3.5- Tanya, a courageous tavern wench, is shocked when her guardian dies and hasn’t left a will naming her as the tavern proprietor. The tavern is promptly repossessed and Tanya sets out on a journey to see the Queen in hopes that she might grant her the building’s deed. However, the pathway to the castle is anything but smooth. In her travels, Tanya discovers a strange magical object that just might give her the leverage she needs. Undaunted by challenges, Tanya encounters suspicious characters and unlikely friends- featuring LGBTQ romance and representation.

There was a lot to like about this story: Tanya’s determination, the exploration of magic, and great supporting characters. (TW: Magic that requires self-harm.) The pacing seemed a bit off to me and lacked a consistent flow. I would’ve liked more development with the F/F romance. I felt the brief flashes of romance were immediately interrupted or diverted. I don’t know whether there will be a sequel to this book, but I would love to see more complexity in the relationships. Wench is an adventurous fantasy, with an intriguing take on magic and compelling characters! This book has a cheerful sense of humor, strong women who know their goals and dreams, and a unique world to adventure in. Wench releases on January 19, 2021. Thank you to Maxine Kaplan, Amulet Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wench had a lot of potential. The synopsis sucked me in but the execution was uneven. The story jumped from plot point to plot point and honestly might have been better fleshed out over a bunch of books or else tightened to not quite include so many characters and plot points. I hope since I read a very early ARC that the book will be smoothed out before publication because I liked the characters and the LGBTQ+ rep and the plot had potential.

Tanya has been working at her tavern for years and expects it to become hers one day. Then her guardian dies and her dream is ripped out from under her as the queen's guards take ownership and strip the tavern of everything. Tanya sees no other option but to go to the capital with them to petition for the tavern to become hers. But the trip isn't an easy one thanks to the enchanted feather the queen's guard and everyone else seems to want.

This is absolutely a feminist fantasy. Tanya knows what she wants and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it and stand up for herself. And a tavern wench who wants to hold onto her tavern and run it herself, well that struck me as very charming and easy to root for and a nice spin on medieval fantasy. This is a fast-paced read for those who like fun, pacey stories. The magical system was also interesting. On the flip side, the story felt too fast at times. So much happens in this book that it made the plot feel a little clunky at times and rushed. So overall I liked the concept, but the plot execution didn't quite work for me.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from the publisher for review.

I have been reading medieval fantasy books since I was old enough to get through a chapter book. With lady knights at the forefront of my younger self’s role models, I never realized that I would have a new role model to look up to. I loved the antagonistic hero who has the faults of anyone trying to learn through the harsh lessons of experience.
I would recommend this to any student, teacher, person, etc.. who is looking for both a place to settle and an adventure.

This was a fun read. I loved the magical setting and the system was good. I enjoyed the feminist tale. The characters were okay, some of them I didn’t feel for as they disappeared for the majority of the book. I liked the casual queerness of the book too, there was a bisexual main character that ends up in a relationship with another woman which was great. I liked Tanya and I enjoyed the development she had, I also enjoyed her connection to the tavern. The writing could be better as there is a lot of telling and not much showing. Overall I found it to be an enjoyable read.

In the tradition of quests everywhere, Tanya’s story is one of discovery. An unexpected lack of inheritance and a run-in with the Queen’s guard send our heroine off on an adventure that will not leave her unchanged. Tanya’s skills as a tavern wench become useful in the most unlikely of ways, and her need for organization spurs many of her actions that take her from her home to the palace and to the edges of the kingdom. Along the way, she faces battles from everywhere: other travelers, potential friends, and herself. This captivating tale is one of finding your place and finding happiness.

I am utterly in love with this book. From the fast-paced action that has Tanya facing a crazy variety of obstacles throughout the piece to the matter-of-fact tone in delivering the absurd details of this world (much like Terry Pratchett), everything within this book is just charming. This story contains a cast of wildly diverse personalities, and it serves the reader well to remember them all as they pop up again and again. I would love to visit this world, if only to see with my eyes the places that are described in such delightful detail, even Bloodstone. The main character,Tanya, knows what she wants (or, at least, she thinks she does) and does what she can to achieve her goal. I identified with her “I-know-the-best-way-to-do-this-so-follow-my-directions-or-get-out-of-the-way” attitude on a personal level and loved seeing how she matured in this aspect of her nature, especially as it wars with her desire to feel useful (her comfort zone). The women in this book (good, bad, and somewhere in between) show strength in a myriad of ways and make no apologies for who they are or what they want.

