252. Madeleine Simon- HeartQuest #2: Talisman of Valdegarde (1983)
The second in the 6 book HeartQuest series of adventure/romance gamebooks set in the D&D world (no specific campaign setting, though), this volume tells the story of Gwynne, an apprentice Druid whose sister gets kidnapped by a troll right as the book starts and must find a way to save her. In the process she can find love and also discover the hidden truth about her family.
This is actually quite a good book, reading through it today it felt a bit on rails, with two clear paths, but this also means that each path is a bit longer than usual, I played the path of joining the elf Bard Neil, which eventually develops into a romance. However, there are moments of real stress here, as some of Neil's actions start being a bit suspicious and you don't get many options to test him or run away from him. There was a bit in there that I was afraid for Gwynne's safety. As I ended the book with a supposed happy ending I am still a bit worried about her.
There are some interesting side-characters here, like a Mimic guardian as well as artefacts, like a strange necklace and wand as well as some magical goblet that you discover in the dungeons. A really engaging book, aimed at a teen girl audience but which is actually fun for anyone who is into gamebooks. A bit hard to find but worth the effort for a D&D gamebook series that was much less well known or successful than the Endless Quest series.
