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thevillainschronicles's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
ethias's review against another edition
3.0
The book was enjoyable but not necessarily amazing. Very predictable in parts and I personally felt that the “twist” near the end was not only highly predictable but also kind of ruined the book for me. A lot of the characters, in particular the protagonist, fell flat and felt somewhat out of character a lot of the time since they didn’t have very fleshed out personalities and just acted however they needed to in a given moment. I enjoyed the overall experience but I do not feel I am coming away having experienced something all that new or amazing. The romance aspects were well done in my opinion, I like that the author stuck to her morals and made a consensual and loving relationship!
I didn’t really understand a lot of the motivations and reasoning behind actions toward the end, and I feel that basically nothing was explained that wasn’t easily figured out along the way while reading.
I would recommend this book to someone just wanting some casual fun with a popcorn book and who doesn’t want to analyze the book very much. If you just want some guys in a life/death tournament and some smooching then I’d say it’s a fine book. If you want anything more than that maybe skip it.
I didn’t really understand a lot of the motivations and reasoning behind actions toward the end, and I feel that basically nothing was explained that wasn’t easily figured out along the way while reading.
I would recommend this book to someone just wanting some casual fun with a popcorn book and who doesn’t want to analyze the book very much. If you just want some guys in a life/death tournament and some smooching then I’d say it’s a fine book. If you want anything more than that maybe skip it.
dokidokidororo's review
Little boring for my taste. Romance was good, thought there'd be more action
misunderstood_emo123's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Worth the read. Ancient Grecian romantasy.
bluejay_jpg's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
Ooh I have some very strong opinions about this. I think it would have been rated much better if it were just a romance and not a fantasy as well. I'll have a full review up on my YouTube channel by Wednesday (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXj57BULaOQneYoDSkAWQZQ?view_as=subscriber). Stay Tuned.
Ooh I have some very strong opinions about this. I think it would have been rated much better if it were just a romance and not a fantasy as well. I'll have a full review up on my YouTube channel by Wednesday (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXj57BULaOQneYoDSkAWQZQ?view_as=subscriber). Stay Tuned.
astridowen's review against another edition
5.0
I feel sick. I feel like I want to cry and rip my hair out at the same time.
Jenna is an amazing author and so great at portraying the fictional world she created. I loved this book so much. The writing was beautiful, that’s all I have to say.
Jenna is an amazing author and so great at portraying the fictional world she created. I loved this book so much. The writing was beautiful, that’s all I have to say.
uearthen's review against another edition
I want to start off this by saying I adore this author, her youtube channel is phenomenal and very informational, but honestly this book just wasn't my style. It took me FOREVER to finish because I kept getting kind of bored, and with the amount of violence in this novel, I shouldn't be getting bored at all.
If you like long, on the nose romance adventure you will like this novel, however if you are expecting something extraordinary you will be a bit disappointed.
Overall this book is the bachelorette meets hunger games meets gladiators, so if that's your schtick go nuts.
If you like long, on the nose romance adventure you will like this novel, however if you are expecting something extraordinary you will be a bit disappointed.
Overall this book is the bachelorette meets hunger games meets gladiators, so if that's your schtick go nuts.
ngreads's review against another edition
3.0
(*EDIT*: After some thought and reading some other reviews, I'm bumping this down to 3/5. Though I enjoyed it in the moment and had a fun time reading it, the more I think about it, the less I like it. Especially after the companion book, which I have some major issues with and only made this one worse in retrospect. The really creepy and sexist treatment toward the male characters without ramification, the lack of adult depth, the logic plot holes AND the really weak worldbuilding are just killing it for me. There was a lot of squandered potential that is starting to bother me the more I look back. I want to love this, because it was fun and unexpected when I first read it, but I can't lower my standards just because it was an indie book. If I had bought this from a big name publisher, I would have treated it harsher. Therefore...lowering the grade. Won't put it down to 2 because I still had a good time, but I can't give it any higher than 3.
If you want more detail about my bigger issues with Savior's Champion, check out my review of [b:The Savior's Sister|53344614|The Savior's Sister (The Savior's Series, #2)|Jenna Moreci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588858844l/53344614._SY75_.jpg|82076271]. Most of my issues with that book also apply to this one.)
4.5/5 Stars on this one. (Again, now 3/5)
This was a surprise for me. I knew Jenna first as a YouTuber, watching the occasional video here and there, and Champion had always intrigued me, but I was wary of it, to say the least. I always go into books written by YouTubers (especially if they're self-published) with a very...low set of expectations. I've seen the reviews. I've seen the awkward videos of people reviewing books by their friends and going 'oh no...' I had heard Savior's Champion was a solid read before, and I don't know Jenna's history on YouTube aside from a few videos, but I was skeptical nonetheless.
So, out of random curiosity one day, I saw it was cheap and picked it up.
Then the book literally opened on an assassination and a C-Section being done on a still-steaming corpse, and I was intrigued.
Now, something to note here is that it IS a story that hits two strangely specific tropes that I really like: The first being the Cantankerous Introvert Being Forced To Have Friends And Be Social By Aggressive Extrovert character trope (hello Tobias), and the second being T O U R N A M E N T.
Apparently, I am a simple woman to please.
