The Eyes of God

Very happy with this book and I can not believe how underrated it is!

For some reason it is very hard to talk about this book without giving spoilers but I'll give it a shot.

The story follows Lukien, The Bronze Knight, who is basically King Akeela's bodyguard. They have been best friends since they were kids.

Akeela wants to be known as a good king who seeks peace among a war torn nation. He also wants to create a library where everyone, including the paupers, can come educate themselves.

One way he creates peace is by marrying Princess Cassandra who is the most beautiful woman in the land. But Lukien also wants a piece of the Cassandra pie and is fighting his urges of betrayal.

Cassandra also has an illness that is killing her and the only way to save her is for Lukien to find 1 of 2 amulets called The Eyes of God.

Marco's story is a very basic fantasy that I think is absolutely perfect for fantasy newbies but I think anyone can enjoy him.

If I had never read fantasy before I would give this 5 stars but after reading Martin, Jordan, Hobb, etc, I'll have to bring it down a star. He doesn't have the complexity of Martin or Jordan, the in depth lore of Tolkien, or the action packed writing style of John Gwynne, but his characters are so enjoyable to read about. I'd put him on a tier or two below Robin Hobb as far character development. There is betrayal, death, love and love lost. He really shows that choices have consequences and some consequences can be heartbreaking.

He also includes a people called Inhumans that are people with disabilities that are saved by The Witch and blessed with powers that I thought was very unique and I am super interested in the rest of the series and will be reading anything else he's written.