I had such a great time reading this book! The synopsis sounded really good and I loved watching this story unfold, as Aelis got used to being in such a remote area to protect. I was thrilled to read it, and see what adventures she would have!

Aelis is the daughter of someone important, and she was really skilled in a few areas. So to be assigned to a far remote area-one that takes months for mail to get to, she isn't happy about it. But neither is the town, they don't want a warden, and haven’t been keeping up the residence. Watching her make it habitable was so much fun to read!

Watching her start to make a place there, getting to know the villagers, find where she is wanted and where she isn't, where she can do the most good, it was almost slice of life, but there were little moments that were building the story.

This is the start of the series, and it was setting up the world and the magic and history, things that increasingly became part important to the plot. Finding out why things were going on until she was facing a bad guy who I'm so excited about to see what’s going to happen next!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to do continue with the series!

Aelis de Lenti is the new Warden of Lone Pines, a little village out on the border of the frontier. Plenty of goats and a ruined tower for her home, Aelis has to learn how to deal with folks while not scaring them to death. But all is not as it seems in the little village, especially when a band of adventures bring back danger from beyond the the frontier. Aelis manages to settle in to rural life grumpily until she gets new orders to deal with the danger in the area. The book ends on a cliffhanger, but thankfully the sequel is out already!

I didn’t *dislike* anything about this book per se, but there was truly nothing to this. The story was told in a flat boring way that just didn’t give us any stakes or urgency. For example, we were just told what the conflicts were, and told that the main character was interested in the love interest, without feeling any of it. I wanted to like this book but I’m disappointed.

What a fun fantasy this was. It actually surprised me because if I remember correctly around the time this book released, it wasn’t getting the best reviews. Some people I follow thought it was just okay but I actually really enjoyed it. It takes place in a small backwater village that’s in the middle of no where with our main character who is a necromancer tasked to protect it. She is even living in this decrepit old house that is run down, isn’t the most thrilled about it but of course things happen and she has to investigate and solve problems. It’s kind of cozy if I’m being honest, but also has a lot of action. It also has this older fantasy feel that I just love where there’s no intense and crazy magic system, no elaborate lore that you have to figure out, it’s very much a generic story but in a good way and has a bit of the city-dweller moving to farm country trope which I really liked. Fun, low stakes, a small adventure where our main characters makes good friends along the way. Very slice of life fantasy and sometimes you just need one of those every once in a while, I gave this 4 stars out of 5 stars and I’m excited to read book 2 which just recently came out.

I have tried three different times to get through this book. I’ve had to come to the unfortunate realization that it’s just not for me. It’s well written, just not compelling. Missing that Twin Peaks element I was promised in the synopsis.

I received the Warden by Daniel Ford for free from NetGalley. This is an adventure fantasy where Aelis is a rich noble's daughter who went to wizard school and is good at 3 different types of magic.. She had high honors and excelled at Necromancy. She was hoping to be assigned to be a warden in a city but instead is sent to Lone Pines which is a rural backward town that smells of sheep. She is very unhappy about being there. She slowly adjusts and tries to be helpful to the residents. She and the residents have a variety of moral quandries that they must solve. The town accepts her when she fixes the one farmer who was stabbed by his brother who has PTSD and goes after the brother vowing not to kill the brother except if Otto dies. While out hunting with Tun, she has more adventures and moral questions and is attacked when she makes it back to her tower. Once she sends word back to the college, they tell her what she must do and the book ends in a cliffhanger. She mentions two lovers in the beginning of the book at college and has a tendre for an elf woman.

The Warden is the story of a young Lyceum graduate who has earned the rank of Warden, but then is assigned to a remote outpost that feels like a punishment. The fact that she is young, a woman, and a necromancer are all strikes against her in the eyes of most of the inhabitants of this largely illiterate border skirting town. She tries to build trust and uphold the law, while also guarding the kingdom and tracking down some traitors.

This was not described as a LitRPG, but it really did read like one, with characters of different species/races in RPG lingo, a group banding together, quest-ish activities, and plenty of travelers. I would definitely read more from this series.

Stars: 2.5 out of 5.

When I read the blurb of this book, this sounded like it should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the execution was decidedly underwhelming. And the opinions of my Goodreads friends are split on this one. One absolutely loved, and another one DNFed it. I'm tending to agree with my second friend on this one, though I managed to finish the book, and I now think that I shouldn't have bothered.

I have several issues with this book, so let's talk about the biggest two.

First of all, this book feels rudderless. This less of a cohesive story than a series of events that happen to Aelis. A bear attacks the sheep, some mercenaries bring cursed gold, then a villager seemingly goes crazy and attacks his brother, then all of a sudden we get a detour to kill a Demon tree... You get the picture. Aelis isn't the driving force behind this story. It feels like she is just a leaf being dragged along the current of things that happen around her. She is reacting to external forces all the time. 

And this isn't a bad thing, if done well. In fact, there are book that managed to create a compelling story around a protagonist who had no agency of his/her own. Unfortunately, this is not that book.

The problem is that Aelis has no stakes in the events that happen around her. She has no goals to reach and, honestly, nothing to loose. So there is really no sense of urgency in the unfolding story. Which also means that the story meanders without a clear goal, just like Aelis and Tun in the wilderness. I grew bored following them, to tell you the truth, because I didn't particularly care if she caught up with the crazy brother. And even when the stakes seemed to finally get bigger (like the discovery of a rogue enchanter a few days away from the village), I was already too disengaged with the story to care.

And that stems from the second issue I have with this book - the character of Aelis herself. To put it bluntly she is a pretentious and extremely unlikeable. She is extremely condescending to EVERYONE around her, just because she went to the Lyceum of magic, and they are "simple peasants". Yes, because her having purely academic knowledge and no field experience in pretty much anything is so much better than the experiences of people who have been through a war, or who learned to survive in a harsh environment since their birth. 

I would have been better able to stomach this if she learned and evolved throughout the book, made mistakes, got her nose bloodied, and came out humbler and wiser on the other side. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. In fact, there is no character growth for Aelis whatsoever. She is just as unlikeable at the end of the book as she is at the beginning of it. 

So I finished this story, but I have no desire to continue with this series, because I really don't care about Aelis di Lenti and her overinflated ego.

PS: I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This reminded me pleasantly of Adrian Tchaikovsky's <i>Spiderlight</i> and <i>Redemption's Blade</i>. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series.

What a let down. Unbelievably flat and dull. I slogged through just to finish, not out of any enjoyment or interest in the story.

The only positive things I can say are that the premise and worldbuilding have potential that may really come to fruition in later books in the series. I also always value a world that allows casual queerness, so I appreciate that. That's it.

As for what I didn't like:
-the plot was wildly slow and mundane. This wasn't marketed as a cozy fantasy or slice of life story, so I spent most of the book just waiting for ANYTHING interesting to happen. It felt like cozy fantasy, but without the warmth and charm that make those books successful and enjoyable to experience.

-The characters all feel flat and each seem to have a couple token qualities that check various boxes and that's about it. There wasn't a single character that felt relatable or endearing.

-For a book about necromancers, I definitely expected a million times more necromancy. If you want to read this because you want a story about necromancy, find a different book.

-The pacing is weird. Scenes in the story are often interrupted with random flashbacks that don't seem to add any value or context to the overall story. It feels like the main character constantly stops what she's doing to basically be like "ah, this reminds me of when [this thing] happened... but anyways." It's disruptive to the story, especially when the asides aren't even adding anything to the experience/understanding/etc.

The synopsis for the sequel to this book sounds much more like what I expected this book to be, so maybe that would be a more rewarding read. I will not be finding out. Maybe if this were marketed differently and my expectations going in aligned better with what I read, I would have enjoyed it more. But I kinda doubt it.

Two stars, but only because one stars are reserved for books that I found super problematic or I actively hate. I don't care about this enough to hate it.

When I first heard about this book, it sounded amazing and it definitely didn't disappoint. The Warden is a scifi-fantasy novel about a necromancer named Aelis de Lenti. Aelis is of noble birth and a graduate of an esteemed necromancy school, but finds herself in a little village called Lone Pine doing busywork. Once she beings to become familiar with the residents of Lone Pine, Aelis learns that things are not as they seem and the little village needs a Warden more than she previously thought. Again, amazing, amazing, amazing. I can't wait to read more from Daniel M. Ford in the future and can't wait for the sequel!

Fun and dare I say cozy. I was expecting something more grim and dark when I heard this deals with necromancy but I really enjoyed the spin the author puts on it. I’m excited for the next book!

As a D&D player, this cosy fantasy romp was right up my alley. It's perfect for a low-stakes read after a day that left you with a busy and cluttered head.

It was mildly boring. We were constantly pulled in different directions that eventually I just didn't care anymore what was going to happen. The MC also seemed annoyed about being pulled in so many directions. It had the cliff-est of cliff hangers that I've encountered in a long time. But I don't know I'll bother to read the next one.

This accessible and sometimes cozy fantasy appeals to a broad range of readers, especially fans of Dungeons and Dragons. The pacing and plot moves forward in a great and intriguing way, despite the lower stakes (which some people might really enjoy!) The main character is super fun to read and queer to boot. Overall, a super fun book that many fantasy-loving folks will appreciate!

This first of a series introduces appealing new wizard heroine, (Necromancer/Enchanter/Abjurer) Aelis de Lenti.

