Ever and Ever Sight: Blog Tour: The Cadet of Tildor: Review

Welcome to my stop on The Cadet of Tildor blog tour!!! This tour is hosted by AToMR Tours. My stop includes a review and a giveaway!!!

Title: The Cadet of Tildor
Author: Alex Lidell
Publisher: Dial
Publication: January 10th, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis

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 Review

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book!!!! It was AMAZING!!!! Words can't express how much I loved this book. Once I started it, I couldn't''t put it down. I was immediately captivated once I started it. For one thing, it was beautifully written. I felt like I was there the whole time along with the characters. The descriptions the author used let me mentally see the world that she created.

Renee strove to be a servant of the Crown. She is considered weak among the other students. The other students are male so of course their strength out weighs hers. She begins practicing even more with Savoy learning that speed will help he defeat those stronger than her. She also learns that her best friend, Alec, has a huge secret of his own. A lot of things start happening. Children go missing, including her teacher's brother, Diam. She quits the Academy, along with Alec, to go and search for Diam. Soon they run into Savoy and Connor. When they find Diam, Savoy trades his life for his brother's life. He is then trained to fight in illegal gladiator games. Will Renee be able to beat the odds and devise a plan to rescue Savoy and the other children?

Renee is a true heroine. She takes to heart what she is told and strives to do better. Since the males are obviously stronger than she is, Savoy teachers her some fighting moves that will help her beat the enemy. When Diam is captured, she quits the Academy to go in search of him. The Academy is her home and her dream so that was a huge sacrifice for her. I loved how she grew throughout the book. She became so much stronger and surprised everyone. She beat the odds and was able to kill and outwit the enemy.

Savoy is the Commander of the Seventh. He isn't happy at all being reassigned to teach the cadets. He singles Renee out, and she pushes harder. He eventually lets Renee in though. He starts to care for her and look out for her. I don't know if he cares for her as a sister or something more. That is yet to be determined. When he trades his life for his brothers, I finally got to see some emotion from him. He doesn't show pain or any type of feelings so seeing some type of emotion from him drew me in. He made some friends while taring for the gladiator games. One of them even attempted to help him escape. No matter what, he didn't quit fighting. I loved how close he is to the Seventh. I know he is their commander, but if anyone of them were captured, they would destroy anything in their way to find or help them out.

Alec is Renee's best friend. She still stands by him once she learns that he is a mage. They have each others back no matter what, and I loved that about their relationship. He also seems to care for her as more than a friend. He got very jealous of Savoy and Cory. Alec started to change through the story though. They starting drifting from each other once he found others like him. They seem to still be friends , but not as close as they were. I hope they are able to get their friendship back. I was very sad at the end when he leaves though. Knowing Renee, she won't stop until she finds him though.

I loved all the characters from this book. The characters are multi-faceted making you see their points of view and making it hard to distinguish who is actually good and who is actually bad. There wasn't one character I didn't like. A lot of the ones I thought were bad even grew on me.

This is a book I definitely will reread. I will be buying this book as soon as it releases in January!!! I hope this isn't a standalone. The way it ended, I don't think it is. I hope I don't have to wait too long for the sequel if there is one. This book is a must read!!! I recommend it to everyone!!! Great debut Alex!!!

Favorite Quote/Scene

Cory trotted up on his bay, his gaze lingering on the city behind him. "she's quite a lass, isn't she?"
Savoy chuckled. "Spare the efforts, Sergeant. de Winter is out of your reach.
Cory raised his hands. "I've a rule not to court friends and siblings of anyone who can skin me alive." He paused. "Ye think we'll work with her again?"
Savoy nodded his head> "That one, Cory, will one day command us all."

Links to find/buy your book:

Amazon: http://ow.ly/bbb0C

Website www.alexlidell.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13549523-the-cadet-of-tildor

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.

Social Media links:

Twitter: @alexlidell

Facebook: http://ow.ly/bbdw9

Goodreads: http://ow.ly/bbb9i

Shelfari: http://ow.ly/bbbaP

Library Thing: http://ow.ly/bbbef