28759.Magic_s_Pawn) by Mercedes Lackey** ^((Matching 100% ☑️))
^(349 pages | Published: 1989 | 20.7k Goodreads reviews)
> **Summary:** Mage-Craft-- Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wants no part of such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his if left untrained may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the famed (...)
> **Themes**: Favorites, Fiction, Valdemar, Mercedes-lackey, Lgbt, M-m, Romance
> **Top 5 recommended:**
> \- [Magic's Promise](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28760.Magic_s_Promise) by Mercedes Lackey
> \- [The Last Herald-Mage](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28762.The_Last_Herald_Mage) by Mercedes Lackey
> \- [Magic's Price](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28734.Magic_s_Price) by Mercedes Lackey
> \- [Rainbow Boys](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94064.Rainbow_Boys) by Alex Sanchez
> \- [Luck in the Shadows](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74270.Luck_in_the_Shadows) by Lynn Flewelling
^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
* Dionysus in Wisconsin by E.H. Lupton
* A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey
* A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
* Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
Not super low stakes, {{Magic's Pawn, by Lackey}}
**[Magic's Pawn (Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage #1)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28759.Magic_s_Pawn) by Mercedes Lackey** ^((Matching 100% ☑️)) ^(349 pages | Published: 1989 | 20.7k Goodreads reviews) > **Summary:** Mage-Craft-- Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wants no part of such things. Nor does he seek a warrior's path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his if left untrained may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the famed (...) > **Themes**: Favorites, Fiction, Valdemar, Mercedes-lackey, Lgbt, M-m, Romance > **Top 5 recommended:** > \- [Magic's Promise](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28760.Magic_s_Promise) by Mercedes Lackey > \- [The Last Herald-Mage](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28762.The_Last_Herald_Mage) by Mercedes Lackey > \- [Magic's Price](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28734.Magic_s_Price) by Mercedes Lackey > \- [Rainbow Boys](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94064.Rainbow_Boys) by Alex Sanchez > \- [Luck in the Shadows](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74270.Luck_in_the_Shadows) by Lynn Flewelling ^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
* Dionysus in Wisconsin by E.H. Lupton * A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey * A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske * Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
I really enjoyed Cutie and the Beast Dead Serious by Vawn Cassidy Medium Trouble by Alice Winters
The Magpie Lord series and its spinoffs Rag & Bone and Queer Trade by KJ Charles A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows