JennReneeRead: Tour Blog: The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell- Review and Giveaway

Friday, January 11, 2013

Tour Blog: The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell- Review and Giveaway

Tour hosted by AToMR Tours : Schedule

Title: The Cadet of Tildor

Author: Alex Lidell
Publishing Date: January 10th 2013
Publisher: Dial

Pages: 408
Genre: YA Fantasy

Series: Stand alone
Source: Paperback ARC provided by AToMR Tours

Tamora Pierce meets George R. R. Martin in this smart, political, medieval fantasy-thriller.

There is a new king on the throne of Tildor. Currents of political unrest sweep the country as two warring crime families seek power, angling to exploit the young Crown's inexperience. At the Academy of Tildor, the training ground for elite soldiers, Cadet Renee de Winter struggles to keep up with her male peers. But when her mentor, a notorious commander recalled from active duty to teach at the Academy, is kidnapped to fight in illegal gladiator games, Renee and her best friend Alec find themselves thrust into a world rife with crime, sorting through a maze of political intrigue, and struggling to resolve what they want, what is legal, and what is right.

I love fantasy and this book looked like an awesome read, so I jumped at the chance to read it. I am so glad I did. Full of action, treachery, and loyalty... this is the perfect fantasy.

Renee de Winter is 16 and she wants to be a Servant and protect the Crown. She attends the Academy with many others who are training for the same thing. She has to work hard because as a girl she is already weaker. She must do what she can to become stronger and learn other ways to prove she is valuable. As the new training year, her senior year, is starting, a new instructor joins the academy. He is well know, a great commander, well known, and very tough, and everything that was right or known in Renee's world is changed. Secrets revealed, loyalties questioned, and friendships tested.

A very action packed read! I loved it from the very beginning. I loved the story, the characters, the writing style, the plot, it was all wonderful.

This was such a great read. With many fantasies I have found myself struggling the writing style and the keeping up with the story and characters. I love how some of them sound when reading aloud, but reading to myself I can tend to get a little confused and lost. This is the main reason I have only read a handful of high or epic fantasies. The Cadet of Tildor was a very easy read to follow and get wrapped up in every moment. Never once lost I found that the story had a great amount of detail, background, and in depth characters without me feeling confused on who is who and what is happening now. The only found myself to be lost in the story because I didn't want to put the book down. Action packed it is fast paced and at many times a very intense read.

I loved all the characters in the book but most of all I grew extremely close to Renee. Not perfect by any means, full of faults at the beginning but still managed to stand out with her loyalty to the Crown, her friends, and herself. She struggles being a girl in an academy full of stronger boys, but she never gives up or back downs. She starts off knowing what she believes is right or wrong, but early on those things are questioned and she finds and accepts that there isn't always a black and white but a gray area for everyone. Of course this is a fantasy so loyalty, friendship, and growth is extremely important and the existence of these are very evident from the very beginning.

A very awesome book, exciting read, I recommend this book for seasoned fantasy readers and those who want to dabble to find a great fantasy read without feeling lost in the story.

Alex Lidell is a YA fantasy writer and author of ABNA Finalist THE CADET OF TILDOR (Penguin, 2013).

Although English is Alex’s primary language, it wasn’t her first. Coming from Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school and fell in love with reading when the school librarian put Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA into her hands. Years later, in college, it was another book that re-united Alex with Russian, which she had shunned in adolescence. The Three Musketeers.* Alex thanks both books, and the writers who created them.

Beyond writing, Alex is also a photographer, a horseback rider, and a paramedic. The latter two go hand in hand more often than one would like. She is trying to self-teach herself and her horse to sword-fight.

Alex would love to see THE CADET OF TILDOR in the classroom and is working on developing teacher guides for the novel. She enjoys “e-meeting” both students and educators.