That gosh darn cover! I freaking love it! I love Greek Mythology, Zesus still sucks, Hades is truly a bad man, and the rest....Well you read it let me know! LOL Hope Diaz is a teenager trying to take care of her mother, who has dementia. Hope is able to take care of her mother with the help of her mom's bestfriend. Hope receives an invitation in the mail about a challenge but so does every student in her school. Hope goes for a walk to clear her mind, and see's someone jump into the water. She instantly jumps in to save them and is transported to Olympus after being saved by a God. We see Hope coming to terms with the idea that she will actually have to compete in the challenge. Hope makes friends and unfortunately enemies too! The challenges went by pretty quick, and every challenger wanted to be there except Hope. I would have loved more back story on Hope, and the other challengers. I kept confusing everyone, and had to go back and read about them again lol. The END..what?? After all that, I cannot wait for the next book because I was a little upset at the ending, I mean come on. HUGE cliffhanger, like HUG!

Greek mythology at it’s finest!

SPOILER FREE

P L O T

I love how the intro didn’t drag too long and it got straight to the point by bringing the teens to Olympus and starting with the competition. This book really focuses on the challenges that the demigods will face, the competition, all set in Arditi’s version of Olympus.

It may seem kind of slow sometimes but every scene was necessary because they play a part in later events. The only other Greek Mythology YA Fantasy books I’ve read are by Rick Riordan and Astrid Arditi’s Olympian Challenger is a breath of fresh air. It’s light, we have a female lead, just enough action because too much isn’t really my thing.

C H A R A C T E R S

Hope

She’s the perfect candidate, she didn’t want to take part in the competition but she has no choice now. She’s always putting the happiness of others first and it sometimes annoys me but maybe that’s just my selfish self talking.

I don’t entirely feel the romance, I think it was kind of forced but I’m a sucker for love so I’m going along with it. The curious boy and the humble girl, what an unusual match. But I do love the feminism in this book where the girl advances on the guy even though he constantly avoids her every chance he gets. The future is female!

W R I T I N G

I love how the author chose minor gods and goddesses who aren’t very known by the people. I myself just know the basics - the twelve major gods and some minor ones. It is kind of confusing in the world of the gods where they have children and sleep with each other. Who’s who, and who’s child is who?

I must say, I like the author’s version of Olympus. It makes sense, the level godliness is obvious, and that little tidbit about minor gods not being entirely immortal was great too.

O V E R A L L

It was beautiful, exciting, and heart-breaking!

This books is obviously not a stand alone, and I’m super excited for the next installment. I have no idea what to expect next but I hope it’ll be a thrilling ride!

