"The Cadet of Tildor" by Alex Lidell Review

She lived when she should have died. She passed when she should have failed. She fought when she should have ran. In The Cadet of Tildor, Cadet Renee de Winter enters her last year of training at the Academy, where she will then be given the honor of serving the Crown in the elite military squad called Servants. But before she can graduate and serve her country, she has a list of challenges to conquer: the physical test she must pass in order to graduate, the belief of everyone around her that she will fail because she is not as big or strong as the boys in her class, the mysterious actions of her best friend Alec, and the new brutal combat instructor, Korish Savoy. As if school wasn't enough to worry about, her country is on the brink of civil war between two warring crime gangs--the Family and the Vipers--and the new, young king,. But when the conflicts of those three enter her school, Renee must decide whether to act on the law, or to act on her instincts.

This new fantasy novel by Alex Lidell is an exciting ride full of twists and turns, with bits of magic thrown in here and there. Each character possesses an amazing back story, that not only ties in with many events that are occurring throughout the book, but also aids in explaining how the characters came to be who they are today.

The presence of a female protagonist such as Renee is a healthy break from the more severe "girl power" characters that have been produced previously. Her weaknesses are evident when compared with the male characters, yet her strength is evident in that she will not let her short comings impede her from doing all she can to help her friends and her kingdom. And isn't that, the strength in one's character, the best strength of all? The story has a healthy balance when it comes to Renee, showing not only her positive aspects, but also her faults. Situations in the story also cause her to rethink her stance in that the law must be followed at all cost; that maybe the world isn't black and white, but that there might be areas of gray.

While there is very little "magic" in the book to really be called a fantasy, Tildor is a wonderful kingdom to read about, and the people inside of it more so, making The Cadet of Tildor a very enjoyable story.