Relic is the first book in the young adult dark fantasy series, called The Relic Trilogy by Bronwyn Eley. Relic is a fast paced, action pact series starter. This one grabbed my attention right from the first chapter. I have read the first two books in the trilogy and now I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book, which will likely be releasing sometime in 2021. Relic took a darker turn than I was expecting, so I think readers should be prepared going in that this will be a dark young adult fantasy. There is some romance, but it is not the focus of the story. It works well with the overall plotline though, and I really enjoyed this book!

In Relic, we meet our main character Kaylan. Kaylan lives in a city called Edriast, which is ruled by Lord Rennard. there is magic in this book, but here using the magic comes at a cost. Lord Rennard gets his magic from a mysterious relic, that grants him power, but in exchange the relic slowly poisons/infects everything surrounding it. When the relic gets to Lord Rennard's personal guard, a new guard or Shadow must be called upon to serve the Lord. Enter Kaylan. Kaylan becomes the new shadow, and as part of her job she discovers plenty of secrets, mysteries and lots and lots of magic. Bronwyn Eley's writing style is very engaging and easy to follow. It was easy for me to devour this book once I picked it up because everything just flows so easily. 

Part of Relic was setting the foundation for world and for the rest of the trilogy. The magic system was pretty interesting. The magic comes from these five ancient relics, which help the holder but hurts the people around the holder of the relic. Though different, it kind of reminds me of the magic system in Brent Weeks Lightbringer series, where the magic wielders each pay a price. Using magic kills the wielder just a little quicker. So the more magic you use, the more you are shortening your own life. That kind of a balance system raises the stakes for magic usage and makes the overall world structure more interesting in my opinion. I loved the way Bronwyn Eley presented the story and built the world. She does a fantastic job giving the readers a full picture of everything going on without info dumping. 

The plot of Relic was super interesting as well. There are so many twists and turns in this story it is impossible to predict them all. I loved the journey that Kaylan was thrust into when she was called upon to be shadow. I won't spoil the events but it was really cool and it left me excited to pick up the second book. I think the Relic Trilogy is perfect for fans of dark young adult fantasies that don't pull any punches. 

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