Daughter of Witches
Literary Quality: 
Christian Morality: Harmless/Dangerous
Age Appropriateness: Teenager/Adult
A fan of Wrede's "Enchanted Forest Chronicals" and alternate reality Regencies, I recently snatched up at my local used bookstore several of Wrede's earlier works.
Upon reading them, I can only suppose that these standard sword and sorcery novels were written as the result of a need to gain a toehold on the market. If that was their purpose, then I applaud them. But as pieces of literature, they are dull, undeveloped, cliche, and inconclusive.
The usual S&S elements are evident in "Daughter of Witches": a tyrannical monotheistic church which actually worships a demonic power (*long-suffering sigh insert here*), a girl with untapped magical abilities, a mercenary - both male and female, a mage (female), a streetrat-thief (boy), and several conveniently expendable temple guards under the control of a lustful, manipulative, tyrannical meglomaniacal highpriest (male - *insert second long-suffering sigh*).
Ranira's plight is not compelling, mainly because her final decision - to develop her latent magical talent - is painfully obvious from the first. Their flight from the city, while tense at times (the river bit worked fairly well), counteracts the semi-interesting world-building conflict Wrede had begun within the city by removing the threat of a return to the city with every pageturn.
In short, "Daughter of Witches" from the title to the last sentence, is predictable.
Those who first discovered Wrede with her later novels would be well-served not to invest in her earlier S&S fare, but keep an eye out for upcoming novels from this otherwise excellent author.
As you've no doubt guessed by now, Sword and Sorcery - at least, as it's written today; I can't speak for Conan the Barbarian and all the pulp fiction stories - is the Stronghold of Paganism and the Liberal Agenda. And, continuing in that ill-lustrious line, comes Warner Imprint's new darling, J. V. Jones. Shamelessly featured in Writer's Digest, and again in their Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Sourcebook, 2nd Edition - promoted as a Brit (and awl wee dum Amhairicains no there reel smart!), and the reincarnation of Chaucer (who was kidding folks! We weren't supposed to emulate the idiots in the Canterbury Tales! yeesh.), at first glance she looks like a potential darling of ours as well.
; Christian Morality: Dangerous/Offensive; Age Appropriateness: Adult/Inappropriate), which is a retelling of the Arthurian myth from the point of view of Morgan the Fay. Considering the fact that she butchers history, she also manages to repeatedly incriminate Christianity as oppressive, degrading, yadda yadda. The book is tedius, poorly written (and difficult to hold in one's hand). However, it is worth reading as a critical model of feminazi anti-Christianity propaganda. A fair amount of sex, incestual, rape and menage a trois, is involved. If you don't have to read this novel, don't. If you want to read Arthurian legend, read The Once and Future King, Idylls of the King, or any other older source.
; Offensive; Inappropriate) uses all of these. She has recently begun a second series which I have not read - one can only presume they are the same. She has no short stories or other fiction which can be recommended. Her contribution to fantasy as a genre lies only in quantity; in literary merit she stinks.