Lord of the Rings lite that is prefect for older teens. Not too many characters, a good female lead, a Bildungsroman built to form, and diversity led to a good fantasy start to a series. However it started to lose steam at the end for me and the cliffhanger isn’t enough for me to want to continue the story. I liked where the story finished and it could do well as a stand alone.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

This was a pretty good opening book in a new fantasy series. Interesting magic systems, multiple races (human, orc, elves and more), and a general acceptance of non-cis relationships made for good world-building and a decent read. The writing was a tiny bit choppy in places, but that won't stop me from seeking out further books in this series as they come out. Be forewarned that this book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so hopefully the author can get the next book picked up and published.

Thank you, Tor Publishing Group, for allowing me to read The Warden early.

I'm sorry, the Warden is not my cup of tea. I didn't particularly like the writing and the characters. I hope other readers will love the story more than I did.

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford, I really enjoyed this book, it starts off a little slow and doesn't telegraph where its heading. I urge you to give this book a chance as it might just come out of the blue and surprise you.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

I wanted to enjoy this but was overly unimpressed with the relationships, the dynamic, and the plot felt convoluted.