I had fun reading this book. I love a book with strong female characters who break out from convention and do amazing things.
A very entertaining book.

This was a cute fantasy book. we love a good female heroine. We could see the characters development throughout the book. We had a chess game in the plot, the were well presented and made the book a lot more interesting. The world building was nothing of the ordinary.

What a fantastic start to a new series! I loved our main character- she was awkward, spunky and I was rooting for her throughout! The story took a great direction, with thee writing flowing and so lyrical! Loved it.

Marilia, the Warlord had a great premise that unfortunately didn’t hit the mark. The writing didn’t grip me. I didn’t love the characters enough to keep me interested. I liked the concept of this book but the execution wasn’t there for me.

Marilia, the Warlord certainly had promise. However, it walked the uncomfortable line between being too familiar with expected high fantasy tropes and being completely unfamiliar. It read like the author was trying to prove something instead of tell a story.

Marilia, the Warlord is an amazing novel with a complex heroine who isn't prone to being the nicest person or the most humble. Readers of fantasy who are used to the chosen one trope with a likeable character who is nearly infallible might be turned off by Marilia. She's smart and has a keen strategic mind but harbors feelings of jealousy toward her twin brother and may often act rashly; she is flawed and more human than touched by the gods. Of course, passing over Marilia the Warlord for these reasons would then be a rash decision on the reader's part because this would mean missing out on a well-written novel about the rise of a woman who changed the fate society kept pushing onto her. Morgan Cole created a world that is richly detailed with complex characters. I couldn't stop turning the pages once I started.

I went through waves of liking and not liking this book as I read. The pacing had a lot of lulls, but also a lot of really riveting scenes.

The book relies heavily on world building and the battle strategy side of the plot which isn’t something I usually like. People who love strong female heroines, battles, and war strategy will probably love this.
It was interesting following the protagonist, Marilia, as she rose up from the bastard daughter of a painted lady and became the adopted daughter of a prominent warrior.
Her struggle against gender roles in a rigid warrior classes society was very well portrayed. Marilia had all the makings of a battle strategist as shown in her superior skills at a chess-like game. But everything in society was against her as she was expected to marry.
Later in the book she comes into her own when tragic circumstances appear to have led her to her destiny.

There is a complex cast of characters which was really good, and many have interesting backstories. Though I feel too much was time spent on all the back stories and history lessons.

Marilia was a strong main character but I never really warmed up to her. She had a brilliant mind and knew she was capable of more, but for most of the book she was in reactive situations rather than proactive. She lacked goals and things just happened to her instead of her being proactive.

A lot of great detail that has gone into the world and it feels like a very real and complex place. I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a complex world, books that cover lot time periods and strong female lead characters.

My thanks to the Author publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is a clever descriptive imaginative book, atmospheric engaging well written, and I as I often find of this genre character driven. To some extent it is a coming of age tale, as Marilia and her twin come to terms with vast changes in their young lives. Entertaining from the start the story builds with some terrific action scenes, particularly the duel which had me totally gripped to the point where I could not read it quick enough, and so tense I almost forgot to breathe.
Just one slight complaint not solely about this book but about this genre in general, there are always so many characters and often they are oddly named, a challenge of memory for a sixth two year old reader, but then I suspect I am not exactly the target audience.
Completely recommended.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I felt like this was a great start to a series.

I like the book "Marilia The Warlord" written by morgan cole. It's tell about a girl who named marilia, a bastard daughter of a painted lady. She has one brother, Annuweth. They lived in the oba'als pillow house to serve drinks to the buyers. After the death of her mother, marilia and Annuweth leave from the pillow house. Karthtag-kal a navessean horselord he also popular the name of 'Perfect' there, he take care of them. So on......
Karthtag-kal one of the character I like the most. I felt very excited when read this book.

Okay, this is a tough one for me to review because I felt like there are a lot of pros and cons to the story here. The majority of my struggles with fully loving this are centered around all the world and character build up in the first half of the book and a general annoyance with almost every character at some point during the story.

