By Kendare Blake

“Behind every great hero is an Aristene. Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers. Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known. Nothing is going to stop Reed–until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected” (Goodreads).

On the plane home from winter break alone, I chugged through four kindle books, including this one, and I’ve been neglecting my reviewing duties in favor of reading more. So here we finally are, catching up on my plane selections: Kendare Blake’s Champion of Fate.

Champion of Fate had a compelling premise, strong pacing, and interesting side characters, but it was missing that little oomph that really pulls me in. I kind of struggled to get through it, especially at the beginning. However, for most fans of fantasy and warrior women, Champion of Fate is a pretty fun read.

If the romance had been more believable, I would have loved the plot entirely. Reed goes from training to her Aristene trial to facing big questions of how she really wants to spend her life – especially after her faith in the elders is challenged. I loved the premise of a god seeking glory and women who make heroes and guide them.

The main challenge in the story is a certain adversary who seems to threaten the Aristene order in someway, but I did not see any possible motive for messing with the Aristenes. They are completely unbiased and neutral. The villain would have been more believable if that has been explained, but maybe it will be in future books. I also thought it strange how the Aristenes operated when it came to their identities as Aristenes. You’d think the legendary nature of their existence would make them more careful when it came to revealing themselves, but both Reed and Lyonene quickly made their goals clear to their respective heroes. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Otherwise, the battle strategy and immersive world led to a fun read, especially as the action picked up. I would definitely read a second book, if only to learn more about some of the more mysterious aspects of the world that weren’t really discussed in Champion.

The book follows Reed’s third-person POV the whole time, which was fine, but as I say in characters, there’s really nothing really interesting about her other than her sense of duty and conviction. Even then she doesn’t seem as passionate as she could be about it. Otherwise, the writing was descriptive and immersive.

The biggest letdown of Champion was the main character. Reed started out interesting – traumatic past, strong convictions and motivations, and stubborn enough to go her own way even though her utmost allegiance is to the Aristenes. When she met Hestion, however, everything went wrong. I’m all here for slow burn romances or characters giving things up for people they’ve cared about for a long time, but Hestion and Aristene got together way too fast and way too much on a surface level for the way she changed her convictions for him. I guess it was a purposeful way to add internal tension – choosing between the guy she loves and her Aristene duties – but I was just not convinced of the romance. Reed didn’t seem like someone who would fall for someone else that easily and deeply in such a short amount of time. Her story turned around at the end, but I couldn’t get into the romance with the way it was seemingly thrown in as a passionate afterthought.

The side characters were honestly my favorite. Lyonene was fascinating – she had her goals and she strived for them, no matter who or what came in between. Yet she also had a complex relationship with Reed and the other Aristenes, and I admired her drive to become one.

Hestion was just annoying. He was supposedly a great guy, a real hero, yet he honestly seemed kind of manipulative toward Reed. He didn’t try to understand the reasons he couldn’t be with Reed and chose to continue pursuing her. If he truly loved her as he acted, he wouldn’t have ignorantly chased after her. To me, (and the freaking St. Augustine) true love means putting the other’s good before your desire to be with them, which he failed to do. And then at the end, when she basically did what he was asking her to do, he got upset at her.

The Aristene elders and mentors exemplified the ideals of the order, yet also showed evidence of their own complex backgrounds that would be interesting to explore in later books.

Strong fantasy novel with a super fun premise and compelling side characters! I would recommend this one for fans of battle strategy, political intrigue, forbidden romance, and magical orders. The unexpected, nontraditional ending also makes the slow beginning worth it!