This was an amazing, unique young adult book. I absolutely loved it!

Olympian Challenger is the first novel in the Olympian Challenger series by Astrid Arditi. scheduled for release on 3rd July 2018 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Olympian Challenger follows the story of a teenager named Hope, who accidentally gets swept up in a deadly and mysterious tournament created by the Gods of Olympus. As descendents of the gods themselves, the teenagers that have been chosen to participate are more than happy to learn of their inherited gifts and fight their way to being crowned champion of the gods. But all Hope wants to do is find a way home, to find a way back to her single mother in New York City, who is suffering from dementia. But as the challenges continue and the prize edges every closer Hope decides she will do whatever she can to win so her wish can be granted,  to see her mother cured, if she can survive. 

Now as someone who has a deep love for mythology, especially Greek mythology I was very excited to read this books. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the premise left me with some high hopes. As someone who enjoyed the Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief series, I was excited to see what Arditi's book had to offer. 

The thing I liked about this book was that it tried to be diverse in the inclusion of supporting characters from different walks of life and how it highlight's some of the tough situations certain groups of people face. The two biggest in this book being the struggle of foster kids in the system, portrayed by a troubled and thieving Amy,  and the acceptance of LGBTQI+ people, specifically through Gabriel, a teenage boy whose wish initially is to be cured of his attraction to men so his father will accept him. Reading that part in the book was tough, but his growth in the book of self-acceptance and love is a beautiful sup plot to the main story. I really grew to love Amy and Gabriel, and their loyal friendship with Hope is such a crucial thing. 

I also liked Hope's growth throughout the book from a girl who just wants to escape home, to becoming a young woman with some guts and grit as the challenges progress and the number of surviving competitors dwindles. 

The book has some serious Hunger Games vibes, and I don't mind it. The characters themselves even reference it. A few pop culture references slip in throughout parts as a reminded that they all came from modern-day New York. 

Initially I struggled to get into the book. The opening chapters felt a little clunky and the flow of sentences felt stiff. All the sentences seemed to be the same length and didn't provide any flow or rhythm when reading. However after the initial chapters the writing smoothed out a bit and it was a lot easier to read. The book was a quick read and I finished it in less than a day. 

The main 'forbidden love' story that weaves throughout was interesting but predictable. I could love it or leave it, and I don't think the story would've changed a great deal without it. Hope is a fairly strong, sometimes a little too 'I have to save everyone' type of character but ultimately she studies and works hard towards the challenges and can get by just fine without the love interest, even if she doesn't always see it herself. 

Overall I did end up enjoying the book by the end as the challenges the competitors had to face, which followed the stories of various gods and their amazing feats, was what kept me going. A quick read the pacing of the book keeps you moving forward without leaving you too long to linger on the events unfolding. I know this is the first in a series of books, but the ending felt rather sudden and not quite what I had wanted or felt should've have happened. But nevertheless is was still a decent read. I would maybe read the second novel when it comes out next year just to know what happened after the tournament, but it's not on high on my list for books I'd recommend reading. 

3/5 stars

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.

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

First let me start off by saying this cover is absolutely GORGEOUS! It deserves all the stars in the world!

I am going to start off by saying the first 40% of this book was really hard for me to read. I really liked the concept of this book. It's kind of a mash up between Percy Jackson and Hunger Games. And I loved both of those series. But it was a real struggle to get through the beginning of this book. I was mostly just bored. The MC was a whiney little thing. So absorbed in her self-pity. And I really can't stand MCs like that. I mean yeah, you were thrown into this world you didn't even know existed. But like seriously, cry about it for a bit then get over yourself and just deal with it.

The MC, Hope, had a lot of backstory to her. You learned a lot about her which I really enjoyed. Her character growth from being that whiney girl to where she ended up at the end of the book was pleasantly surprising. Her growth was what made me continue when I was ready to DNF the book.

