Behind every great hero is an Aristene.
Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers.
Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.
Nothing is going to stop Reed--until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected.
Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers.
Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.
Nothing is going to stop Reed--until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected.
Title: Champion of Fate (Heromaker #1)
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books (Quill Tree Books)
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books (Quill Tree Books)
Expected Publication Date: 9/19/23
Review:
I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's Books (Quill Tree Books) for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinion expressed here are my own.
This is my first Kendare Blake book so I really had no idea what to expect. The premise of the book sounded interesting with warriors who become immortal. The blurb gave me the Nordic Valkyrie vibes.
The book is about Reed, an orphan who falls in with two of the Artisene order's warriors and is raised to become one herself. But when the time comes for her to have her challenge that will help her become an Artisene, she begins to question everything she was ever taught about the order.
Reed is a strong enough character and I can see where she is relatable. She has many flaws, which was nice to see. She wasn't just this suddenly strong warrior who could win all her battles. She's well developed and fleshed out. I appreciated the growth she had as she came to terms with questioning all she was brought up to know. Of all the characters, she is the most well developed. I really didn't get enough for the other characters to form solid opinions of them. Hestion, her hero, really doesn't have much personality. Lyonene was hard to pin down. At times I felt like she and Reed were not friends, at least in the way she treated Reed. But at other times I felt they had a strong bond.
The plot of the book follows Reed's progression to becoming an Artisene. At times the pacing was very slow. There were times I put the book down because I felt like I was a bit bored. The author did a fair job with the world building. I liked the idea of the Veil and how it lead to this other realm. I enjoyed the strong female characters.
If you're looking for romance, you're not really going to get it with this book. It's there but it is not developed. And what was there almost felt a bit like insta-love as it happened immediately upon the characters being introduced.
Overall, this book was just ok for me. The ending felt a bit rushed. I'm not sure I will pick up the next book in the series.
Author
So, I write books. The Anna Dressed in Blood duo is horror, The Goddess War trilogy is mythology, and Three Dark Crowns is fantasy, because the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you, may not be right for some. Love to read, too. Fiction, philosophy, good books, bad books, because you take the good you take the bad you take them both and there you have a stack of books and stuff. I mean, you've got to be adventurous. There's more to life that what you're living, so take a chance and face the wind.
There's more coming soon like ALL THESE BODIES and a new fantasy series, so don't waste another minute on your cryin. We're nowhere near the end.
My likes include animals, food, and nostalgia. I mean, whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV? Used to be everywhere you look, there's a heart, a hand to hold on to.
Anyway, I love to hear from readers so drop me a line here or at my website and we'll talk about friends to know, and ways to grow, and how if you threw a party you would see that the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.
We can also talk about all the sitcom theme songs in this bio. Sha la la la.
There's more coming soon like ALL THESE BODIES and a new fantasy series, so don't waste another minute on your cryin. We're nowhere near the end.
My likes include animals, food, and nostalgia. I mean, whatever happened to predictability? The milkman, the paperboy, the evening TV? Used to be everywhere you look, there's a heart, a hand to hold on to.
Anyway, I love to hear from readers so drop me a line here or at my website and we'll talk about friends to know, and ways to grow, and how if you threw a party you would see that the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.
We can also talk about all the sitcom theme songs in this bio. Sha la la la.
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