I was so excited to read this book when I first requested it. It sounded like a YA version of Percy Jackson and I love anything and everything to do with Greek Mythology. But I was so disappointed . I hate giving negative reviews, but I can't really get away from the terrible aspects of this book.
First of all the writing is really obvious, and too vague at the same time. The Fate's prophecy at the start of the book gives away the ending. But at the same time, the writer withholds so much information from us, it makes it hard to read. But I carried on reading anyway.
It read a little like a children's book. The plot was too simple, and too obvious. But even some children's books have more interesting characters. Hope, the protagonist of the story, was so annoying that I could barely stand being inside her head. And Gabriel was the most stereotyped LGBT 'Gay-Best-Friend' you could get. That angered me the most, there isn't enough LGBTQ+ representation in books as there should be, and it doesn't help when books like this stereotype homosexuality. As a supporter of LGBTQ+ I found that a little hard to get over. But for some reason, I still didn't DNF the book and kept reading. Amy was the book's saving grace. She was the only character I liked, but even then, she lacked depth. The author gave us one piece of information about each character, and that was it, the rest of their personality centred around this. Amy and her thieving, Gabriel being gay, Heath being spiteful, Hope being 'selfless', etc. And we knew even less about the other supporting characters except 'one has muscles', 'one has glasses', 'one's mean', and this made it very hard to enjoy the story.
I kept reading though because despite the bad writing and characters. I did actually enjoy the general concept of this book. And the fact that it's based on Greek Mythology would keep me reading any book, even if I hated most things about it.
Hope is meant to be the brave, heroic protagonist of the story, but to be honest I found her weak, moany and all round a bit of a wimp. She gives up, she doesn't try very hard, and to be honest, although I understand that the author was trying to put an arc of growth into the story, I wasn't ever really routing for her through the competition. and you are meant to route for the protagonist, to want them to succeed. but with hope, I didn't. I didn't actually like her enough. With Hope, things happen to her, she isn't a very active character, and she doesn't really actually do much. I think that's what frustrated me the most about her. I just wanted to shake her and tell her to actually do something to fight against and change her situation. But she doesn't, she just lets the others do things for her. It took until chapter 27 for her to finally do something good. And that's really not right for a supposed hero protagonist.
I kind of wish Amy was the protagonist really at least she was less of a damsel in distress. I saw Hope as being a bit of a 'Mary Sue'/'Special Snowflake' character who was a little too much to be realistic. I didn't really believe in her, she was a character, and didn't really seem much like a real person.
Hope's dislike of Heath from the start really annoyed me too. I couldn't see why she was resenting him for what happened, when it wasn't really his fault. She was the one who caused her fate, but she constantly projects it on Heath. Which is really weird, and really frustrating. She also gets really angry over the stupidest things. When she meets Delphi in the woods, she listens to the prophecy (which is actually really obvious and not cryptic at all like she makes out) and then she storms off in a temper that literally makes no sense, or has no real reason. And then later when she does have a chance to get more of her questions answered. She doesn't bother to ask them, wasting the questions on stupid, pointless stuff instead. A classic case of the author withholding information again.
But the thing that annoyed me the most about Hope, was her constant insistence that she wants to go home. If you read this book, or have read it. You will know what I mean. It's stupid!
This book is so outrageous, that I think that's why I kept reading it. Because it was amusingly over the top. I actually found myself rolling my eyes at parts of it... actually rolling my eyes.
I also just have to put this out there. KIERON. She named a minor Greek God (who is so obviously Erebus) KIERON.... I'll just leave you all to think about that one... Kieron...
I did like the idea of the fountain to reveal their Greek ancestry though. But of course Hope would be the only one to have two ancestors, and of course the author would keep withholding, and withholding and withholding who the other ancestor is like it's some big surprise. Instead it's just frustrating, especially as WE ACTUALLY EVEN FIND OUT IN THIS BOOK. Don't tease something right towards the start of the book if you are not even going to write it in this book. That's just cruel.
The challenges are the best part of the book, and they are the thing that stopped me from DNFing the book altogether. They were interesting, and things actually happened in them. And I love the idea of the Demi-God illness that affects a lot of the character's parents. But the romance was terrible Instalove that I really couldn't get over. It was, again, laughable really.
I’ve seen some people compare this to Percy Jackson. But no. Just no. It’s so pale in comparison, with pale characters and weak plots. Its an insult to Riordan to compare this to Percy Jackson just because it shares the theme of Greek mythology. Reading the description, I even thought it would be a little like a YA Percy Jackson. But it doesn't even come close. I was so excited about this book. But now I’m so disappointed. I probably won’t read the sequel.

This book is a gem for readers who were captivated by the Rick Riordan Olympus series. Similar in some ways but darker. This was a book difficult to put down. I have found a new author for our young adults and look forward to the other books in this series

Book Review of Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟
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I’m personally a big sucker for Greek Mythology books. So I’m always down to read retellings or reimaginings.
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Hope is a teenage girl just trying to get by and take care of her mother who is sick. Until one night where her life is swiftly changed and she’s taken to Mount Olympus to compete to become the next Hero.
I honestly love the gods and lower gods all being involved and the challenges they have to face are epic as are the quests they need to finish to move on in the competition.
Hope makes some unlikely friends whom I adore. Especially the shadow god that likes whispering from shadows and being the perfect broody god you would expect.
I’m so sad I have to wait until 2019 to get the next book in this trilogy.
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Astrid Arditi did a fabulous job with the scenery she paints for you and the intricate quests she has the challengers go on. Definitely would recommend this book. It has Greek mythology tied with new humans into the mix, courageous acts from friends, and a romance that’ll make you swoon.

