In short: The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell was an incredibly exciting and fast-paced read, but unfortunately, it was at the expense of character and world building. 
 The Cadet of Tildor is an exciting and fast-paced addition to the high fantasy genre. Soldier training at an elite school, powerful magic used for good and bad, gruesome gladiator fights, crime families at war with each other - sounds fun, right? It is. The Cadet of Tildor follows the sole female soldier at the Academy of Tildor - Renee - as she tries to make a name for herself among her male cohorts. I loved The Cadet of Tildor's thrilling action scenes and the dark and gritty undertones of the world debut author Alex Lidell has created. 
 I do think the story was a bit too fast-paced for my liking, however. As fun as fast pacing in a novel can be, I felt that certain key elements of The Cadet of Tildor were lacking at its expense and could have used more time to develop - namely, the character development (I felt mostly detached and uninterested in the characters) and the politics and world building (I feel like I have only the barest grasp of these things). Personally, I'd rather take some time out from non-stop action (as fun as it is) to develop the world and characters more fully - or else the end result is that I kind of stop caring about those things. 
 Something else that I disliked about The Cadet of Tildor that is very subjective: Savoy, Renee's love interest, and their relationship. Try as I might, I just can't seem to fall for the bad boys that other girls go crazy about. Savoy was an arrogant jerk and I really disliked the way he patronized Renee for much of the novel. And meanwhile, Renee spent much of the novel mooning over him, despite his treatment of her, so that was also annoying. Again, I do think this is just my personal taste though - I have no doubt lots of ladies will love Savoy's mysterious and wounded character. 
 While The Cadet of Tildor wasn't my ideal fantasy read, I do think that a majority of readers are going to really enjoy this one, however, as it was a truly fun and thrilling read. I would highly recommend The Cadet of Tildor to readers who love fast pacing and who are more fantasy novices (I fear more experienced fantasy readers might find this one a bit unoriginal).