Maxine Kaplan

Tanya was taken in by a roughshod older man when she washed up on a beach at age eight. He taught her how to survive and function as a tavern wench, but when he died, she was kicked out of what she believed to be HER tavern by an arrogant member of the Queen's Guard. Determined to petition the queen to regain the tavern, she embarks upon a journey, beginning with her accompanying the guardsmen, to seek out the queen. What follows involves bandits, a likable, but somewhat pompous apprentice wizard, Tanya discovering her magical talents and a splash of romance. It's a fun read with a feminist slant and a happy ending.… (more)

Great potential, but honestly it was too meandering and complicated for a feminist teen fantasy. When Tanya's guardian (the owner of the tavern she works at) unexpectedly die - Corpsmen under seize the tavern and she has nowhere to go. She's only seventeen but the best years of her life were spent working there, brewing beer, breaking up barfights, cooking, and cleaning. She's at a loss for what to do when she decides that she will accompany the contingent of men who requisitioned her bar and stole her supplies to the capital to see the Queen. Along the way there are bandits, thieves, junkoff (magical spill off), romance, detours, and unexplained magical objects. Tanya finds herself wielding a magic feather with the potential to change the world as she knows it. The only question is why she, a teenage tavern wench, can use it and not the wizards and magic users of the realm. This book was ALL OVER THE PLACE. Great concept - poor execution.… (more)

I enjoyed the magic in Wench – the simple fact that it was fraught with amateur magicians made it laughable and believable. I particularly liked the side-effects of practicing magic without knowing the consequences is known as junkoff. If you cast a spell to procure an item (gold, water, food, etc.), it has to come from somewhere – the junkoff is the consequence of the magician not planning that part out. That is precisely what Tanya excels at (besides running an efficient tavern) – organization. Organization as a perk to a heroine is a story is a skill I’ve never come across in a book, and I LOVED it! I think in a similar way to Tanya, I loved seeing this aspect in the main character. Part two of the book read more like a second book than a continuation of the first half. While it didn’t appear that an extended amount of time had passed, the Tanya in part one read a little different than the Tanya in part two. The book meandered with its telling and that made the momentum that it had going bog down even though it was interesting material – just a little choppy, if it were polished up a little bit it would be much better.

Tanya learned the hard way that the most important lessons you can learn in life habitually cost you the most. Tanya felt completely unsettled, hopping about from situation to situation, and it made the book feel a little choppy. Her dream got brushed aside too readily for how stubborn she was about it. My favorite side “character” was the golden horse – her attitude and snark made me want to know if she was indeed a horse at all. We don’t see the timid emergence of LGBTQ+ romantic feelings until roughly 70% through the book. Here too Tanya doesn’t seem to know what exactly it is that she wants. The romantic interactions between characters are minimal and PG, which isn’t necessarily negative (depending on personal preference).

I am curious to see if this will be a standalone novel or if there might be a second book – it could go either way. If a second is in the works, I will more than likely read it. I would be curious where it would take our cast from the conclusion of the first novel. Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours, Maxine Kaplan, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Wench – all opinions are my own.… (more)

I'm going to round this one up to four stars as I'm teetering on the edge of 3.5.

Overall, this story was an enjoyable one and Tanya was a relatable character to follow around for the length of it. Unfortunately, it didn't hold my attention like I think it should have. There's so many twists and turns that I expected to be captivated, but sadly...I just wasn't. It's not bad...it's just not all that great either.

The main plot has Tanya needing to get to The Capital to get possession of the Inn/Tavern that she thought would be left to her once her guardian passed. There's plenty of adventure...or misadventure, if you will, along the way, but I felt like a lot of it could have been avoided had Tanya been a little smarter? I mean, common sense should still be a thing in books, right?

If you're looking for something to just pick up and read between heavy books, this one will do nicely. It's cute and fun and fast-paced...just don't expect to be wow'd or really drawn into the story.

Thank you ABRAMS Kids via NetGalley for the e-ARC to read and review honestly.… (more)