Review: Riven (The Relic Trilogy, #2) by Bronwyn Eley

Author: Bronwyn Eley

Genre: YA Fantasy

Date Published: August 13, 2020

Publisher: Talem Press

Page Number: 492

Kaylan's life as she knew it is over. Again.

Hunted by the guards of Edriast and their ruthless captain, Kaylan is forced to flee into a world she’s never seen, armed with a power she never wanted. With her brother Elias by her side, she escapes to the distant city of Stynos, where rumour has it a possible ally is waiting… An ally who might help Kaylan control the violent magic that’s become her burden to bear.

But Kaylan can’t hide forever – not from the forces that surround her, or from the darkness inside herself. Rebel leader Bellamy seeks her help to destroy a regime; Captain Thorn pursues her with a vengeance; and as her power grows, her inner demons begin to seep through the cracks…

Kaylan may be strong, but is she strong enough to resist the Relic?

Riven is the engrossing second instalment in Bronwyn Eley’s dark YA fantasy series, The Relic Trilogy.

Review

It has been a while since a fantasy novel has made me feel so many emotions like Riven did, and I was so invested in Kaylan’s journey that I finished this book in a day. I knew this installment would be a hard one to experience because Kaylan’s like has just been turned upside down and she now has to figure out what to do now, but I never expected this book to mess with my heart like it did. 

Kaylan suffers so much in this book and no one seems to realize how much weight she is carrying with the Relic, and it was so infuriating to watch her own brother distance himself because he is the only family she has left. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to throttle him for ignoring his sister’s feelings and intentions. I want to see some sense slapped into him in the last book. I also loved seeing Kaylan interact with all the new people she met on her journey because we saw more of the world we didn’t get to see in book one. 

Speaking of the world, the setting of this book really unfolded flawlessly for me and I really fell into the novel as Kaylan made her way across new territories. She was experiencing new places just like readers and it was a really cool experience to uncover that along with the main character. The author answered some of my burning questions from book one about the world as well as other lords having relics, as I thought she would! I have to say that this is my favorite installment so far and I cant wait to see how this whole journey ends.