I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Olympian Challenger definitely gave me a Percy Jackson/Hercules kind of vibe.
The plot is great, it's full of action, romance and drama combined with a coming of age story and a main character who has to use courage against the odds to triumph.

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 :)

This one is interesting the plot was a little to slow in a lot of places but gets better in the end. I would read the next one in the series just to find out what happens next but otherwise it is not the easiest read.

As many times as I tried to read this book, I just couldn’t get into it. I will try again later so I can give a better review for you guys. Have you read it, if so tell me your thoughts.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I freaking loved this book - LOVED!

I read this in one sitting and I honestly couldn't put the book down. It made my boring day at work 110% better. I loved everything about Hope and watching her grow throughout the book.

Olympian Challenger definitely gave me a Percy Jackson/Hercules kind of vibe. It's pretty much why I feel in love with it. I liked all of the quests and the mysterious invitation. I liked all of the friendships/relationship formed.

Hope, the MC, was amazing from beginning to end. I love her friendship with Lily in the beginning. Then her journey throughout Mount Olympus and her views on the gods and this stupid challenge were just amazing. I laughed and I cried. Overall, I loved the girl.

Besides Hope, I learned to love Amy and Gabriel. They were complete opposites of each other but in the end they made such a dynamic trio of friends. I cried when bad things happened to either one of them and I almost didn't want to accept the ending.. but then Hope used her wish and it was the most adorable and sweetest thing ever. I'm sad that she only got one wish but I'm hoping that she will earn or get more throughout the series.

Speaking of a possible series, I seriously need the second book STAT. I'm already sad that the book is over. THAT CLIFFHANGER is making me want the next book even more. I loved every character in this book. I shipped so many people together and I'm happy that two of my ships were sailing at the end. I just hope that they are continually sailing well into the next book. If not, I will cry.

Overall, I loved this book. I don't think I could mention how much I actually loved this book. It was just amazing and I'm so happy that I got the chance to read it.

When I started reading this book it drew me in straight away. The main character is a take no crap from anyone kind of person and I love her selflessness. The only thing I found a little repetitive was the way she would question herself. But when certain challenges came up she was all in and became a leader.

I found this book super easy to read and I am beyond excited to see where the next one goes.

I was given an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hope Diaz's life has been anything but happy. Her mother was diagnosed with dementia (early stages?) and it is slowly robbing her of her memories. Hope has given up her entire life to take care of her mom and she hopes to one day to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a doctor (her mother was a midwife). One day Hope receives a mysterious invitation. In fact, the entire senior class has received one. Only Hope's invitation has more and she ends up on Mt. Olympus after trying to save a young man from drowning. Here she finds herself trapped and will have to play in a tournament for the Gods. But Hope has only one thing on her mind - getting back to her mother and she will do anything she can to leave Olympus.

Unfortunately for Hope, the exits are sealed and the only way for Hope to leave Olympus is play in the tournament. As the games begin, Hope finds herself in a battle to not only keep herself alive but to win the tournament with the hopes of returning to her Mom.

Okay I admit that this book kept me glued from beginning to end. I liked the premises of Greek Mythology but then again any story with it will pretty much sucker me in.

I liked Hope. I felt she had potential. She is desperate to be apart of her Mom's life while her Mom is being robbed from her by the stages of dementia and I have to sympathize with her on that. My own Mom is in the early stages of dementia and much like Hope, I don't like leave her alone because I worry of coming home one day and her memory of me is erased. So I can see how hard it is for Hope especially when she is trapped on Olympus and forced to play in a tournament she really wants to part of. As each person is eliminated, Hope finds her goal within her sight.

The only thing I have grown tired of when it comes to ya is the fact that everything seems to incorporate the Hunger Games in their storylines. Next to insta-love (this one, I have to admit, is a bit different when it comes to romance. It is a slow burn), most of the ya storylines seem to think they need to add to some element of the Hunger Games into their storyline. While this story has set itself a bit apart from the dystopian storyline and used mythology instead, it still felt like I was reading something along the lines of a fanfiction.

There were also some sentence structures within that felt a bit awkward. Some of them caused me to have to re-read the paragraph twice to understand what the author was trying to convey.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me rivted from the beginning of the book to the end. Again I am a sucker when it comes to anything written with mythology weaved into their storyline. I enjoy those types of books more than anything. If this is to be a trilogy, I cannot wait to see how the series ends. Hope has a ton of potential and I am looking forward to seeing how she does in the next book.

I am in love with Greek mythology and this first book confirmed my love for these divinities. Hope is the main character, she's desperate to give her mother to dementia but she doesn't know what to do to help her. She then receives this mysterious invitation and after jumping into the water to save a boy, she finds herself at Mount Olympus, embarked in spite of herself in a fierce competition at a dark stake!

Hope is really a character we love over the pages. She is first devoted to her mother, then to her friends and finally to her love. She doesn't have a single evil thought for her competitors and is able to help them even if they are mean to her. That is what she has in her and she cannot fight against her nature. The Greek gods are frankly not nice in this novel, everything is decadence at their home and the life of humans does not matter to them as long as they serve their interests. The tests imposed on humans in order to obtain a wish is very much interwoven with mythology and requires ingenuity on the part of all the participants, but more particularly on the part of Hope. The end is rather predictable in itself, but the second volume is likely to be interesting. I hadn't seen the romance coming either, which is still light for the moment! The whole is very well pinned with the author's writing. I will not miss the second volume!

