The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

Review of The Cadet of Tildor

Title & Author:
The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
Publisher:
Dial
Publication Date:
January 10, 2012
Pages:
400
Source:
ARC from Author

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. – Goodreads

I don’t know how I can put my love for The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell into words.

I’m a Tamora Pierce fangirl and while I’ve enjoyed a good deal of fantasy (The Girl of Fire and Thorns is seriously AMAZING), nothing has had quite the same effect on me as Tamora Pierce’s books. Until The Cadet of Tildor.

The Cadet of Tildor has the same kind of vibe as Tamora Pierce, but still being totally original and epic in its own way. I felt transported to the world that Alex Lidell created for her readers. It’s fresh and visual and gritty.

I loved the characters in The Cadet of Tildor. Renee was such a badass and I was rooting for her from page one. She’s brave and loyal, but she has a moral compass she just doesn’t know what to do with yet, and I think she’s just a really relatable character, even though she exists in a world I’ve never known.

And the SLOW BURN. Guys, talk about slow burn. I loved The Cadet of Tildor because Renee didn’t just fall head over heels for Savoy and vice versa. There’s a trust, a friendship that has to be developed and I thought Alex Lidell showed that beautifully. Not to say that I wasn’t dying for smooches by the end of the book, because I totally was, but I thought Alex Lidell did right by the characters.

The storyline in The Cadet of Tildor is seriously engaging and gritty. I had to put down The Cadet of Tildor several times just to savor it, so I wouldn’t’ read it all in one sitting even though I wanted to just sit down and not move until I was finished.

Alex Lidell created a new world with The Cadet of Tildor, one that I could practically see as I was reading. Her characters are brave and admirable, but each with their own faults. The Cadet of Tildor is a fantasy comparable to some of the best and I can’t wait to read more from this debut author.

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