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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Tournament of Heirs is a story told in dual perspectives following Acalan and Metzli Amos as they compete in a tournament. This tournament has six houses and twelve heirs but only two blood bound tributes can come out alive. Acalan is due to inherit the empire and has a duty to keep as his house is currently in charge. Metzli's job is to keep her brother alive long enough to ensure his ruling. How will this all ends? Who comes out alive?
What I liked: I will admit that when I heard how long this book is I was quite intimidated, even after setting a reading schedule of 50 pages a day it still felt daunting. This all changed once I opened the book as it was hard to put down. While the days during the tournament aren't as filled with action as I was expecting, I appreciated that we got a glimpse into what this setting was and how the teams were navigating the terrain. I loved reading as we encountered new places and creatures in the Pyramid of Tributes.
I'm also worried when reading fantasy because of the amount of time it takes to build a world. I was so pleased with the way this book was set up and how much time it took before we were able to actually watch people compete in the tournament. I enjoyed getting to learn a lot about Metzli and Acalan before they were thrown into the tournament since this makes it, so you have a relationship to these two.
Due to the buildup in this book and getting to know our main characters, along with the other heirs briefly, as things happen in the tournament, you can't help but be heart broken. I don't want to reveal too much but there were several moments in this book in which my heart was torn in two. One of those being the first deaths that occur in this book, the other being one of the last deaths that occurs. While there were moments of heartbreaking there were also moments that warmed my heart.
What I liked: I will admit that when I heard how long this book is I was quite intimidated, even after setting a reading schedule of 50 pages a day it still felt daunting. This all changed once I opened the book as it was hard to put down. While the days during the tournament aren't as filled with action as I was expecting, I appreciated that we got a glimpse into what this setting was and how the teams were navigating the terrain. I loved reading as we encountered new places and creatures in the Pyramid of Tributes.
I'm also worried when reading fantasy because of the amount of time it takes to build a world. I was so pleased with the way this book was set up and how much time it took before we were able to actually watch people compete in the tournament. I enjoyed getting to learn a lot about Metzli and Acalan before they were thrown into the tournament since this makes it, so you have a relationship to these two.
Due to the buildup in this book and getting to know our main characters, along with the other heirs briefly, as things happen in the tournament, you can't help but be heart broken. I don't want to reveal too much but there were several moments in this book in which my heart was torn in two. One of those being the first deaths that occur in this book, the other being one of the last deaths that occurs. While there were moments of heartbreaking there were also moments that warmed my heart.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
First of all, thanks to the author for a copy of the book as part of the tour hosted by Hear our Voices!
The Tournament of Heirs is inspired by Mesoamerican mythology and features Metztli and her brother Acalan, heirs of the House of Life and champions who will fight to the death in a tournament that will decide who continues to lead the empire and grant a wish to the winner from the gods themselves.
This is a slow burn story with complex politics between the houses and secrets that are trying to come to light. For those who are fans of prophecies, love at first sight, and the enemies to lovers trope, you'll find them all within these pages.
If anything I wanted things to go faster so that we could see how the tournament would unfold. I adored Xuki, a dog who ends up in the mix of the tournament, and the way he became a key player for the siblings.
All in all, I do want to keep reading this series to see how it all unfolds after that massive cliff-hanger at the end of book one. And don't worry, things wrap up nicely, but it'll leave you wanting more!
The Tournament of Heirs is inspired by Mesoamerican mythology and features Metztli and her brother Acalan, heirs of the House of Life and champions who will fight to the death in a tournament that will decide who continues to lead the empire and grant a wish to the winner from the gods themselves.
This is a slow burn story with complex politics between the houses and secrets that are trying to come to light. For those who are fans of prophecies, love at first sight, and the enemies to lovers trope, you'll find them all within these pages.
If anything I wanted things to go faster so that we could see how the tournament would unfold. I adored Xuki, a dog who ends up in the mix of the tournament, and the way he became a key player for the siblings.
All in all, I do want to keep reading this series to see how it all unfolds after that massive cliff-hanger at the end of book one. And don't worry, things wrap up nicely, but it'll leave you wanting more!
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Tournament of Heirs: Mesoamerican World Building at it’s Finest
Debut author Amilea Perez has delivered the first installment of Tournament of Heirs (Mexica Chronicles Book #1) and this book has left me wanting MORE. Tournament of Heirs centers on the gods’ once-in-52 years battle to the death amongst six houses across the Mexica empire. Siblings Metzli and Acalan are the protagonists of this tale which features a full suite of characters (family, friends, and foes) from across the empires. Only one true-blood heir can win but each must face their rivals across the kingdom, magic, the frivolity of the gods, and their own destiny if they wish to win.
The author does an incredibly detailed job building the context for the tournament, the relationships across the household and the kingdom, and making clear what is at stake in this tournament (hint hint: it is more than just control of the kingdom). The sibling relationship between Metzli and Acalan is delightful and relatable. The development and evolution of relationships across the book is also interesting but somewhat predictable.
