Tobias Kaya is a former apprentice to a famous artist, who is now a laborer struggling to provide for his family. He is also of age to enroll in the Sovereign's Tournament, a competition in which men compete for the hand of the kingdom's ruler and goddess, the Savior. At first Tobias scoffs at the idea of participating in the tournament, but when he realizes it can provide him with money for his family, he enrolls.
Now thrust into a bloody tournament where he must compete for a woman he doesn't love, Tobias fights to stay alive. Only to suddenly find himself caught in a forbidden romance, which threatens to upheave everything in his life.
Over quarantine I finally decided to read Jenna Moreci's novel, The Savior's Champion. With the release of The Savior's Sister coming soon, I figured I would share my thoughts on the book and whether or not I'll be reading its next installment.
For the first half of this novel, the pacing was incredible. Moreci did a great job of balancing action with character development. However, the book did feel a bit bogged down in the second half due to the large amount of trials Tobias competed in, many of which did little to advance the story. That being said the second half was still engaging to read.
As for the characters, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about each of them. Tobias was definitely my favorite since he managed to be a genuinely heroic and good guy without coming off as flawless. His character arc was also very well executed. As for Leila, I found her character to be likable, however, she didn't grow or make any mistakes throughout the novel despite being one of the main characters. For side characters, Flynn especially stood out because of how organically he changed throughout the novel.
Kaleo, one of the main antagonists, was a threatening villain, although he did lack depth in terms of motivation and character. He very much felt like the "crazy" bad guy. For me, I found that this worked for the story and didn't mind him not having as much depth as the other antagonists. However, I know that wasn't the case for everyone who read it.
The build up for Tobias's romance as well as the interactions between him and his love interest were also very well done. Because of the way it was handled in the book, the relationship felt not only organic but uncertain, something that at any moment could lead to both characters' deaths due to their circumstances. My sole problem with it was that it felt very one sided, with Tobias constantly having to apologize for his mistakes, without his partner doing the same for her's. This is fine if Moreci wanted to portray this as a genuine problem in their relationship but given the way it is presented in the novel, it feels as if the book is glossing over this problem.
SPOILERS
So, let's begin with the big twist in this novel. Leila being the Savior. Personally, I did see this coming, (although I do have a bad habit of predicting the endings of books!) and was hoping it would not be true for several reasons. Ultimately, many of these reasons boiled down to my subjective taste in books as opposed to any flaws with Moreci's writing, however, there were a few problems, which I mentioned earlier, that the twist accentuated.
Because Leila was now the Savior, who was treated in the book as an all powerful goddess, her lack of growth and mistakes along with the imbalance in her and Tobias' relationship were amplified. Despite these problems, I do have hope for future books in this series. From what I've heard, The Savior's Sister is going to take place during the events of The Savior's Champion but focus on Leila's perspective, which may paint her as a more flawed and realistic character who undergoes her own challenges and growth. Especially since The Savior's Champion followed Tobias, who may've had a more unrealistic view of Leila due to his love for her.
END OF SPOILERS
In summary, this novel was a great read and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy dark fantasy and romance. I'm also looking forward to reading its companion novel, The Savior's Sister. For my rating, I would give The Savior's Champion an 8.5/10.