I was skeptical at first but in the end this book blew all of my expectations away. The world building, character, and story are so well written you can see yourself there. You develop connections to characters and root for them. Hope is flawed and relatable but grows so much. Her story and those of the others are relatable and heartbreaking.
The cover is gorgeous but what's inside really is the art. I cannot praise this enough.

This is a book about the ord Greek gods and the mountain Olympus. Can one girl win and be the Olympian winner, and save her mother before it’s to late.

Overall it wa a good book, it kept you interested to know more. It ends with a cliffhanger so more books will come.

LOVED this book, LOVE the cover! The first thing that caught my attention, I know they say don't judge a book by it's cover but I definitely do. SORRY! I have read so many books that were written with Greek mythology and this one takes the cake! I was pulled in from the moment I started it. The only thing I would say negative is it reminded me of another story the way the invitation was handled but other than that it was a powerful story, magical and I loved the characters. Beyond ready for book number two!

I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a cross between The Hunger Games and Twilight. Well developed plot and characters, held my interest all the way through. The only thing I didn't like was the ending but that's because I was left wanting to know what happens next. Can't wait for the next book.

I love mythology and love it even more the ability to easily look up a god/goddess if I forget what their story or what they are god/goddess of. Yes, it was similar to a Hunger Games type arena. The contests were centered around a being and were mini-puzzles not just brute strength ones. I really liked Hope and her devotion to her sick mother. Her loyalty to her new friends was also a plus for me.
The romance was slight and has me interested as to how it will go in the next book. Ending was complete for this story but opened up for the next. I will definitely be picking up the next and I need Gabriel's story too. I received NetGalley ARC at no charge for which I voluntarily provided an honest review.

I received a copy of Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the summary and really wanted to like this novel, but it was a chore at times to keep reading. The storyline could have been pulled together better and the characters (especially the main character) developed better. There were flashes of real goodness, but then the story would get bogged down or off track a little.

Hope's life is tumbling down every day she sees her mother succumb to her dementia. one morning she discovers an invitation to participate in a challenge. She thinks is a joke and proceeds to worry about her mothers illness. That night she sees a guy jump into a river and with the frozen temperatures she know he will not survive long so she jumps in to try to save him. Because is this deed she is transported to mount Olympus where she is now part of a selected group of teens fighting for the chance of obtaining one gift from the gods. Hope is determine to win the competition and win the gift so she can ask the gods to cure her mother. Through out the competition, she founds love, frienship and a hate for the gods who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

I just want to state the obvious... THIS COVER OMG. Love!

I really loved the story, it was a unique take on the classic Greek Mythology retellings. I felt like there was something slightly off about the pacing of the story. I wish we got to see more of Hope before the Olympus journey started. The first chapter she receives the invitation card, but I wish that that was either the second part of the first chapter or the second chapter. Even the ending happened really quickly. Also, it was never explained how the challengers knew what to do to get into the competition. They all seemed like the chose to be there, besides Hope, so how did they all know that "doing something brave" would lead them to Olympus?

As for the characters, I wish they were developed more, especially the supporting characters. The other challengers felt so basic that I didn't really keep track of who was who, except for Heath. Gabriel was not a likable character, even though I think he was supposed to be. He was so concerned with appearances that it was almost annoying. Same with Amy, she was obsessed with "things" but that aspect of her kept coming up. I guess I wish the characters were more multifaceted. There is also a Hate to Love trope in the book, but I didn't necessarily hate it. I actually really liked Kieron as a character.

This book is definitely set up for a sequel and I will be reading it when it comes out.

A girly remake of percy jackson, but not my favorite read.

This story is imaginative and creepy with just a dash of Hope. Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson or Greek mythology. I loved that this book didn't just cover the main 12 Olympians, but talked about some additional gods and goddesses I'd never heard of. Hope, the main character, is swept off to Mount Olympus to compete for the privilege of being the gods hero, but she never asked to come. Hope is pitted against the other contestants and still finds a way to make friends. I loved that her sense of right and wrong was so strong, this is a atmosphere that would make it very easy for her to get confused about whether or not to protect her friends. I also love a bookish heroine and Hope's love of reading about the myths (and subsequently telling the reader) made for a feeling of participation while the challengers made it through the trials.

This book was beautifully written and I loved everything about this book. I couldn't put this down!

Initially my review was going to be a lot lower for this book. The first third of the book worried me; I went in excited for a fresh breath of air, a young adult contemporary that explore my love of Greek mythology in a supernatural setting. I was unhappily comparing it to novels that seemed to have inspired it, such as the Hunger Games and the Twilight Saga. The parallels were, unfortunately, still there until even the end of the book. There were moments that made me audibly groan at the protagonist, not-like-the-other-YA-girls-Hope. However, my opinions were definitely altered when the action of the book took place. I was enraptured by the attention to mythos, the implementation of Gods that lack humanity deciding the fate humanity, and these sad children holding in their broken hearts something these immortal Gods could not have as they pitted them against one another. It went from cliched, stereotypes (I was really, really annoyed at the LGBTQIA portrayal of Gabriel and the shallow stereotype he initially embodied) to heartfelt, meaningful characters that touched me. I actually ended up being angry at having to put it down to eat at some points.
Hopefully in the remaining books in the series, the character interaction is less superficial, particularly the forced relationship between Kieron and Hope. It was very predictable and I wasn't fond of the execution, though I did like the abhorred son of Hades angle. I really do have hope that this trilogy can pick up in these areas, as I feel it has great potential and it is definitely an informative and fun read.