There’s a push to spark a romance toward the end of the book that feels unfinished, but this book is perfectly set up for a sequel and these *sparks* could be groundwork for more to come. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. My only disappointment is that I can’t read more!

***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I feel like this book should've been broken up into smaller books. Trying to remember what all happened feels impossible, yet i feel like so much more could've been said about what happened. It's a very odd feeling. I kept looking down at the percentage complete on my kindle and was astonished that I was only halfway done. It was an enjoyable read, but lots going on in the story.

WENCH was a fun romp with admirably strong female characters--strong in all different ways! The world building will greatly appeal to the Minecraft/gaming crowd. As the magic system was explored and developed into more intricate systems, I kept thinking of all my students who would would be totally entranced by this story. It's a little episodic--the main focus throughout sits squarely on the stout, capable shoulders of the title wench, Tanya, as she goes in search of the one thing she wants and ends up exploring farther out into the world and into herself than she planned. The larger cast of characters are fun, especially Jana. The body positive rep/exploration (for female and male characters) is another plus.

Review will also be posted to amazon after pub date.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amulet Books for the chance to read this inspiring tale of a seemingly insignificant character that is usually overlooked in the lore of most RPG settings. The trope of the tavern wench is one as old as fantasy itself. I am in my very first Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and in the year that we've been playing, we've met one such woman, Tappy, whom my playable character vehemently hates. All of her personality, tenacity, and confidence is the product of our Dungeon Master, who was only given a 1-2 sentence description of the gnomish woman. It's actually kind of amazing how woven she is into the plot of our story, and yet for the time being, we have left her in the city we found her to search for freedom. Tappy's case is not unique. These buxom ladies with even broader skills and drive literally serve their entire community, but are hardly ever the focus of an adventure. Maxine gives us Tanya, who could have easily had the same fate, but instead takes us on a wild journey of self discovery and adventure with our long-suffering 'wench' at the helm.

Tanya has worked and lived at The Smiling Snake for as long as she can remember. She was orphaned by her parents and taken in by the proprietor of the tavern, Froud. When he succumbs to old age, Tanya is sure that she will take over the tavern and continue her life as normal. What she doesn't count on is a band of the Queen's corpsmen taking control of it instead, telling her that she has no formal right to it as she was no true relation to her guardian. This sets Tanya into motion. What starts as a quest to regain control of her beloved tavern turns into something far beyond what she could have ever imagined. She takes off with the corpsmen, who are loathe to take her seriously. It's not until a thief barges into their midst, taking off with a magical quill, do things start to fall together for Tanya. Her connections deepen with guards, criminals, witches, and even the Queen herself-- and through it all she is left asking herself what she truly wants in life. Is it just control of the tavern? Or does she want the magic that she has started to unlock within herself? What comes together by the end of the novel is some sort of a happy medium, and we truly see that even if we don't get what we want sometimes... we do end up getting what we need.

Something I really enjoyed about this novel is Tanya's struggle to fit in and feel useful. That's a feeling I think a lot of us can relate to; wanting people to realize just how talented and irreplaceable we are so that we aren't forgotten or left behind. Tanya spent most of her life serving others, and she is very good at what she does, be it cleaning, or cooking, or diffusing tense situations-- all this and more lends itself to her fitting in anywhere she goes. However, her hotheaded and outspoken nature gives new depth to her chosen life of servitude as she is undeniably born to lead. She is truly a captivating protagonist, and her budding relationships (as friends or otherwise) with the people she meets along her travels hits home as she learns that maybe not everyone is going to want something from you. It's possible that some people will just like you for you. At its core, this book is a love letter to all the women finding their place in the world that is only trying to hold them down. Tanya's strength and perseverance is refreshing to see, and I hope to carry some of it with me in my day to day life. We are all so much more than the titles we're given. Thank you, Maxine, for reminding us.

I was so keen for this one to be good. There are flashes of brilliance: the opening chapter rocks and I love some of the character intros. Unfortunately, the plot just let it down a bit. The initial trek to go see the Queen takes up a lot of the book, great for getting to know Tanya a bit better but it makes the real drama feel a bit rushed. There's a lot of telling, less showing too. Still, a light and fun read.

