Two kingdoms. A rebel faction. Overwhelming odds.
The Annar have long been assailed by the slave kingdom next door, but with General Sain of the Annar heading the charge, they have held them at bay. When a prophesized babe is saved from a fiery attack and adopted by the General, he's thrust into a life of God-chosen warriors, rife with betrayal and chaos. Whilst the General and his oldest son move to eradicate a rebel group, his two younger sons strive to train and find their place within the infamous Sain guard. An alarming revelation, traitors around every bend. Will the Sain guard be able to weather the storm? Or will the slave kingdom of the Kerazar finally gain a foothold in the lands they covet?
What did I think?
Annarite Born is the first book in an exciting new fantasy trilogy and I absolutely loved it. If you liked Game of Thrones, you will LOVE Annarite Born.
There's a fabulous map in the front of the book to set the scene and it's good to refer to as the story progresses. It's a shame there is no cast of characters as it took me a while to work out who was who, especially with Aldred having two sons named Alkor and Alnor, so I would recommend writing your own list of names when you start the book.
The plot is riveting though and I had a number of gasp out loud moments as well as a few grimaces from the gory battle scenes. It is so vividly written that I could easily imagine the scenes that R. B. Leyland was describing as all the sights and sounds of this imagined world played out in my head.
There are some fantastic battle scenes that I enjoyed more than I expected because the tactics and strategy is explained to fully immerse the reader in the events. Asserting strength and power goes hand in hand with manipulation and treachery and the characters don't know who they can trust. One of them is drawn into a dark and dangerous web and it had my eyes glued to the page.
Annarite Born has a bit of everything to keep the reader entertained: family, fighting and a heartwarming romance. It's an outstanding debut novel that I could have continued reading way past its 340th page so I can't wait for the next book. A very highly recommended read.
I received a gifted paperback from the author via Whimsy Words PR and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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