Bad Wrap: The Keepers of Warden's Rest - Episode 5

The Keepers of Warden's Rest Miniseries #5

by Jeremy Fabiano

Some gifts are better left unopened.

Winternight is coming to Warden’s Rest Academy, and Alden Voss has been forced to coordinate the celebration. With a committee of magically-challenged students, a thirty-gold budget, and the Archduke’s mysterious gift shipment that has the delivery driver fleeing in terror, what could possibly go wrong?

When the gift exchange begins and the presents start fighting back, Alden discovers that someone has turned Winternight into a lesson his students will never forget—if they survive it.

Armed with kitchen implements and industrial salt, Alden must keep his disaster-prone students alive through the most violent holiday celebration in academy history. Because at Warden’s Rest, even the decorations are trying to kill you.

Genres: Fantasy

116 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2025

Reviews

[Hope Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing. I love that they wind up fighting a Mimic during Winternight. I'm also a huge fan of the way 'fantasy christmas' is handled in this series. I love that the festivity of the mimic made everything worse.

I'm curious to see if the secret admirer reveal goes anywhere in future books. I'm not sure if it'd be better or worse if it turns out Evora was just teasing. As far as romance goes I'm also highly amused by Tasha and Darion's ongoing romance.

I was hoping to Darion's reaction to the journal Voss gave him during the gift exchange. I might've missed that section in the aftermath of the great mimic fight.

I love Hugo so much and his 'I have a kit for everything.' Philosophy but the knowing the dean could've shut things down at any time and only chose to interfere because exploding the academy would result in too much paperwork was infuriating.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab the the book for a Tentacular Winternight!

Turns out that Alden Voss is actually good at teaching stressed out children. And it pays in dividends when they head into Winternight's celebrations. With everyone receiving a gift that keeps on giving... a cursed gift 🎁! And it’s up to each and everyone together to stop the curses.
So yeah grab this bite-sized novellett and get ready for a pulse-pounding Christmas that you'll never forget.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely annoyed that Evora turned out to be the ‘secret admirer’ and then Alden immediately goes off and has a drink with Hugo and his boys and she is not mentioned again in this book. Just let Alden and Hugo act like the soulmates they clearly are!

[Mim Crenshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

This was another great addition to a wonderful series. Poor Alden, something is always happening at the Academy , and this time was no different. This one wasn't as funny as the previous books but no less interesting and fun to read.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2026 bk 27 (or 29, I lost count). Time for gift giving - only when wagons of unexpected gifts show up the unexpected happens. Having to battle the tree, ornaments, and gifts were a little more than planned, but the students do actually pull together. Fun read!

[Jean O'Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a nice job of writing a Christmas story w/out Christmas