Wench was a brilliant, funny feminist novel with a great storyline.
Jana for me was a standout character, her introduction sets the reader up perfectly for her entire personality. Tanya is a close second, her love for her Tavern was brilliant.
I loved the fantasy aspects, the in your face girl power and the male characters were well balanced.
The overall writing style wasn't 100% to my taste but not unpleasant and a few characters seemed to just fall to the side forgotten. Overall this was a fun read and I would recommend.

There is great humor in Wench, as well as memorable characters and a rollicking adventure. At times I wished the novel's pace was not quite so fast (for example, I would have been interested in a longer journey to Glacier) but the twists and turns of the plot ultimately justified the speedy narrative. It's not clear if Wench is intended to be part of a series but I hope it will be, particularly of the type that explores different characters within a shared world.

Tanya has worked in "her" bar since she was abandoned and taken in by the owner as a child. When he dies, though, she finds out the ownership of her bar is in question. She begins an epic quest to regain possession. She travels through wildly different locales with wildly different people toward the capital. Throughout, we learn about the use and misuse of magic, and it turns out that Tanya may be very good at it, although at personal cost.

There is so much going on in this book that it's hard to describe. My favorite parts, other than the cracking good story, were the choices Tanya made and the ways those choices had real consequences. The plotting was dense, no character was wasted, the locales vivid, and the world-building was deft and made sense. Tanya is a gutsy, gritty girl, and I'd love to try her cooking! (She has strong opinions on food and drink.)

Everyone serves something, the book seems to say. The resourceful and lucky get to choose what and who they serve.

Tanya is a tavern wench who runs a tavern for an old guardian who rescued her from the streets are being found on the beach along as a little girl. Unfortunately, her guardian dies and she is forced to leave her tavern and travel to the capital to speak with the Queen and Council to fight to keep her tavern. As usually happens, craziness ensues and Tanya is forced to protect herself from mages, thieves, and the Queen's corps.

This was an interesting concept. The ways that Tanya finds to protect herself as the story goes shows that she is a fast thinker with a great amount of common sense (most of the time). I enjoyed the fact that she was interested in a relationship with either sex but it seemed to me there was way too many suitors going around in the middle. Her back history is only touched on a little bit so I hope there is a sequel that talks more about where she came from and how she was able to naturally do the things that she did.

Definitely enjoyed Wench and the fun romp that combined both adventure and wit. I will say that due to the cover, I was under the impression that this book was a contemporary with a medieval-esque setting, a la Kit Sweetly or (on the adult side) Well Met. Once I got past this misunderstanding in my brain, however, the book itself was delightful, the magic system unique, and the characters sparkling.

There was a lot about this book I liked - the setting, the characters, the comraderie. I loved all the characters, but particularly Tanya's strength, resilience, and capability, and I enjoyed the somewhat odd assortment of friends she developed along the way-thieves, soldiers, a wizard, and a horse - and I loved the ending. However, the fantasy element took a very bizarre and dark turn that just seemed out of place with the rest of the story and distracted rather than added to it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I don't usually enjoy feminist books, but this fem-fantasy I didn't mind even thought it was very much in-your-face girl empowerment. The main thing that made it tolerable for me was that the characters were all pretty awesome. The females, Tanya, Jana, Queen, had strong personalities though they also had vulnerabilities and were not good at everything. The men, Rollo, Greer, Darrow, were also interesting (if not quite rounded out).

It was most certainly a FUN read. The world-building was good, the dialogue was good, the campy action was good, the pacing was mostly good. While the writing was generally good, it seemed that the story was separated into three distinct acts. It was distracting and definitely thew the story off track. I'm not sure that the middle act tied in very well to the first and third. <spoiler> Also, I could have done without the queer romance. The attraction to J was nice, but the tiny moment with G didn't add to the story. Maybe because he wasn't really essential enough to the plot? </spoiler> As a whole, it is entertaining.

What a delightful book! Wench is a classic heroine's quest freshened with feisty, feminist values. I look forward to recommending this to the children I work with.

A young "wench" takes her life into her own hands and goes on an adventure to save her tavern, but in the process becomes so much more. A great book for teens! So much fun inner dialogue.
#Wench

I adored this book! It's fun and light-hearted whilst tackling a series of serious topics in a thoughtful, well considered way. I can't wait for this to be out so I can recommend this to every girl who comes into the store, I think it has something to offer everyone and is super accessible and enjoyable to read! I couldn't put this down, and I enjoyed the hyper-competence juxtaposed with her unwillingness to trust anyone to help her, which created a complex yet compelling protagonist. I really enjoyed the ending and the book as a whole, please do yourself a favour and read this book!!!