This was okay. It wasn't quite what I was hoping for (mostly based on the cover) and I think my expectations were a little too high. This read like a YA book to me, which is fine, but I think my biggest hang-up was that I never really liked Aelis and the book is entrenched in her experiences and thoughts.

I found Aelis self absorbed and entitled, and while some characters responded positively to her more abrasive approach to people, I thought she was unnecessarily rude. She did have some moments where she was more reasonable after insulting people, but it felt to me like there was a lot of room for character improvement that doesn't seem to be coming because she mostly didn't face any consequences for her attitude. 

I didn't find the residents of Lone Pine particularly interesting either, and her interactions with them take up the bulk of the first half of the book. I did like the love interest (who plays a very minor role and is absent for most of the story) and the huntsman/guide she works with for a portion of the second half of the book. I also thought the plot mysteries were fairly intriguing, and they are what mostly got me through to the end.

The audiobook narrator was good, I think they matched the energy the author intended. 

Not sure if I will continue with the series or not, I had a physical copy of this book and I might just donate it.

I just enjoyed this so much. Fun pacing, fun ideas, great main character with delightful side characters. This first book feels like a set of dominos that don't immediately obviously fall in a line, and then boom the pattern becomes clear. I'm mad that I avoided reading this for so long, because it is my shit so much. Reminded me in some ways of the Paladin romance books by T. Kingfisher (but with significantly less romance).

Aelis as the main character is possibly the most insufferable and awful characters I can think of in my recent reads. She is unabashedly rude, dismissive, condescending, and threatening to anyone around her at any moment. I was floored by the way she was written as being a loathsome human being, one who flaunts and uses their wealth and status, specifically her title as a count's daughter and elite graduate, on several occasions to verbally bully others into doing what she wants. Or even magically compelling people regardless.

To give specific examples from different parts of the book...

Pg.98: "But ordering folk about like that, confining them to their homes, it's..." [side character Rus offering a counter to Aelis' out of touch methods]. "Well within my rights and authority, and what's more, is it an accomplished fact, so I'll take no more whining over it," Aelis said.

Instances like this wherein Aelis takes differing opinions and comments towards her as some massive insult to her ego happen several times, each with Aelis shutting the other person down and never allowing any sort of disagreement whatsoever. She labels it whining, insults people by saying they know far less than her because she studied for years at the Lyceum, is their given Warden, etc. She even reflects inwardly a couple times throughout the book that she knows she has no patience, yet never strives to work on this failing. These problems are present all the way through the end.

Pg. 101

Maurenia watched them go before turning her startling eyes back to Aelis, who had to resist shivering. "What do you think the boxes might tell you?"
"More than they tell someone who is not Lyceum-trained," Aelis replied coldly.

Again, we see Aelis regarding people rudely because they aren't trained or as well-learned as she is. By this point in the book, I was beginning to despise this character. She was shaping up to be a bully cop type of character.

Later, a traveling band of adventurers runs into an issue with their gold loot, and needs to have it confiscated by Aelis to investigate the matter. She previously offered them a sort of written bank note that will cover the cost of the lost gold, yet becomes absurdly angry when the adventurers' leader inquires about it before they leave. This becomes a common trend. Aelis is quick to anger for seemingly no reason. Sorry for the long quote, but I need to include it to show her ridiculous attitude and behavior.
"If you want to leave before I return, then you'll do it without any letters to any bankers in my name," Aelis snapped. "I've got people to attend to." [the people she looks down on constantly]
"That really won't do, Warden...Promises were made. I'm going to have to insist."
Aelis whirled back into the room, her hand falling to the hilt of her sword, eyes flashing. "The only one of us with any right to insist on any gods-damned thing, Timmuk Dobrusz, is me. Your payment is neither my priority nor my problem. The assault a member of your company has twice made upon me will become both if you say another f-ing word. I will begin by arresting you and seizing your property in order to pay back damages to the people of the village, and that's before I decide if I put you to an inquest for multiple crimes."

