Death Warden
by C.J. StillingPublished by: Fantastically Minded on November 15, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 406
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Rating:
A teenage assassin. An impossible choice. The fate of everything hangs in the balance…
Sixteen-year-old Reen swore she’d never take another life. Divinely selected to assassinate a few in order to save many, she learned to jump from shadow to shadow and claim her victims without question… until she was ordered to kill the boy she loved. But when an ancient plague returns threatening to infect everyone she knows, she is forced to resume her deadly duties.
Battling a disease that turns people into nightmarish monsters, Reen must track down and terminate those responsible before the city falls, and the evil spreads beyond its borders. But the closer she gets to the source, the more she uncovers sinister secrets that will shake the foundations of her world and everything she believes.
Can Reen defend her realm without losing her soul?
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Dark fantasy worlds filled with deadly secrets.
- Plot twist after plot twist that’ll keep you guessing.
- Plenty of action and mystery.
- A squad of unique characters.
- A strong female protagonist.
I’m always up for dark fantasy, but when it includes assassins? Count me in! I was immediately drawn into this super dark world and all the secrets it keeps.
Death Warden is a dark fantasy with a strong female assassin protagonist and a fun squad of characters. This world is filled with magic and so many secrets that’ll have you waiting for the next twist!
I was a little confused at first to find that the story switches from past to present, and it took several chapters before I became used to it and comfortable with the pattern. That’s something I normally struggle with, though. I do have to say that I ended up liking the switching in the case of how the reveals lined up and the way it allowed foreshadowing! It made some reveals all the more effective.
The descriptions of this world are both beautiful and harrowing, but they pulled me in immediately.
It’s not exactly a sprawling wonderland, or at least not for Reen, who was born into poverty. Actually, she ends up getting mugged in the opening chapter, so, you know, maybe not the greatest place. I have to say, I think even I’d give this world a pass if I were offered a chance to live in it.
Stilling does a good job of pulling the reader into the world and offering a glimpse of it, both the ugly and the beautiful.
There’s plenty of both, really. It’s obviously a dark world, but that’s not to say there aren’t wonderful moments, too. While I don’t think I’ll be jumping to visit this world anytime soon, I enjoyed learning more about it and I think there are plenty more adventures to be had there. I’d love to read more books set in this world!
Our protagonist, Reen, is a Death Warden, which is basically a mythical magical assassin.
It’s not something that she chose. I mean, who would willingly choose to be an assassin? Erm … except me, maybe. I don’t count. Besides, Reen was young when she became a Death Warden, and even I was sweet and innocent-ish at that age and probably not proper assassin material, so I rest my case.
In this world, Death Wardens are a myth, a scary story people tell their children, and woefully misunderstood.
Even for Reen, who is a Death Warden herself, their history is an enigma, and their original isn’t actually understood. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the Death Wardens and what they’re intended to do. It’s a mystery that Reen has to unravel herself throughout the book, and it’s so well done!
Three . . . four . . . lock the door.
Five . . . six . . . beware their tricks.
Seven . . . eight . . . it’s too late.
The minor characters in this are quite a bunch, and I enjoyed getting to know them.
Some of the relationships are a little … complicated? Like Cron and Reen’s friendship, although I won’t say why it’s such a strange one. You’ll just have to read and find out. Still, they make quite a pair of friends, and it’s obvious they belong together.
Reen also meets a bunch of Death Wardens as she learns about her role in society. I really enjoyed this part in particular. I mean, not all the Death Wardens are lovable. In fact, there are some utterly intolerable ones. There’s always one or two in every group. Still, I loved some of the Death Wardens we get to meet along the way!
There’s a little bit of a romance subplot in this, and it was just too cute. I approve.
It’s a little complicated, given the fact that one member of the couple is an assassin and the other has no memory of his early life prior to a couple years ago. Okay, so it’s not exactly ideal, right? Add that to the fact that Reen is a little emotionally unavailable and there’s some really delicious drama that happens between the pair. I don’t want to say more than that, because it’s a slow burn romance and you have to experience it yourself, but I did think it was super cute!
“Which part?”
He stammered for a moment and then managed, “All of you.”
She flashed a wicked grin. “You haven’t seen all of me, unless you’ve been peeping.”
“I’d never—“
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