Title: The Broken Heart of Arelium

Author: Alex Robins

Publication Date: March 16, 2021

Genre: Fantasy

Number of Pages: 232

From Goodreads: Some Things Must Never Be Forgotten.

And deep within the earth, something is stirring.

Thank you to The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to participate in this blog tour. Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book and tour materials in exchange for an honest review.

The Broken Heart of Arelium is the first book in an epic fantasy series full of amazing world-building, memorable characters, politics, betrayal, and action. Even though this isn’t my usual genre, it was easy enough to read, and I read the entire book in a day.

This book has lots of memorable, multi-dimensional characters. I liked getting to know more about them as I read on and watching them struggle with all of the challenges they were being faced with as the battle loomed and eventually raged on. I wish that we would have gotten more from Jelaïa though because I think she could be a much stronger character than she was.

I also liked the world-building in this book. I thought this book was a great introduction to the world that the author was creating for this series. I liked the scenes where Aldarin, one of The Knights of the Twelve, explained the world’s history to Reed, and I thought this was a good tool for explaining this fictional world. I also liked the politics and betrayal that were going on in this world; it made the book interesting because I was trying to figure out who was being genuine and who was being two-faced.

This book was too violent for my liking, but generally speaking, I try to avoid violence in books. This book features a lot of battles, wars, and bloodshed, and it was a lot to handle at some points for someone who doesn’t normally read books full of battles, war, and bloodshed.

Overall, even though this wasn’t my normal genre, it was still an enjoyable read. I don’t think I’ll read the rest of the series, but I think if you’re interested in epic fantasy, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 3 Stars!

Alex Robins was born in Norwich, England back when it was still trendy to wear lycra tracksuits and bright pink headbands. Norwich School Library was where he first discovered his love of reading, an old converted undercroft packed to the rafters with books. The first fantasy series he read was The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman, quickly followed by The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and David Eddings’ The Belgariad.

At the age of twelve Alex moved across the channel to Nantes in France. Speaking very little French, the first few years were difficult and sometimes lonely as he scrambled to get a grip on the intricate grammar and vocabulary of the French language. His taste in books branched out from epic fantasy to science-fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction, but he always came back to his favourite fantasy authors when looking to escape the outside world.

After degrees in agronomy, project management, and computer sciences, Alex founded his own company dedicated to online voting. He met his wife during a game of badminton and they spent several years getting trounced in various regional tournaments before getting married. Alex now lives in the sunny Loire Valley in western France, surrounded by imposing castles, sprawling vineyards, and two children. After reading fantasy books for the last thirty years he decided to write one. The Broken Heart of Arelium is his first novel, and the first in the War of the Twelve series.

You can purchase a copy of The Broken Heart of Arelium from Amazon* here.

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