The world building. Let me just say it was AMAZING! I mean there really isn't much building you can do to Mount Olympus because the story of Mount Olympus has been told so many times. But the quests that Hope has to go through brings her to all these different parts of the world and the details and explination of what she's seeing or going through was so spot on that I could literally picture what Hope was seeing in my mind.

The writing in this book was well done. The story, in my opinion, was really thought out and well planned. There wasn't one point in this book where I was confused as to what was going on.

If I could cut this book into parts, for the rating, I would. Let me explain, I would give the first half of this book 3 stars and I would give the last half and ending of this book 5 stars. So I figured having a happy medium of 4 stars was appropriate. :D

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!

To be completely honest I didn't really enjoy this book. I read it all the way through but it was a real struggle for me to do so. I couldn't connect with the characters or the story line..not sure if it was because it was more Young Adult than I like anymore or if I really just wasn't in the right 'head space' to read it when I did. I really wish that I had enjoyed it more because it has real potential. The idea of the Gods needing a champion and having this competition is intriguing. But like I said...to me it just could have been better.

Olympian Challenger by Astrid Arditi is a pleasant surprise, I hardly read YA Greek mythology but the few I've read have been amazing including this one.
Hope Diaz is a teenage girl that has had to be the caretaker of her mother who has dementia. Hope had to mature quickly and take charge of her life.
It all changes for her when she and some other kids her age and magically transported to Mount Olympus and told they're very distant descendants of the Greek Gods.
Not only that, they have to enter a competition that can have only one champion who will be the champion of the Gods and be granted one wish.
Hope at first rebels and tries to find her way back home to get to her ailing mother, but when she finds out about the time dilation and the fact that she can save her mother, she decides to stay and try her best.
From the large pool of competitors, 24 are chosen for sponsorship by the major gods who will compete at the final 10 trials. Hope makes friends, enemies, finds out things about the gods that reveal their sinister core.
Part of what makes this book amazing is the pace and the action, the words flow so easily and it's nice to devour. The mesmerizing details of the action, trials, magic and squabbles between the gods themselves entertain to no end.
Hope makes for an amazing heroine as she's selfless, loving, brave and quite magical.
Sometime in the book, powers originating from the divine ancestors are bestowed on the competitors and I certainly loved how that plays into the story.
It's a story of friendship and love as much as it is bravery and strength.
Hope grows closer to a lower god Keiron a son of Hades despite his father's consternation and disapproval. Theirs is a connection fraught with misunderstandings and doubts but the draw and pull is undeniable and it's great to watch them find their way to each other and realise they're stronger together than apart.
Hope's two best friends Amy and Gabriel are also great characters with interesting storylines.
The moments before the ending are thrilling and exhilarating as they ended what has been a phenomenal story in a way that's both satisfying and will still leave readers wanting for more.
Astrid Arditi is a talented author with lush and rich writing that has forged a book that is not to be missed, lovers of YA have to read this book.
I wholeheartedly recommend it, you will not regret it.

I gave this book 4 stars. I had a blast reading this book. I was having a bit of a hard time reading some of the ARCs I had, but reading this one gave me the push I needed.

The thing about books like this is that I really love them for the whole competition theme. My only issue is that by the end when everyone else has been eliminated, it just feels so lonely. There is a reason I loved the Hunger Games and my favorite show when I was younger was Total Drama Island, but with all of these the same issue arose: It just isn’t fun anymore when there is a single person left.

The characters were a home run. They were well rounded, dynamic personalities and I wanted them all to be happy. I want only good things for them and hopefully, we will see that in the next book.

I’m a sucker for anything with mythology in it and I am happy to say that I was pretty satisfied with the knowledge the author had of Greek Mythology. There have been a few books I’ve read in the past which were pretty much 95% fabrication of the mythology. I mean it definitely wasn’t the most accurate, but it did have a healthy incorporation of fact.

Overall, I’m excited to get to the next book. This was an amazing start to the series and I want to see some happy things and some exciting things happening in the next book. Fingers crossed.

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.