I'd give the book 3.5 stars, overall.

Let's start with the cover, because I would be lying if I said it wasn't a major factor in looking for further information. It's gorgeous. The blurb reels you right in. I'm a big fan of (Greek) mythology, so this is right up my alley.

The book is told from the POV of Hope Diaz, who finds herself in a tournament with 29 other teenagers, to become Olympus' next hero.

The plot is awesome and there's really never a dull moment, though I feel like it could've flowed a little better. A huge part of the story is the old heroes training the contenders, which I really loved. They were nice, helpful and supportive, which I thought was a cool element.

Hope is a really nice and actually good person, who just wants to help others, which was refreshing. Sometimes she had a little bit of a 'holier-than-you' attitude, but it still worked out okay.

There are some flaws as well. The 'instalove' between Hope and Kieron, for example. Their connection is evident, but it all happened so fast. They barely know each other for 3 weeks and have had maybe 5 substantial conversations, and suddenly they are so in love with each other. It just happened very fast.

Also, some of the characterization felt off. The other contestants were often very one-dimensional and there was a lot of girls hating on girls. I understand that they are opponents, yet the focus on it was too much for me.

The ending is very abrupt, but it does make you want to read the sequel immediately. I'll be looking forward, because the plot does have a lot of potential.

TLDR: There are some flaws and growing pains, but if you enjoy Greek Mythology and a book with a nice plot and quite fast pacing, this is for you.

Olympian Challenger was such a refreshing Greek Mythology Book! It really had an interesting spin on the Gods and for once included lesser Gods rather than only the Olympians! Seriously obsessed with Keiron btw!
The story begins when every 17 year old in New York receives a letter telling them ‘they’re cordially invited to...’
Only descendants of the Greek Gods could read the rest of the letter and our MC, Hope Diaz, just happens to be able to read it(;
Hope is completely confused by this letter, as any sane person would be when threatened through a mysterious letter that only she can read, and doesn’t know whether she’s going crazy (totally possible) or if something else is happening.
At this point she finds herself jumping into a river to save a boy who seemingly is trying to commit suicide and BOOM she’s in Olympus.
The rest I want to keep under wraps to avoid spoilers! I will say though that this was a seriously fun read, I literally could not put it down
This seems like it’s going to be a series, so I can’t wait for book two!

I love mythology and it has been a very long time since I have enjoyed a good mythology fantasy book.

I love this cover because I have always loved fashion (pretty dresses are my weakness). The mystical cover with the moon, mist and peculiar lightning was a great visual choice. That along with the intrigue of the title was enough to get me to request the ARC. When I saw that this was a mythology based fantasy book I was more than happy to read it as quickly as I could. It took me about a week to read the first chapter because I kept on getting distracted, but once I sat down and actually read the book, it went by really fast. I went into the typical book trance and enjoying every moment I could spend in Arditi’s world. Each character has some quirky and endearing trait. This created a great depth that made the characters realistic and relatable.

The gods were similar to how I imagine them. They have a snobbish sense of power when in the presence of mere mortals. I know a fair amount of Greek mythology and it was fun and interesting to see Arditi’s portrayal of Olympus and all its inhabitants.

The smallest issue I had was that Hope was a little bit too angsty teenager for me. I have read A LOT of young adult fiction and thus I can say that the teenagers don’t actually tend to be as full of angst and hurt as Hope. Of course, this shows how Hope has a layer to her that is not often seen. She has a side to her character that is normally seen as a negative trait, yet Hope somehow makes it work.

The Olympus that Astrid Arditi has created for us is a rich and enticing world. It is not the utopia it seems to be. Arditi gives the Olympian world that bad taste of over-opulence and beauty that is hiding the ugly underneath. It looks like the flower but is actually the serpent under it. (A little bit of Shakespeare paraphrasing for all those Shakespearean lovers out there).

This book will be great for people who love mythology and adventure. It might not appeal to all audiences but in general I recommend it if these types of genres interest you.

