Elaine White's Life in Books

Review will be included in a full Volume review of Warders: Volume 1.

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I loved this one!

First off, I'll admit to being a little disgruntled and frustrated when I began reading the 1st person POV only to discover half a page later that it wasn't Julian's, like I'd expected. It was, in fact, Malic's POV. However, once I settled into the story I was happy about that. I'm still a little confused and frustrated that there was no ending or explanation for the overly familiar Winters episode and the pissed off Peyton, from book 1, however.
For me, Malic's story had a better balance between romance and action, equally exploring his search for a hearth as well as his mission as a warder. There wasn't an equal footing of that sort in the first story. Book 1 felt much too much like the only focus was on getting Julian and Ryan together, the end. Malic's story is a much more indepth explanation o the life a warder leads, though I'm still confused as to what a warder actually is. The implication is that they're human, but it's never really been explained how they become the way they are – fast, skilled, trained and inhuman in the sense that they can be healed from wounds that would kill a regular human. Both their origin story – being chosen and discovered – and the healing aspect lie at Jael's door, but are never explained.
There were a few personality traits that were a little too close to Julian and Ryan's relationship status for comfort, at first. The rehash of Graham not being a one-night-stand kind of guy and being more into relationships and the non existent gag reflex, to name two in particular.
However, this story had exactly the kind of chemistry and building romance that I'd wanted to see in book 1. Exploring how Malic and Dylan meet, how they revolve around each other, their dogged persistence, Dylan's feistiness and more, all made for a great relationship story that was pleasantly mixed in well with a real action story of Malic and little Sophie.
I don't, however, know what a 'clutch' is despite it being used in a similar essence as a hearth. I don't know if or how the kyrie Raph fits into Malic's future or if he'll abuse the bond they've created or not. I still have unanswered questions, but I'm not sure if later stories will answer them or not. I'll take care to find out, though, as I'm intrigued who will pop up next, if Malic was the last warder searching for his hearth.

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Favourite Quote

““Will you buy me a drink?”
I gave him a look. “Sure. Whaddya want? Milk?”
He scowled up at me. “Hah, funny. I'm twenty-four, ya know.”
“Really.” I nodded because that was interesting. He had aged five years from the bathroom to the floor.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
“That's funny, because you already told me you were nineteen in the bathroom.”
“I did?”
I nodded.
“Shit.””