She's given a 2 year posting in remote Lone Pine village, where her new home is a ruined roof-less tower. She makes the best of it, and gradually wins the respect of the villagers.

After cursed gold shows up, bringing danger to the village, Aelis seeks its source with the assistance of orc trapper Tun.

a great classic fantasy story with some engaging scenes

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

4.5 stars

I’ll just say it here: I felt an immediate draw into this story. It had this sort of classic fantasy feel to it, following a wizard settling into a new position and going over old lectures and lessons. So there’s an academic aspect, but then there’s also a bit of community, as well as some magic and mystery and action and travel/adventure.

The story elements all started to weave together, with all sorts of events happening that left Aelis thinking that she needed to look into it more, but then even more dangerous or more pressing issues would arise. It made it delightfully difficult to figure out what was going to happen too easily, and I loved that.

But I will say that at times it felt like the story was coming together a bit slowly, and so that might not be something that is appealing to everyone. Even when things felt a bit slow, I was still super interested and invested, because I was growing attached to all of the characters, because there’s the whole community of Lone Pines, as well as traveling merchants and mercenaries and such. It was such an intriguing and diverse bunch of people to learn about.

Tun, Pip, Rus, and Maurenia were some of my favorite secondary characters in this story.

It really did feel a bit like a Dungeons & Dragons adventure at times. There are similarities when it comes to the different schools of wizardry. And I guess I could say that it would have been nice to have a little more description into the actual act of spellcasting, but overall it was still handled decently enough.

I realize that this story, the characters, the magic system, the writing, might not be for everyone, and that is totally fine and valid. I just know that I had an enjoyable time reading this book, and I have added the sequel to my to-read list, so we’ll see what happens with that next year.

There were a lot of elements that were familiar to me in this story but also sufficient on the peaks-of-interest and exciting wizardry/action elements. The plot seems a bit cliche as it follows the ‘esteemed city-girl/wizard’ being assigned to act as warden in a small armpit of a town – but she’s also a badass necromancer. The townsfolk fear her and her powers and shy away when she walks through town. Though after quick-thinking and using her powers to save the life of one of the townsfolk, she earns her a slight degree of respect. Then the plot somewhat spins off into a fugitive hunt in an unforgiving fantasy forest filled with danger.

Aelis is determined to give her house, and her school a good name by strictly representing the rules and skills she has learned. We are often met with flashbacks to her classroom days and her strict instructors battering lessons into her, as she’s presented with a given situation where she needs to apply those lessons. This can upend the pacing a little, but also provides context about why Aelis is the way she is.

There are some very interesting secondary characters as well. Maurenia, The half-elf and love interest of Aelis, who just happens to stroll into town with her band of mercenaries shortly after Aelis arrives, and Tun – the strong-silent type who just about steals every scene he’s in :no spoilers:. Tun is such an awesome character

The world is mostly confined to a small town of Lone Pine, dense forested ‘Ruins of the old world’ kind of woods. Ford does well on setting the atmosphere there in Aelis’s tower and within the tavern and the surrounding trees.

The second half of the book steps up the suspense, wizardry, and action. The magic system is not complex; wards, necromancy, and doesn’t spare a lot of the ‘how’ and that it just ‘is’. Some interesting villains emerge and their sinister plots revealed. And once you thought it was over, there’s a little thread that leads off of a cliffhanger for book 2!

This book is perfect for the Skyrim fan, or the casual D&D player. There are lgbtq themes but it’s light on the romance. Wizardry, shapeshifters, demon trees, undead, and all the good stuff! The audio narration was very well done if you’re looking for a nice Fantasy audiobook as well.

Filed Under: Adventure Fantasy, Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery
Tagged With: Book Review, Daniel M Ford, Fantasy Books, The Warden, Tor Books

I did not expect cozy fantasy from a book about a necromancer, yet here we are. Faced with sexism, Aelis de Lenti, is assigned a post in the middle of nowhere instead of the prominent city post she deserves with her achievements. Although this book is action packed and plot heavy we still get to experience Aelis making friends and forming relationships while her unimportant post turns out to be more important than she thought.

Something about cozy fantasy makes me want to put the book down between each chapter and savor the story. This is no different although you can push through and read it quickly since there is so much always going on. Aelis has very little downtime in what is supposed to be an irrelevant posting.

I'm happy to report that Daniel Ford sees women as people and writes Aelis well. She is unlikable in the sense that she was raised in a wealthy family. Due to her privilege and inherent power she often comes across as entitled but learns, grows, and forms friendships anyway.

I would recommend this to most readers. For those who love cozy stories and want to get more into Fantasy and traditional Fantasy readers who want something a little cozier.