Ok, I chose this book cause I love Greek Mythology so any book that has that will get a second look from me. I was happy I gave this book a read. Let me get you straight on this. This book is a young adult (I mean young, almost pre-teen in my opinion) book. Not that I am complaining one bit about it. The story line was very interesting and the characters were very well developed. The characters were easily either liked or disliked quite quickly and that kept the story moving along. The casting of how the Gods & Goddesses were left me a little sour in the mouth but that is to be expected. Hades was cast as a bit more "evil" then I feel that he actually is in most of the legends. My main issue is that for most of the heroes in the story you had to go outside the book to find their back stories. I felt that the story would have been better if you knew the legends about the heroes that are listed in the book. Why they behave and act the way they do.

The main character, Hope, is very well developed and you quickly like her and cheer & cry along with her as she unwillingly competes in the challenge with her rivals. You feel the deep love she has for her mother and for me the ending was quite a shock. The decision she made, in my opinion, will either break her or make her stronger down the line.

I can not wait for the next two books to come out to see where this story line and plot go. If nothing else to read more about the budding romance between Hope & her shadow god. Even if you are an adult and want a nice easy read that will keep you engaged then you will like this book.

Olympian Challenger follows the journey of Hope Diaz. She receives a mysterious invitation which brings her to Mount Olympos, against her own will. When there, she's made to be one of the competitor's to become the next hero or heroine to complete a quest for the Gods. But that is not an easy task, quite the opposite. Will she succeed or is she doomed to oblivion?

What made me want to request and read this book, was the mythology. And obviously that this book has a lot. But it was so cruel and not anything like I expected it to be. Possibly I hoped it to be like Percy Jackson books a little too much. Olympian Challenger was just too full of death, angst and everything negative that it wasn't a book for me. I really enjoyed the start of this book but as the quests started, I started to lose my interest.

As for the characters, I didn't connect with anyone and the only one I liked was Gabriel. Hope didn't seem to be able to make up her mind with anything. At one minute she was hating it all and wanting to go home but in the next she was all in.
Gabriel on the other hand was the one who brought diversity to this book and also grew up as the story went on. He came in as a whimpy kid and grew to be a man.

The romance in this book was not really a romance. Or it was but I didn't feel even a little bit of it being true. You know when the romance is good when you start rooting for the couple to be happy and have them butterflies in your stomach, this was nothing like that. It didn't develop at all, it just seemed like it was forced to happen. Well, you could see that happening from the start but I just hope it would have been real. I guess I could compare it to brother-sister relationship more than an actual romance. There just wasn't any chemistry between the characters at all!
But the LGBT romance was there! Oh how I hope they will have a happy ending. I'd love to hear more about that couple than the actual mc and her 'romance'.

All in all Olympian Challenger was a nice book to read but it would have been even better without all the death and stuff. If I'll ever read the next book in this series, I hope the romance would actually feel like a romance and there's a lot less people dying almost for nothing.

Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi is a more grown-up version of Percy Jackson, bringing the Gods into the present.
After receiving a mysterious invitation, Hope Diaz finds herself on Mount Olympus competing to become the God's new hero and get the wish promised to the winner.
Hope's goodness shines through the darkest moments. (Hades is involved, so there's going to be some darkness.) You can't help but like her. Hope struggles to stay true to herself and not get caught up in the game. She bonds with Amy and Gabriel. Their interactions were both endearing and hilarious. Amy and Hope are so different, but they help balance each other. Gabriel's temperament is closer to Hopes, but he has issues of his own. My favorite conversations involved Hope and Kieron, the dark mysterious God she's drawn to. There was an instant attraction, but their relationship evolved with the story instead of jumping straight to being in "love." The relationships are all well written.
The author's description of Mount Olympus was amazing. There was just the right amount of detail that makes you feel like you've gone to Olympus and drank ambrosia with the Gods. Olympian Challenger was so sweet and action packed I can't wait to read the next book!

I love Greek mythology so, naturally, I had to read this. The synopsis was intriguing and it sounded pretty magical.
It's basically a unique take on a classic myth, a retelling with nuances of The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson woven into it. But it may as well have been an awfully written fanfiction.