What is Marilia, the Warlord about:

Marilia and her twin bother, Annuweth, are living with their mother at a brothel in the country of Tyrace. This is the start of a story which takes place over several years (and countries) and is told from the perspective of the very clever, Marilia. From the twins time in Tyrace, to their journey with their adopted father to Svartennos, to marriage and war in Navessea, and beyond. Marilia becomes the cunning and clever warlord her country needs.

What I liked:

In a general sense, I did like a lot of the main characters. Yes, their communication styles with one another and general personal drama was both extremely frustrating and annoying at times, but I can chop some of that up to their young ages, all the difficult situations they find themselves in, and the general historical/cultural limitations placed on them. These flaws did make the characters feel a little more real in the long run. We also got to know Marilia and Annuweth pretty well in this story considering the in-depth time the author spent building up their past. I have some cons with the twin's development, as well, but I can't say that the build up didn't give me a pretty solid idea of why they are the way they are.

Beyond the characters, I got super into the story around the halfway point. The story from there became much more interesting to me and more on par with my expectations of what the book would be. It was faster and just had more actual things happening which was a nice change of pace. It was just really fun to me from that point on.

What I didn't like so much:

To be honest, the first half was just so freaking slow and repetitive. I understand the need to build the characters up and give readers an understanding of both Marilia and Annuweth. I didn't completely hate all of that build up or think that it shouldn't have been there, but it could have been done a little better. A good chunk of the first 45% could have been condensed and still given a great idea of who the twins are.

Summary of my feelings:

Overall, I thought the book was really solid. I enjoyed the ultimate direction the story went and the world Morgan Cole has built. The characters are flawed, realistic, and well-developed. The first half of the book was definitely slow going, but there was a lot of character and world building smooshed in there. I'm excited to see what the sequel, Empire of Jackals, has in store!

Great start to a trilogy! I love books with mythology and fantasy so this was my dream book! Absolutely loved the badass characters and incredible world!

I really enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the world-building that was heavily present in this read. I felt like I could picture the events unfolding and could really see the scenery. I think Morgan Cole did a great job with this being her first book.
I really enjoyed how the book focused on a female who wanted to be a warrior and fight against gender norms. I valued having Marilia figure out her place in the world and to finally be able to follow her dreams and not care that she was a woman. I also enjoyed how sexuality was discussed in this book because it recognized sex and did not shy away from acknowledging it. There were hints on women and women romances, but the most that happened with that was kisses. Maybe there will be more of a continuation of any of these romances in the next book.
The siblings bond was entertaining and I liked how realistic it felt. The siblings were attached at the hip while they were impoverished, but then grew apart when they were given better circumstances. Having a brother and sister also helped the author to showcase the gender norms of the cultures in the book, which helped the author then deconstruct and break the mold. I did feel like the relationship was strange toward the end of the book, the siblings had a couple of fights and with a snap of a finger, they stopped holding their grudges which were weird. I feel like the grudges would have been held longer and it was strange how defensive Marilia was of her brother at the end where she made sure that he had a share of her glory. Like Marilia wanted to make herself independent from her brother and show how much better she is, but then she changes her mind and wants them to be equals. Maybe this was a way to set up the sequel, so we could see more of their relationship.
This book a 4 out of 5 stars because of the choices that characters made that went against the characteristics the author emphasized. I feel like the author wrote these characters with strong morals and then all of a sudden they go against that without a second thought. I also felt like the world-building overtook the character development because I could picture all of the backgrounds and scenery but I found it difficult to picture characters. I do think that this book would make a great movie and I wonder if it would ever be picked up for adaptation.

