The Conqueror by Bryan Litfin {Book Review}

Before we dive ahead to my review, I want to first thank Revell for sending me a copy of this book to read! Keep on reading to see my thoughts on this book...

Title: The Conqueror 
Author: Bryan Litfin
Series: Constantine's Empire #1
Age: Adult
Genres: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: October 13, 2020
Publisher: Revell
Source: Hardcover
Purchase: Hardcover | Kindle | Audible | Christian Book 
Synopsis:

It is AD 312. Rome teeters on the brink of war. Constantine's army is on the move. On the Rhine frontier, Brandulf Rex, a pagan Germanic barbarian, joins the Roman army as a spy and special forces operative. Down in Rome, Junia Flavia, the lovely and pious daughter of a nominally Christian senator, finds herself embroiled in anti-Christian politics as she works on behalf of the church.

As armies converge and forces beyond Rex's and Flavia's controls threaten to destroy everything they have worked for, these two people from different worlds will have to work together to bring down the evil Emperor Maxentius. But his villainous plans and devious henchmen are not easily overcome. Will the barbarian warrior and the senator's daughter live to see the Empire bow the knee to Christ? Or will their part in the story of Constantine's rise meet an untimely and brutal end?

Travel back to one of the most pivotal eras in history--a time when devotion to the pagan gods was fading and the Roman Empire was being conquered by the sign of the cross. 

My Rating:

Before I begin, let me just say that I am never really a huge fan of historical fiction novels, but this one sounded like it would include a lot of tension, drama and battling. I was excited when I received this in the mail. The cover seemed to give me everything I was hoping for. I will say for the first book in a new trilogy this is a good 3.5 star rating for me. The writing was excellent! I enjoyed the plot, some of the characters and the atmosphere. However, there were times when I felt like DNFing the book simply because some parts dragged for me.

There are many characters to keep track of which is typical of a book this book, I mean it's almost a tome (a book over 500 pages). I was entertained the entire time with the army and the characters. The politics and history kept me intrigued.

This is marketed as a Christian historical fiction and not a biblical fiction, so I didn't go into this thinking I would get a ton of faith talk, but I would have enjoyed a lot more. However, being that this is a first in a trilogy there could be more talk of it in the next books. I hope it learns more relational than religious in the coming books.

Being as I am reviewing this for Christian readers I feel I have to be a bit more critical. As a historical fiction novel I would give this a solid 4 star rating, but since it's a Christian historical fiction I could only give it 3.5 star rating. It may be a bit "sexualized" for those who are sensitive to descriptions of women in their books. For me it didn't bother me, but I could definitely tell that a man was writing this book (if that makes sense).

The religious aspect to this story was quiet intriguing to me, but for some it may not be enjoyable to read. Considering the time this book is set, AD 309 Rome the world was as I would think. Romans were more so religious and didn't have a true connection to Christ.

As I did mention that there are many characters, the main two were pretty good. Junia Flavia and Brandulf Rex were such different characters to one another, but they meshed pretty well for me.

I definitely will be picking up the sequel to see what happens next and because I do adore the way Bryan Litfin writes!

Blessings,