I loved the plot and the premise. I thought it was strong and the pacing of the story was like breathing; natural and easy-going. The challenges Hope faced were interesting and entertaining. But the writing was hard to digest. It failed to live up to my expectations - dramatic moments fell flat because there was just no intense hype. Many felt anti-climatic and I almost lost interest because everything seemed easy for Hope, despite the many challenges. And then the characters - Kieron felt underdeveloped - okay, I liked him at first, but then he became so different to how he initially was that I was put off - and I couldn't connect to Hope as they were both quite immature. The insta-love was juvenile and it didn't keep me interested very long.
But overall, the plot was amazing. I loved the idea of it, the concept of /the/ Olympian challenger. I thought that was pretty cool. The writing just fell short and flat and I didn't want to read on.

This book is a fresh take on greek mythology. The plot revolves around a competition in which several demigods participated and who so ever completes all the tasks will be the olympian winner. I found this book to be an okay read. I received an ARC of this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I am not a fan of mythology but this book may have just changed that. The main character Hope, who this book is centered on finds herself in Mt Olympus after trying to save a "drowning" boy. The only way to leave is to compete against other boys and girls who had also found themselves there in order to become a hero or heroine.

The winner of the challenge gets to win a wish from the gods who all make an appearance in this book. From Zeus, Hades, Aphrodite to Ares. What follows is a deadly competition where challengers are cut after every challenge.

Some things that I liked about this book.
1. The cover. This is one of the prettiest covers I've seen this year.
2. The pacing. I wouldn't describe it as fast paced but maybe the right pace? There was no lull in the middle or anywhere for that matter like in most books.
3. I liked Hope although she was such a goody-goody. Surely there is no one this nice.
4. The mythology

I removed one star because honestly that was the worst ending I have ever read. I can't wait for the next book, I want to find out more about Kieron. Please, please no random facts about him in book two.

(I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.)



I feel like the odd one out in these reviews. I liked the book, but I did not go crazy for it. It was a light and easy read. It seemed to be a less-comedic take on the Percy Jackson series. I found the main character a bit annoying. I also found the love story really lacking. It was good for an easy and quick read, but it did not really stand out as a great new YA book. However, if you like Greek mythology it might be a fun read (especially if you like Percy Jackson or the Hunger Games).

Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi is an adventure filled novel featuring a well-paced and spirited story littered with Greek Mythology, forbidden romance and high stakes action.

Seventeen year old Hope Diaz is a model student and carer to her ailing mother whose dementia is growing worse with every passing day. All Hope wants is to do the best for her mother, and then she receives a baffling invite to participate in a mysterious competition. After an act of bravery sees her taken to Mount Olympus where Hope meets the Greek gods in the flesh, she finds herself participating in a tournament where contenders must complete a number of quests in order to be crowned the winner and be rewarded their hearts wish. Knowing it must be too good to be true, Hope desperately searches for a way back home, determined to find a way out of Mount Olympus. Instead she finds herself drawn to a fascinating shadow god who wants to convince her to stay. Winning the competition may be what Hope needs to save her mother, but with every challenge becoming more and more treacherous, the contenders aren’t guaranteed to make it out alive. Deciding what she’ll fight for is only the beginning as Hope begins to discover the tournament has a darker purpose than the participants were led to believe….

Olympian Challenger was a really impressive novel and I have to say I enjoyed it very, very much. As a fan of Greek mythology, I really appreciated what Astrid Arditi has done with this novel. Not only does she give the Greek gods we’re all familiar with—Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena etc---a modern twist, but she also explores some histories of the lessor known deities and the heroes that litter ancient Greek literature. It was refreshing to read about something I hadn’t heard a million times before, while also enjoying the tales I was familiar with and comfortable reading about.

Main character Hope was a real joy to follow. She was honorable and courageous and kind-hearted. Here was a girl taken from her life and facing tremendous challenges but each one she faced with poise and grace, loyalty and humility. Hope was quick to help people and not someone to put herself above others; I liked that. She was self-sacrificing and kind, while also being quick thinking and intelligent.

