I enjoyed this book, would give it a 3.5 stars out of 5. Really enjoyed the characters and especially Aelis and Pips. Enjoyed the “Northern Exposure” vibes from the beginning.

I personally wanted a little more world building to better understand the different magic types and how they work. It also felt like it wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a slice of life fantasy or a more epic level.

On the whole I enjoyed it and will probably read the sequel when it comes out. ( )

The Warden had the potential to be a really great book; however, the main character was unlikeable, the setting was poorly explained, and the delivery was more tell than show (which is always a bummer). Aelis talks to herself a lot, and the author uses this to explain various aspects of the book. I want to see what's happening and feel it unfold. I don't want a play-by-play from the main character. Additionally, what she's saying - the terms and phrases she uses - are only vaguely explained.

Why are there so many moons? How do they work? Are we ever going to find out why Aelis has an affinity for one of them? I also wasn't a big fan of how the flashbacks were presented. They felt too planned and intentional. I understand they were supposed to be a way to inform readers of past events, but they seemed to always justify or explain whatever Aelis was currently doing. Why did she and her professor have so much animosity between them? The author barely touches on seemingly crucial details.

I also wanted more from the secondary characters - Tun specifically. I honestly thought he was going to follow her at the end (incognito of course), but even that was a disappointment. The author tried to build up this friendship but then missed an opportunity for it to flourish. The same can be said of Maurenia. Their relationship had so much potential, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

I've said it before and I'll say it again . . . unlikeable main characters make it hard to enjoy a book. Aelis was rude, condescending, wanted to wave her title and elitism around, and had very little regard for the people she was supposed to be protecting. Rus and Martin went out of their way to make sure she had what she needed (whether that was food, basic necessities, or even just information), yet she rarely thanked them or even smiled in their direction. I hated how "stoic" the author tried to make her, because she ended up being someone I didn't want to read about.

It was also very frustrating when things simply "worked out" for Aelis. None of her plans failed. She didn't have any setbacks. She didn't listen when people offered her advice.

Small spoilers: I wish this book had been about a female necromancer with a half-orc best friend and half-elf love interest. I wish they had traveled and adventured together, their bonds growing stronger the longer they were together. I wish Aelis had struggled and failed. I wish she had learned from failing and grown as a character. I wish we had seen her use more of her necromancy and had less of her explaining what everything was. I wish Pips had been included in their adventures and played a larger role. I wish the setting and the world had been described more thoroughly and less verbally.

Like I said, this book had the potential be something amazing. Unfortunately, it fell flat and left me feeling a little disappointed and a lot annoyed. (★★★☆☆)

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

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The Warden by Daniel M. Ford
The Warden #1

Aelis de Lenti has just arrived at her destination at what seems the end of the civilized world Her wizard’s tower is in disrepair, a goat her wannabe roommate, and nothing as she had expected it would be in Lone Pine. She feels she has been given a job beneath her capabilities but will do her best to fulfill her duties for the next two years. Aelis’s experience reminded me a bit of graduation from nursing school, putting in my request job in the operating room, but instead being sent to neurosurgical intensive to work nights. Not sure if she or I was best qualified to the jobs we were given…

What I liked:
* Aelis: strong, intelligent, diligent, capable, wise, willing to do her best and to learn
* The flashbacks to her educational experiences and how they played a part in her decision making
* Meeting the villagers of Lone Pine
* The fantasy elements woven into the story
* The way Aelis seemed able to find the essence of issues and then handle what needed to be done whether dealing with a bear, doubting and fearful villagers, outsiders, glamours, injuries, demon trees or…just about anything
* The action scenes
* Feeling a part of the story and caring about the outcome
* Wondering what parts Tunbridge, Rus, Martin, Phillipa, Emilia, Maurenia, the Dobrusz brothers, Elmo, Otto, and some others may play in the future
* That this is a book I can recommend to young adult readers as well as adults
* Curiosity about what will happen in book two

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Having to wait for book two

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? I think so though it felt aimed at a younger reader than I am

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

A necromancer with a career plan that doesn't go quite as expected is in for some surprises in The Warden by Daniel M. Ford. Aelis comes from wealth but it's her smarts and skills that led her to become a necromancer, as well as earn several other magical degrees. She planned to be posted in one of the grand cities from which she would launch her great career. Instead, she is posted as Warden to Lone Pine, a remote village with more goats than culture and people who are more afraid than awed of her.
The tower, which is her home, is in disrepair and she is at wit's end trying to get it in order as well as find ways to make herself useful to the village. Innkeepers Rus and Martin, at least, will talk to her. She also finds an ally in Tun, the large woodsman who lives near the village and proves to be more than initially meets the eye. When a group of adventurers stops at the village, they bring not only potential romance, but danger as well.

Aelis soon finds herself chasing through the wilderness in search of a fleeing villager. She discovers something far more dangerous and more matched to her skills as a Warden. The only question is will she be up to the task?

Ford creates a lived-in world that has a sense of history as well as politics, both magical and financial. Several interesting characters surround Aelis, including a precocious young girl. The backstory is filled in nicely through flashbacks to Aelis's time in school. Aelis, while clearly smart, is young and inexperienced. She is placed where she has few resources to draw on other than her own. Still, her mercurialness is sometimes a little startling. She can be kind in one moment and harsh the next. Some of the early chapters feel a little episodic, but once the main plot takes hold things move along more rapidly and with clear direction.

I really loved the characters, especially the supporting characters, and was rooting for Aelis throughout. The magical system is fascinating and the world feels expansive. While solving one mystery, Aelis uncovers many more, leaving much to explore in this world. I look forward to further adventures.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ( )

The Warden was an okay fantasy book. I did not mind reading it, but I am probably not going to bother with the sequel despite the cliff hanger ending. It is very slow paced slice-of-life for almost the first half of the book, with the main character Aelis, an extremely talented mage, starting her post in the small rural town she's been assigned Warden of. She does not think much of the town, or the people, and she lets both the reader inside her head and frequently the townsfolk themselves know it. I expected her to grow and maybe come to love the town or I don't know, at least like the people, but she doesn't really. By the end she still hates the town and while she's made a couple friends, sort of, and managed to reel in her condescension a bit, she is still rather unpleasant.

The plot takes off about halfway through, with the discovery of some cursed artifacts and a fugitive that Aelis has to track down. This gets the pace moving a bit faster, but I have to admit I did not enjoy how frequently she uses her power of magical persuasion to get people to do what she wants, frequently without even trying to ask them first. She also at one point unmagics a bunch of people, at least one of whom has apparent brain damage from being ensorcelled, and she just... leaves them in the wilderness. They're not what she's there for, and she doesn't seem to have much compassion for the fact that they were compelled to do what they were doing.

I really liked the character Tun, who was the most fleshed out character other than Aelis. He is half orc, half human, which makes people not trust him, but he has a lot of knowledge of the countryside and ends up helping Aelis during the plot half of the book.

The magic system was also interesting, I enjoyed Aelis's necromantic abilities being used as a healer and surgeon, an Anatomist in the book, rather than the more traditional uses of necromancy. I was also curious about the world itself, we get glimpses of world building but since much of the book takes place in a small town, we don't see a huge amount of it. I am guessing the next book explores it more, given the (extremely abrupt) ending, but I admit I probably won't find out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )