Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi **ARC Review**

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.

3.5 STARS

"My love doesn't destroy; it heals."

Hope Diaz lives with her mother who is slowly losing her because of dementia. One day she receives a mysterious invitation, like every teenager in NYC. This invitation will throw her into a new world and she will discover many things about her past, her present and her possible future. Hope will get into an adventure and the question is if she will make it through it or if she will lose herself because of it.

When I fell upon this stunning cover on NetGalley I was immediately drawn to this book. I read the synopsis and I thought that the premise was really fascinating. I was certain that I would fall in love with the book. At first I did, because I love greek mythology (always did and I don't know if that's because I'm greek), plus the idea of a combination between Hunger Games on Olympus, seemed intriguing. But even though I enjoyed reading the book, there were parts that felt exactly like reading Hunger Games. So many mutual elements, like the weapon of choice, some phrases that are well known, etc etc. There were even parts that reminded me of Harry Potter. Not that I mind, but it just seemed like a mash up of fictional worlds and it sort of failed to deliver.

I did enjoy the book, the friendships that were formed, the stories of the heroes and the gods, the quests and the romance of course and I'm eager to read the continuation (January 2019 seems far away!) because I'm now invested in this story and I would like to know how it's going to evolve. If you're a fan of greek mythology, Hunger Games and fanfiction ,I think you're going to like this one :)

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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