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Sunday 18 August 2019

Reviewing Debut Novel Relic by Bronwyn Eley

Title: Relic
Series: The Relic Trilogy
Author: Bronwyn Eley
Publication Date: September 12th, 2019
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In the city of Edriast, there is no deadlier duty than to serve as the Shadow.

As the personal servant of the powerful Lord Rennard, the Shadow's life is all but forfeit. Rennard possesses one of five rare and dangerous Relics – a jewel that protects his bloodline, but slowly poisons everyone else in its proximity. When the current Shadow succumbs to its magic, nineteen-year-old blacksmith Kaylan is summoned to take his place. It's an appointment that will kill her.

As the time Kaylan has left ebbs away, hope begins to fade...

That is, until she discovers a plot to destroy all five bloodlines in possession of the Relics. As her life hangs in the balance and rebellion bears down on Edriast, Kaylan must decide where her loyalties lie – and how she'll leave her mark on the world.

Review


I received an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Eley's strength lies in her ability to evoke sensations and emotions. She describes the experience of being near the relic and the effects it has on Kaylan in such a vivid manner that I was physically recoiling in some moments. The use of language works, making it easy for me to position myself within the scenes and feel as though I was there with Kaylan as well. She was also able to set up the plot and world quite well by the end of the novel. However, I would say that it took me awhile to fully understand how the world worked and why the relic was so important. Furthermore, majority of this first book was dedicated to just setting up for the climax of this series. It's not a bad thing per se, but I was hoping to see some action or scenes that didn't just involve talking. If anything, Eley's managed to build a solid foundation in which I'm hoping will launch us into an action-packed second book that is a lot more gripping and intense.

I struggled to fully love Kaylan as the protagonist, but can acknowledge that there must be more to her than what has been revealed in Relic. I did come to love Markus, but felt like he was written for readers to be attracted to - as really the only male that is of any interest. At first, I couldn't grasp whether Lord Rennard was suppose to be a villain or a flawed character to empathise with and learn to understand. Even now I'm conflicted as to how to feel about him, only because the characters that are around him and seemingly know him aren't also sure how they feel about him either. I'd like to think that there will be more characters revealed in the second instalment that could perhaps be written with more conviction.

The plot line is intriguing and different to many of the other YA fantasy novels out there, in that the protagonist does not support some form of cause (at least not yet) and the desire for power isn't necessarily driven by an individual or group. It really questions human nature and why people fight for what they believe in, which I liked. I'm interested to see where Eley takes this trilogy when it comes to world expansion, character growth and overall plot development. If you're up for exploring a debut Australian author in a world that's questioning its own authority and bound for change - good or bad - definitely give Relic a try!