Ultimately, the majority of the action took place in the last 15% of the book which was just a bit too slow for more liking but Perez does a great job hooking you so you can’t put the book down! This book is great for folks who are fans of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hunger Games, and Divergent. A fun read, good for YA audiences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
CAWPILE:
- Characters: 9
- Atmosphere: 10
- Writing: 9
- Plot: 7
- Intrigue: 10
- Logic: 8
- Enjoyment: 10
The Tournament of Heirs follows siblings Acalan and Metztli, heirs of the House of Life, as they’re thrust into a ruthless competition between twelve heirs from six powerful houses. Their mission: to emerge victorious as one of the two Blood Bound tributes who will bring honor and safety to their House. The stakes are life and death, and while Metztli is fiercely determined to protect Acalan, they soon find that nothing in their empire is as it appears—destiny has its own plans.
I was captivated from beginning to end! The fire within Metztli is incomparable, and the love and loyalty between her and Acalan is beautiful and genuine. Every scene drew me in; I could envision every twist, and I never wanted to put it down. This story is a powerful testament to inner strength and the resilience born from faith and family. I’ll be eagerly awaiting book 2 and can’t wait to chat with others who’ve experienced this incredible journey!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
**Thank you Amilea Perez for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Posted to: Goodreads and The Storygraph
Posted on: 25 October 2024
3.5 (rounded up to 4) out of 5 stars.
Firstly, happy book release week! I totally didn’t mean to do a review this last minute, but I didn’t quite know what I wanted to say, really. In the end, my criteria to rating books left this at an even 3.5 which I rounded up to 4 stars. I’m still kind of sitting between that 3 and 4 star mark, really, but for the sake of Goodreads’ limited options, I will *keep* it rounded up.
Anyways, all of that to say that I had a bit of a love/hate with this book. I tried to keep all my thoughts in order by keeping an ‘info dump’ list that I didn’t quite keep up with- bummer. I do have enough to sort my words out enough though, so let’s get to it.
I usually try to stray from reviews when I’m reading a book if only to not have anything spoiled for me. Regardless, I find myself skimming through them in the end and I couldn’t help but keep note of some of the things other readers saw and mentioned. So I guess I’ll start off with the things I didn’t quite enjoy/things that bugged me when reading:
I can’t quite place my finger on it, but the dialogue felt a little like… awkward at times? Did anybody else catch that? Especially between the family (well obviously, that’s who we followed for over half the book but more on that in a bit), I just felt that it was giving… Disney-channel-family-movie-dialogue. Does that make sense? It wasn’t *bad* so to say, but it did just feel a little unnatural.
I’m gonna shift gears and bring the topic of family with me into the theme of pacing. Perez mentioned this in her instagram story once already, but let me say it here again too- this book is a slow burn. This book is slow paced. It is NOT for the reader who likes action and fast-moving scenes because we literally follow the House of Life for most of the book up until the day of the tournament (this was roughly around the 60% mark because I remember ranting about it to a friend of mine). I had a love/hate with *this* for the fact that- well the book is *called* ‘The Tournament of Heirs’. Why do we only get 40% of actual tournament content? On the flip side, I loved the chance to get to know these characters more though. The slow pacing helps in giving readers a moment to learn about this main cast and get attached to them if only to make the tournament part more stressful to read.
And now to segway this pacing issue into the broader topic of writing style. I didn’t exactly *hate* the way Perez writes, I think for a debut book, it’s wonderful and definitely could grow into something more graceful and lovely. However, I did see the issue a few other readers had in that the content felt repetitive. I get it, I saw it, I read it over and over- it is repetitive, especially in things that the author wants you to remember. It’s a mix of show *and* tell, which I felt didn’t hurt the story *too* much, but it did get a little tedious after a while. I think that with time though, Perez’s writing can most definitely improve into something where the need to repeat facts that she wants the reader to know will slow evolve into another way of keeping info constant without being too in your face about it.
Phew, okay. So you might be thinking, “Well damn girl, if you had all that to say about the book, then why did you round it up to four stars!?”
Uhm, well.. I’m asking myself the same thing…
What *really* got me hooked onto this book was the strong sibling dynamic that was promised in the early book promo. I love love LOVE books with sibling relationships as somebody who has two older sisters and sometimes wishes that we were all closer together, or that we didn’t fight so much growing up and hold those old grudges, or that no matter what happens in the future, we will *always* be there for each other regardless of how much distance is between us (Elle, if you’re reading this, no you aren’t). So when I met Acalan and Metztli, I knew I would stick with the book. These characters were written with love by Perez, that much is very clear. Where a few other characters felt a little flat or just distant because we didn’t get the chance to know them better due to passing mentions of them or.. other reasons (iykyk), I think the main sibling duo we follow had their chance to shine. And I won’t lie, it felt a little trope-y sometimes, a little too much cliche or simple, but I don’t know… I just couldn’t let go of these characters as easily. And I never hit a point where I was like “this is so annoying, I have to stop reading or I’ll become a hater”. Although there was one thing that I kind of didn’t like…
The romance in this was okay. I didn’t really come into this book with a need to see love flourish, but it was something nice! Acalan’s story had a more insta-love type that usually isn’t my cup of tea. It was sweet, it was nice, it got me annoyed in one scene but I got over it. I think the characters worked well together which made it all the sweeter, but again- I personally don’t like the insta-love too much. Metztli’s story had more of a slow burn, but when it happened- oh boy, it happened. It, again, was a nice side romance story. I think *those* two characters work well together too. Necalli has a lot of my favorite book-romance-lead tropes which meant that I’d love him eventually, but I still feel like his snarky-ness could’ve shown a little more/it wasn’t a switch that made these two fall into one another.
I think the storyline went along well. There’s prophecy talks that’s kept a secret most of the time. I switched between annoyed and intrigued at its constant mention, but it played out well enough in the end. I will say that the ending kind of felt a little anticlimactic to me? I don’t know if I was so excited to see what happens that I accidentally glossed over some key parts or if it genuinely didn’t have that arching blow that it was leading into. I don’t know. What I do know is that the characters, Perez’s potential, and the way this book ended has all snagged me so deeply into waiting for the second book. It’s a fine read! There’s room for growth, but I think it’s a nice debut that mixes bits of Mexican and Aztec culture, and a new fantasy world to make an interesting tale! I think it’s worth a try if you’ve been looking for a new book about gods’ games, sibling bonds, and the desperate need to keep a kingdom and a family safe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Murder
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tournament of heirs is an interesting debut featuring aztec mythology. the high stakes from the tournament really adds an element of suspense and excitement. this book is perfect for fans of the hunger games.
while i loved both of the characters in the beginning, mettli being my favourite, acalan became somewhat annoying around the 50% mark. i don't know what triggered this, and it could just be a me thing, but he went from golden retriever puppy boy to annoying.
the siblings' relationship is really something i loved reading about. both acalan and mettli bantered like you'd expect of siblings but had an undying love and fierce protection of one another that i really admired.
in regards to the romance, i found it a mixed bag. acalan's romantic subplot went from 0 to 100 real quick. i didn't particularly enjoy the insta love/lust of this relationship. whereas mettli had what i'd consider a very well written subplot. it was slowburn enough for me to really love it. i quite enjoyed the rivals to lovers aspect of it.
seeing as the tournament was supposed to be the main part of this book, i was really surprised to discover that it didn't even begin until well over half way through. i thought it would've began sooner, and this resulted in the first part feeling lackluster and uneventful. however once the tournament started, i was sat.
and finally, some of the writing styles and choices really threw me off a bit. there was a lot of telling, followed up by a scene that showed exactly what they just "told", making it feel repetitive. if you're showing, you don't need to tell also.
all in all, while i did have some issues with this book, i think there's a lot of potential. i will definitely be reading the sequel when it eventually comes out.
while i loved both of the characters in the beginning, mettli being my favourite, acalan became somewhat annoying around the 50% mark. i don't know what triggered this, and it could just be a me thing, but he went from golden retriever puppy boy to annoying.
the siblings' relationship is really something i loved reading about. both acalan and mettli bantered like you'd expect of siblings but had an undying love and fierce protection of one another that i really admired.
in regards to the romance, i found it a mixed bag. acalan's romantic subplot went from 0 to 100 real quick. i didn't particularly enjoy the insta love/lust of this relationship. whereas mettli had what i'd consider a very well written subplot. it was slowburn enough for me to really love it. i quite enjoyed the rivals to lovers aspect of it.
seeing as the tournament was supposed to be the main part of this book, i was really surprised to discover that it didn't even begin until well over half way through. i thought it would've began sooner, and this resulted in the first part feeling lackluster and uneventful. however once the tournament started, i was sat.
and finally, some of the writing styles and choices really threw me off a bit. there was a lot of telling, followed up by a scene that showed exactly what they just "told", making it feel repetitive. if you're showing, you don't need to tell also.
all in all, while i did have some issues with this book, i think there's a lot of potential. i will definitely be reading the sequel when it eventually comes out.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When I randomly found this author and book on Threads, I really wanted to love this debut novel (It's very rare to find a fantasy with a Mesoamerican setting, and we definitely need more of them!) However, I ended up liking, rather than loving it.
Pros: Overall story--tournament with a fight to the death mandated by the gods; feisty female main character; Aztec/Mexica setting; good cliffhanger means I want to read book #2.
Cons: Pacing is off (very lengthy setup before finally getting to said tournament 60% into the story); repetitive dialogue; many typos and grammatical errors, especially in the first 2/3 of the book.
That said, I think this author shows promise, and I will definitely read book #2, to see how that cliffhanger is resolved...
Pros: Overall story--tournament with a fight to the death mandated by the gods; feisty female main character; Aztec/Mexica setting; good cliffhanger means I want to read book #2.
Cons: Pacing is off (very lengthy setup before finally getting to said tournament 60% into the story); repetitive dialogue; many typos and grammatical errors, especially in the first 2/3 of the book.
That said, I think this author shows promise, and I will definitely read book #2, to see how that cliffhanger is resolved...