The Redemption of Brian O'Connor

Much love to N.H. Roncolato for being my first foray back into adult Fantasy. It's been almost a year since the last time that I really sat still and devoured a book in this genre. To be fair, I've been reading YA like mad, so it's not surprising. Still, I was really looking forward to The Redemption of Brian O'Connor. I was ready for an epic new world, vivid characters, and hopefully some battle scenes! As it turns out, Roncolato delivered on all accounts. Color me a happy bookworm.

Brian's character is one that settles deep into your soul, pretty quickly. Marked as a man who has nothing but death following in his wake, Roncolato wastes no time in showing the reader what kind of man Brian actually is. In fact, he's the kind of man who would protect the weak, and and pity the dying. The kind of man who has revenge in his heart, but love also. It's easy to see that Brian isn't just what the stories make him out to be. He's a layered, intriguing character that never ceased to keep me guessing.

As for the story, it really revolves around the journey that Brian has set himself on. He has information that must be delivered and, if he can manage it, he has a man that he's sworn to kill. I loved how vast the world was that Brian and his group of brave souls traversed. From tiny towns struggling to make it by, to massive castles, to sweeping forest, these men traveled through it all. What I love most about this though was that it really gave me time to find out so much about each character. They talked, laughed, and grew to understand one another. They grew into a family. My heart was wrapped up in theirs, which made the ending of this book so much more difficult. Oh, did you think I was going to spoil it? No, friends. It's too good to spoil.

If I had one qualm, it would probably be the times that characters would speak in other languages, and there were no translations. I realized after a while, that later in the paragraph there would be a summary of what was said. However, I would have really loved to “hear” the words directly from the mouths of these amazing men. It frustrated me that I wasn't able to decode what they were originally talking about, and I ended up skimming a lot of the passages where that happened.

As it stands, I happily award 4 stars to The Redemption of Brian O'Connor. If you're looking for a Fantasy book that has a ton of heart, look no further. This one is great.