Thursday, January 17, 2013

Blog Tour & Review: The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

 Today WinterHaven Books has the opportunity to review The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell as part of A Tale of Many Reviews blog tour. Thank you AToMR for allowing us to participate!


The Cadet of TildorThe Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: January 10, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
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.
My Thoughts:
This book delivered everything I hoped it would and more.  With kings, fighting, servants, spies, and magic The Cadet of Tildor takes you for a ride that I promise you will begging not to end.

Renee de Winter wants nothing more than to be a servant of the Crown.  She has spent many years training to server the king and when she is put on probation, her father tells her if she goes back he will disown her thinking she has no business at the Academy.  With nothing but her pride in tow she goes to the Academy hoping to earn her way into the guard.  When fate intervenes and brings the infamous Commander of the Seventh to her class as the new teacher all bets are off.  Knowing that she will have to up her game Renee trains header than ever before, but with several people against her and a growing war coming she isn't sure if she will ever achieve her dream.

I loved this book.  I am a huge fan of this genre and I can't express how will the author did with his characters and world.  Renee is strong, but has weaknesses.  She shows that she knows she has work to do and at the same time womans up to her failures.  I have a lot of respect for her and what she managed to accomplish throughout this book.  I didn't want a badarse girl, I wanted someone who was humble, had fight in her, and wanted to stand on her own.  What I got was so much more.  Savoy was another great addition.  I really admire the author for making Savoy stick to his guns and not not muddle the storyline with a romance.  Do I want them together, of course.  Am I okay that things ended the way they did definitely yes. This story was just about the impeding war between the Vipers, The Family, and Tildor which is what it should have been about.  This world was so creatively written that it doesn't need the added romance elements.  Savoy is there to teach Renee and they both kept me glued to the pages.

I will definitely be on the look out for a sequel.  This doesn't end in a cliff hanger, but I am definitely wanting more.
5 snowflakes

Alex Lidell has graciously offered this amazing giveaway to his readers.  Check it out!
$20 Amazon Gift Card, PLUS a copy of THE CADET OF TILDOR with swag – US
$20 Book Depository Gift Card – International
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Author:
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.
Don't forget to spot by the rest of the amazing blogs that are participating in The Cadet of Tildor blog tour!



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