Even though this book hits every single expected underdog-in-a-tournament trope under the sun (And yes, I do mean all of them), I still found myself engaged, simply by how likeable the characters were and how unique the challenges were. It wasn't just duelling or anything like that - there were all sorts of puzzles and such that I found really fun to read.
The themes in the book were also really interesting. About motive, humanity, etc;. I quite liked them, and they added a lot of depth to the story.
Overall, it was really fun, but I still need to talk about the 'huh?' moments that lower the rating.
1. In the labyrinth, do these men never change their pants? I know it's a weird question but...they're like...super sweaty...covered in blood...torn up...oily (so. freaking. OILY) Probably have...ahem...certain fluids on them considering some of the scenes we see of dudes being dudes...you know...and then they go on literal dates with the Savior...in these nasty pants...no amount of perfume's gonna save that, you know? Just curious.
2. What's the world's aesthetic? As much as I enjoyed the story, I found that the worldbuilding was lacklustre. I couldn't pin down what it was meant to be. Due to the language used, it felt like it was based off of a real culture. However, at the beginning it felt Greek. Then Roman. Then Arabian (Harem pants?) Etc;. I wanted to get a clear picture of the world, and I just couldn't, making the world outside the competition feel empty and barren. Maybe this will be fixed in a sequel, but as far as Champion goes, the world just felt like it could have used a bit more polish - it was feeling a bit more YA than Adult, if that makes sense.
3. Following the last note, some of the language in the book didn't feel like it quite fit the setting, raising questions. At one point Tobias mentions a gorilla, and knows that gorillas beat their chests. How does he know this? Has he seen one? They clearly aren't in a gorilla-friendly environment, based on the description I could pick up, so...how does he know this? There were a couple other instances like that that threw me out of the story. Again, nothing that can't be fixed and expanded upon in the future.
Overall, really fun read. I'm glad that I gave it a chance, and I'm looking forward to checking out what else Jenna writes.
If you want more detail about my bigger issues with Savior's Champion, check out my review of [b:The Savior's Sister|53344614|The Savior's Sister (The Savior's Series, #2)|Jenna Moreci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588858844l/53344614._SY75_.jpg|82076271]. Most of my issues with that book also apply to this one.)
4.5/5 Stars on this one. (Again, now 3/5)
This was a surprise for me. I knew Jenna first as a YouTuber, watching the occasional video here and there, and Champion had always intrigued me, but I was wary of it, to say the least. I always go into books written by YouTubers (especially if they're self-published) with a very...low set of expectations. I've seen the reviews. I've seen the awkward videos of people reviewing books by their friends and going 'oh no...' I had heard Savior's Champion was a solid read before, and I don't know Jenna's history on YouTube aside from a few videos, but I was skeptical nonetheless.
So, out of random curiosity one day, I saw it was cheap and picked it up.
Then the book literally opened on an assassination and a C-Section being done on a still-steaming corpse, and I was intrigued.
Now, something to note here is that it IS a story that hits two strangely specific tropes that I really like: The first being the Cantankerous Introvert Being Forced To Have Friends And Be Social By Aggressive Extrovert character trope (hello Tobias), and the second being T O U R N A M E N T.
Apparently, I am a simple woman to please.
Even though this book hits every single expected underdog-in-a-tournament trope under the sun (And yes, I do mean all of them), I still found myself engaged, simply by how likeable the characters were and how unique the challenges were. It wasn't just duelling or anything like that - there were all sorts of puzzles and such that I found really fun to read.
The themes in the book were also really interesting. About motive, humanity, etc;. I quite liked them, and they added a lot of depth to the story.
Overall, it was really fun, but I still need to talk about the 'huh?' moments that lower the rating.
1. In the labyrinth, do these men never change their pants? I know it's a weird question but...they're like...super sweaty...covered in blood...torn up...oily (so. freaking. OILY) Probably have...ahem...certain fluids on them considering some of the scenes we see of dudes being dudes...you know...and then they go on literal dates with the Savior...in these nasty pants...no amount of perfume's gonna save that, you know? Just curious.
2. What's the world's aesthetic? As much as I enjoyed the story, I found that the worldbuilding was lacklustre. I couldn't pin down what it was meant to be. Due to the language used, it felt like it was based off of a real culture. However, at the beginning it felt Greek. Then Roman. Then Arabian (Harem pants?) Etc;. I wanted to get a clear picture of the world, and I just couldn't, making the world outside the competition feel empty and barren. Maybe this will be fixed in a sequel, but as far as Champion goes, the world just felt like it could have used a bit more polish - it was feeling a bit more YA than Adult, if that makes sense.
3. Following the last note, some of the language in the book didn't feel like it quite fit the setting, raising questions. At one point Tobias mentions a gorilla, and knows that gorillas beat their chests. How does he know this? Has he seen one? They clearly aren't in a gorilla-friendly environment, based on the description I could pick up, so...how does he know this? There were a couple other instances like that that threw me out of the story. Again, nothing that can't be fixed and expanded upon in the future.
Overall, really fun read. I'm glad that I gave it a chance, and I'm looking forward to checking out what else Jenna writes.
swaggernaut77's review against another edition
4.0
Dialogue needs a lot of work. And the descriptions of setting are very weak and lacking. Several times I had no idea what was going on.
Great concept, mediocre execution
Great concept, mediocre execution