Relic Blog Tour + Quotes

Heyy loves!

Guess what? THERE’S ANOTHER AMAZING BOOK COMING OUT. And I got the chance to read it and review it!!

What does that mean? Allll my thoughts have been splayed out… to you. Here. Even if they are very incoherent *hides*. The quotes will be bolded and my review will be in normal writing!

Title: Relic
Author: Bronwyn Eley
Publisher: Talem Press
Publication date: 12 September 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Synopsis:
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.
A rebel force plans to put an end to Rennard’s rule and Kaylan suddenly finds herself embroiled in a cause that might
just be worth fighting for. But no cause is without its costs…
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.
Relic is the absorbing first novel in The Relic Trilogy, a thrillingly dark YA fantasy series.
Book links:
Amazon — To follow
Goodreads

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Relic, by Bronwyn Eley, is the first book in the Relic Trilogy, a YA dark fantasy series by debut author Eley. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! It follows Kaylan, a teen girl living in Edriast, a cruel place where the Shadow to the ruling Lord Rennard, could be anyone over the age of ten.

Yes, you read that right.

The Shadows’ lifespans were typically shorter because of the Relic, a jewel that Lord Rennard made them wear to protect the bloodline.

Kaylan is worried for her younger brothers, both of whom exceed the 10+ age limit, and her mother, who obviously could be chosen.

What she doesn’t realize is that she could be chosen as well. And, well, she is chosen, leaving her completely in the dark about this whole new life forced on her. She needs to learn all the secrets and whispers of the Shadow- and quickly, because Lord Rennard isn’t exactly the most forgiving.

“Power is a seductive thing.”

One thing I really loved about Relic was the emphasis on family relationships and ties. Kaylan did have a love interest, and there was romance, but it was not overdone, and what really emerged on the top was Kaylan’s family. They weren’t perfect- which is surprising since lots of authors write perfect families- but their flaws were well-written and made them all-rounded characters.

Kaylan’s love for them just made her even more admirable- other than the super cool plot line that her story arc follows, she wasn’t a take-BS sort of character, but she wasn’t suddenly Supergirl either. Instead, she had to actually wisen up and experience, which I really appreciated.

“I would just become another name on that list of forgotten souls”

This quote really struck me. I think a common trope in YA fantasy, especially darker fantasy books, is when the people are just nameless creatures to a tyrant ruler, when they’re nothing more than flesh and bone.

This book did a great job of bringing it out without seeming overused and cliche, which is hard to do- and while we’re at it, kudos to Bronwyn for just acing her debut!

One major criticism I have is the pacing. At some points it was just so slow and hard to pick through. In the beginning especially I found myself putting the book down way too many times, but once I finally was invested, it moved by quickly.

“What had this city turned us into? Nothing but puppets to a grandmaster.”

Rennard was your tyrant-dictator-ruler that we see so many times across genres and in real life, but at times you almost felt sympathy for him when you learned more about Rennard or glimpsed cracks in his armor.

The friendships were an extra drizzle of honey- in the beginning, I really liked Shay, and afterwards when we started to know Markus and Jesper (who’s a woman, btw) they were also interesting.

We were limited to what Kaylan knew, which closed off some doors, but that was okay because there was still so much to learn. I wish we could have had more of the rebellion, but the book didn’t go too much into that, probably playing it safe haha.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think that it was an excellent debut! If you enjoy dark fantasies with a unique plot and characters you can sympathize with, this book is definitely for you!

4 stars

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Here’s the tour schedule:

September 16 (Monday)
● Blog tour launch (from Shut up, Shealea)
● Post from A Bronx Latina Reads
● Post from hollylovesbooks
● Post from Sifa Elizabeth Reads
September 17 (Tuesday)
● Post from Heart’s Content
● Post from Laurensliterarylibrary
● Post from Sincerely Karen Jo
● Post from Words of Hannah Kay
● Post from Zany Bibliophile
September 18 (Wednesday)
● Author interview (from Shut up, Shealea)
● Post from The Book Piles
● Post from Gwendalyn’s Books
● Post from The Inked In Book Blog
● Post from Lost in Storyland
● Post from One in a Million
September 19 (Thursday)
● Post from Al-Alhambra
● Post from Lori’s Bookshelf Reads
● Post from Milles Rêves en Moi
● Post from Novel Nerd Faction
● Post from Sometimes Leelynn Reads
September 20 (Friday)
● Creative post (from Shut up, Shealea)
● Post from Belle’s Archive
● Post from Blissful Reveries
● Post from Book Geek Musings
● Post from Bookworm Muse
● Post from Open Pages
September 21 (Saturday)
● Post from A Bookworms’s Chapters
● Post from Bibliomedico
● Post from Bubbly Books
● Post from Indelible Ink Inscribes
● Post from Its Just A Coffee Addicted Bibliophile
● Twitter chat hosted by @CaffeineTours
○ 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST)
○ 9:00 PM Philippine Time

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You can participate in the Twitter Chat by using the hashtag #CBTTC and don’t forget to tag @caffeinetours @shutupshealea and @talempress on Twitter!

AUTHOR INFO

Bronwyn joined the military right out of high school, where she learnt (among other things) to disassemble and
reassemble a rifle blindfolded. After that, she spent a lot of her time travelling around the world. Her favourite places
(so far) are Scotland, Mongolia, Iceland, and Ireland.
Bronwyn finally found her natural habitat when she landed her first job in the publishing industry. While she has always
been a writer, it was only when surrounding herself with books that she realised her life’s dream was to become an
author. Relic is her first novel.
Bronwyn lives in Sydney and spends her time eating chocolate, reading and practicing her martial arts.

Author links:
Author website —https://bronwyneley.com/
Goodreads — https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19245366.Bronwyn_Eley
Facebook — http://facebook.com/bronwyneleyauthor
Instagram — http://instagram.com/letters_from_neverland
Twitter — http://twitter.com/bronwyneley

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