Marilia The Warlord
This story follows Marilia as she grows from child to early adulthood. She is born the bastard child to a prostitute. They are called painted ladies. As she soon learns girl children of painted ladies become painted ladies. Something she understandable wants no part of. Through the passing of her mother, things in her life start to escalate quickly. The guiding hand of the gods is strong in her life and she and her brother are adopted by their deceased father’s best friend. They are taken to another land to become the children of that nobleman. We follow Marilia as the fates lead her to her destiny. She is able to overcome gender stereotypes and become a beloved warlord on her own right.
After reading some other reviews I feel like I’m in the minority because I enjoyed the first part of the book and liked it less in the second half. I think my main problem was I really didn’t relate to Marilia’s feelings. I just didn’t like her a lot either. I thought she was selfish and sometimes uncaring to the feelings of those she cares about most. It was all about her and what it takes to become great. I don’t mean to say she doesn’t care for those around her. Only that she doesn’t seem to think about how others are affected until things blow up in her face. I thought things would become super exciting once she proved herself in that first battle but for me, the story started to really drag. The fight at the end was very exciting but it was a real struggle for me to get to that part.
A few things to note. This borders more on the adult side than YA. There is talk of rape, sex scenes, and forced kissing on a child.
I want to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this but not as much as I wanted to, I felt there was far too much emphasis on world building and information thrown at you to create the story set up, than actually getting on with the story and characters, the characters didn’t feel particularly strongly developed. Confusing at times but the plot when it finally arrives is full of action and adventure, I just wish it had gotten to this point sooner


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I do love a strong female protagonist in my fantasy novels and this novel definitely delivered on that front! Although fantasy novels are one of my preferred genres, I do have a bit of a complicated relationship with fantasy novels (which will have to be the subject of another post!). So, whilst I was drawn in by the description of this novel, I was also a little apprehensive. However, I quickly realised my worries were unfounded. 

Marilia, The Warlord centres around the life of Marilia who is raised with her brother Annuweth in a ‘pillow house’, which is where they think they will spend the rest of their lives... Until their world is turned upside down. Now, in a foreign place with their newfound family, the siblings have to find their new places in this world. However, Marilia soon discovers that the place she sees for herself is not the same as what everyone else thinks is best for her. 

Straight away I just loved Marilia. She was a brilliant protagonist and it was great seeing her grow up throughout the novel. The fact that she has a brother too allows you to see how they both develop and how unique their personalities are, which was a really nice touch with the book. I found myself getting angry on Marilia’s behalf when she was told that she couldn’t do certain things because she is a girl, regardless of whether she was better at something than her brother. However, despite Marilia being excellent with strategy and very sharp I enjoyed that you also saw her struggle with things. You’re reminded that she isn’t perfect and she is still young. In addition to Marilia, I think the rest of the characters were also well developed. I particularly liked Ben Espeleos and his family. Although, sometimes a character will disappear or not mentioned for a while which made them sometimes feel like an afterthought. However, this is the first in a trilogy so it is likely that they will come back in the other installments. 

For the most part I think the pacing was really well done in the novel and you see the characters in each new setting long enough for them to really make an impression on you. I also liked how the novel didn’t just stick to one or two places as it gave a better idea of how big this world is, especially as this is the first novel set here. By having the novel in three parts the story felt very focused, not only did you have a clear idea on what was going on but you were shown the key parts of their lives that shaped Marilia and Annuweth. I thought the battle sequences were also well written and easy to follow, which is something I sometimes struggle the most with when it comes to fantasy novels! 

As you can see, I really enjoyed this novel! Whilst this novel does work well as a stand-alone, I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series as I really want to spend some more time with these characters! This book is currently free on kindle, so you have no excuse not to give this novel a read!

I loved the battle scenes in this book!! That's when the narrative really picked up for me -- the pace changed, and I got caught up in Marilia's emotions and experience. The entire second half was rich with complex relationships coming to a head, surprises, and fantastic storytelling. Though I didn't get as much out of the first part of the book, I appreciated how it allowed Cole to plant the seeds for details and throwbacks in the second half in a really nice way

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
It is difficult to review this book as it is many things. In some ways, it could be consider an epic, spanning many years in the MCs life. It contains many themes tied together such as romance, war and fantasy. I enjoyed seeing the journey the MC takes from a child to adult and the events to follow. This book requires a little more effort and commitment than some other books but I believe that it is worth it.
At times, the book became complex without sufficient worldbuilding to support it, which made it difficult to follow at times. Also, there are some mature themes for readers to be aware of, particularly younger ones.
On the whole, an interesting book.

This is a good book for kids to read. I like the world building here although it was a bit difficult to keep track of the kingdoms. The characters were interesting... Both the heroine and her brother were complicated characters. The writing was lyrical and I enjoyed it. A good solid read.

i never ended up downloading this, i've been reading other reviews on this and it sounds pretty good, so i might go get it~