Again, this is all after this party came by coins they had no idea were enchanted, Aelis knew this, and still flings about righteous judgement, and threatens violence to a dwarf just trying to make her live up to the own promise she made to write a bank note.

There are so many more examples of Aelis throwing around her weight towards others who are harmless, actively trying to help a different character, to a degree that I honestly don't know if the author was trying to write a character people would like or despise. 

Unfortunately, the plot also tends to work conveniently to highlight Aelis' supposed brilliance in her spell arts, but I never felt convinced or impressed for that matter. The worldbuilding shows some promise but mostly comes about through vague dialogue bits or Aelis talking to herself (which she does, frequently). Conclusions are wrapped up way too neatly and Aelis is never truly challenged and it only seems to feed into her ego.

The plot "twist" towards the end is very predictable when you meet a certain character early on, and the last 100 pages is more like a setup for the second book, which I will not be reading even if all other books burned away. 

 

I’m so glad I ended up liking this a lot! The first half was a little slow, and I didn’t start vibing with Aelis until a while into the book. But once we met Tun and started getting into Necromancy stuff, I was hooked. Will definitely be continuing in the series. 

This book started out slow and for a good chunk of it, I had no idea what the plot was going to be. It's thanks to the voice, I think, that I kept reading and once the pace picked up, I couldn't put it down. 

 

This is one of those Fantasy books that I feel like has been very misrepresented both by it's cover (which is beautiful) and it's pitch. The Warden was a cozy fantasy about a wizard sent to a 'back-water' town to become their Warden. This role puts her into basically the position of a sheriff or justice of the peace. She also works as the town medic and assists the town with tasks from reading and writing letters to fixing fences when needed. Unfortunately for Aelis, this town where she is to take up this job is frightened of her. Mainly due to the black robes and Necromancer colors she bears. She graduated with certification from three schools, but the Necromancy school is her primary and scariest one. Over the course of the novel we see her begin to win over the townsfolk, find new friends, and uncover a dark plot.

First off, there is no way this isn't D&D inspired. It could be hard to see for someone who is not familiar with the systems of Dungeons & Dragons, but if you are it's obvious but delightful. Mr. Ford has adapted the idea of the spell slot (that mechanic in D&D that limits a spellcasters abilities per level) into the magic system here. In addition the schools of magic are very much true to the same system that D&D has. For that this book won for me endless marks - I am a DM and lover of Dungeons & Dragons and I just want to get this out of the way. This book is for people like me.

Now to the rest of the book! The characters are fantastic and well drawn. What I would call our primary cast is clearly the strongest and most developed but the others give just enough intrigue and have enough dimension to add to the story. A lot of interesting setup for future books can be seen in these characters, while also helping the cozy feeling of the book with a tight knit, friendly cast. The story itself is much the same! The first portion of this is Aelis arriving and finding her Tower in ruins. Thus we follow her as she begins to make friends, find improvements and performs small tasks. It's not till nearly 40% that we see the meat of the plot begin to appear but it felt so relaxing and fun till that point that I didn't mind at all.

The ending of this book did have me enraged. Not because it was poorly done or because I didn't like it but because CLIFFHANGER MUCH? This is one of those rare occasions where I am so mad I have to wait for another book that I almost wanted to dock a star from this - which would have been unfair so I did not - but what a way to end it! I laid my ereader down and shouted at my husband "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT?"

Final thoughts - ignore the 'action packed' phrasing and the dynamic cover, which again IS BEAUTIFUL. This book felt farm more reminiscent of something like Legends & Lattes to me. Sure there is some fighting and some action later in the book but the vibes and the feels sink this into the Cozy Fantasy genre for me. I recommend this whole heartedly to fans of that genre and my fellow Dungeons & Dragons nerds. This is a fantastic new book to start a new series and I'm pumped to get my own copy, and also anxiously awaiting the next book!