Olympian Challenger is a very emotionally packed and eventful novel. I liked many of the characters Hope met including Amy and Gabriel who became true friends to her and of course Kieron who is her love interest and a soulful god who made Hope weak at the knees. Kieron was certainly swoon worthy and I think he and Hope had a great chemistry—I’ll definitely be vying for their romance. I also liked the demi-god trainers who teach the contenders during the story—they were very unique and personable.

Ending well and definitely leaving me raring for more, Olympian Challenger had all the elements of a great book and I can’t wait until Astrid Arditi releases the next instalment in the series as I’m keen to read what happens to Hope next.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC.

I was drawn in by the cover. The book was good, but not great.

I felt the book was lacking in character development. I didn't feel drawn to any other characters and the MC was a little to whiny for my liking. I don't mind romance in my YA books, but this one felt a little flat. I really liked the competition and trials, but I feel the authors writing didn't convey the intensity of the situation. I probably will read the other book in the series to see what happens.

As a fan of Greek mythology, who also just took and aced a college course in mythology, I could not wait to read Olympian Challenger! There is something so enthralling about the Greek (and Roman) gods and goddesses. Everything about mythology is so incredibly fascinating to me. After reading the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.

While I did manage to finish this book quickly, there were parts that I just found to be so-so. The human characters were written to be very unique and individual. While the author did a great job on that aspect, I felt that the characters could have used a little more background story. There was not enough depth. Quite a few of the challengers fell through the cracks for me and I do not even remember them or who they were sponsored by. Hope, the main character, did have a good amount of background. The one thing that I did not like most about her is how gushy she got so quickly over the thought of romance. Too often main characters turn into babbling idiots over a boy. Also, to key back in to the lack of depth... there was also a lack of emotion. I did not find myself caring for the characters. When a majority of them did not pass the trail, I did not care. It was very "whatever" for me.

My favorite parts, hands down, were the trials. I thought that the author did an amazing job with the trails and how the contenders were to complete them. Some of them felt a little rushed, but for the most part I was very interested. The pace of the book was really good as well. There were no overly slow parts that you felt that you had to slog through.

All in all, I did enjoy Olympian Challenger and would like to read the next book.

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure I was going to make it past the first five chapters. The author seemed to have a love affair with adjectives and adverbs, and honestly, it was annoying.

Another thing she did was try to put in every cliche she possibly could from the Beginner's Handbook for New Writers: Plucky heroine befriends hard-hearted loner. Girl/boy fall in love, angering boy's powerful father. Heroine must win to save the world. That kind of thing.

Finally, though, we made it to the meat of the book. I wouldn't consider it steak, more like a decent hamburger, but it satisfied the teen hiding inside me. Sometimes, you just want a book that's fairly light and predictable with very little strife going on.

Don't get me wrong-I liked the book. For one thing, the heroine didn't do anything so stupid I wanted to jump in and slap her. She was pretty rational throughout. She also thought things through without leaping before looking. Even when she and Love Interest had a spat, she realized she was being unfair to him. I like that. Too many times I read a book where the main character does one stupid thing after another, and doesn't take anyone else's feelings into consideration. This alone made the book worth reading.

Actual rating, 3.5/5 stars. Thank you NetGallery for providing a copy. 

I was first attracted to this book by the beautiful cover. After reading the blurb, I was still intrigued, so I decided to give it a go. 

Hope Diaz, the main character is incredibly well written. She is believable, has a morale compass and is not the perfect heroine, but has her flaws. She finds herself transported to Mt Olympus, where she really doesn't want to be. While she does spend a portion of the book complaining and wanting to get home, she makes the most of the opportunity she has been given, all the while still trying to escape. 

I enjoyed the book, and it kept me engaged as the story progressed. The pacing is good and their is enough detail in every situation to gain a clear understanding of what is happening. 

A lot of the characters felt very one-dimensional. They all seemed to have one character trait, and that was it. There were glimmers of other personalities, but they were rarely touched on. As their were 23 other challengers, plus all the gods, I lost track of characters at times. 

Hope falls in love with the young, attractive god Keiron. I found this relationship a little forced. Keiron initally came across as rude and impatient, with no interest in Hope. Unfortunately, when he started falling for her, it was very forced and did not seem to make sense.