The Forbidden City by Alexander Grant

The Forbidden City was my chosen 'G' from all the books I have unread on my kindle.

It tells the adventures of General Leandros, the King's Lion.  Prince Assaf assassinated the king in order to take his place, and a group of soldiers loyal to the rightful king, plus General Leandros, abandon their old country and seek refuge in Indra.  Unfortunately, Assaf has now pronounced himself Emperor and he looks to conquer all surrounding lands to expand his empire.

The blurb says:

It was the perfect plan. Murder the King and use his legions to restore the Empire. Only flaw; the man who created the legions managed to escape. No big deal. He was only one man, right?
Immerse yourself within the magical world of the Eagle Empire through the first book of the King's Lion Tales. Spectacular battles, high level strategy, romance, Gods, shamans, magicians and miraculous spices are making a truly entertaining read.
They sent his own legions to hunt him down. Assassins lurk behind every corner. The woman he loves is in danger. As if these are not enough, they plan to unleash a terrible ancient evil to plunge the world into warfare and bloodshed.
But he is not an ordinary man. He is a legend. General Leandros, the undefeated King's Lion. Now he is coming back armed with steel and magic. In a world full of intrigue, sorcery and enchantment, where Gods and humans play lethal power games, the King's Lion fights one breath-taking battle after another across an entire continent. The future of the Empire and of the woman he loves depends on him. Will his genius manage to save the world?

I enjoyed this story.  I liked the plot, and though there is a lot going on (battles, deception, gods, magic, love) all the twists and turns make sense and though they may not always be expected, they do not come out of nowhere, itms.  As expected when reading a story about a general, much of the book centres around the battles and strategies of warfare - that said, when I chose the book (based on the title alone, once I sorted by author for G) I didn't expect it to be as heavily based on battle.

This is the first book of the trilogy, but I have enjoyed it as a standalone.

Edited to add: Alexander Grant has been in touch and he is hoping to write a 4th book in the series!