Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

A hero’s tournament. A defiant contender. Does one girl have the courage to take on Mount Olympus?

Hope’s world doesn’t have room for heroes. She barely has time for schoolwork, swim team, and taking care of her ailing mother. But when she’s invited to a mysterious tournament, the all-powerful hosts won’t take no for an answer.

Transported to Mount Olympus, Hope comes face to face with her new trainers—the pantheon of Greek gods. While other contenders train hard to gain a fighting edge, Hope searches for a way out. Instead, she finds a gorgeous shadow god who may just convince her to stay…

As each round unfolds, the ultimate prize draws closer—the granting of her heart’s deepest desire. If she survives the final challenge, her mother’s cure would be within reach…but only if Hope can ignore the tournament’s dark purpose.

Olympian Challenger is the first book in a bold YA urban fantasy trilogy. If you like Greek mythology, forbidden romance, and feats of courage, then you’ll love Astrid Arditi’s heroic coming-of-age tale.

Review:

I finished this book a while ago and I honestly didn’t know if I enjoyed it or not. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of great elements about this book that I enjoyed but I felt as though there was so much more potential there that could have been unlocked.

I am a sucked for Mythology so reading the blurb about this book was enough for me to jump up and down and request it; after all Greek gods are everything! After reading this book though I felt there could have been more unlocked with the gods and provide a little more back story to set them up.

Hope spends her time looking after her sick mother who is slowly slipping away with dementia, so when the opportunity to win a wish comes along, why wouldn’t you take it? Hope gets transported to Mount Olympus to compete in a tournament where she meets the Greek Gods and their offspring.

Though the story was captivating I found that the only character I related to was Keirnan who was one of the competitors and the son of Hades. But who wouldn’t fall for a bad boy? They are squishy cinnamon rolls after all.

I decided to settle on 3.5 stars for this book as I want to see where the adventure continues and see how this creative world can expand.

ISBN: 9780998311630

Rating: 3.5/5