Name: J’Naia Stepp's review of The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci
Item: The Savior's Champion
Rating: 4
Author: J’Naia Stepp

Jenna Moreci

Tobias Kaya doesn't care about The Savior. He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he's forced to make The Savior his priority. Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign's Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting — and killing — for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness. Trigger warnings: this book contains graphic violence, foul language, and sexual situations.

The Savior's Champion

J’Naia Stepp

Hoping to save his family, one man enters his realm's most glorious tournament and finds himself in the middle of a political chess game, unthinkable bloodshed, and an unexpected romance with a woman he's not supposed to want.

Aaron J Mitchell

Initially, I was a bit iffy about an extended 'challengers in a big competition' story and thought it was going to be too predictable to keep me interested but the romance and drama sucked me right in. Really fun and different fantasy novel.

Kimberly Burgess 

One of the most phenomenal books I have ever read -I loved the character development, the world building, the action, the humor, everything! On the edge of my seat waiting for the sequel!!!!

Nicole

Wow. Oh my God. I just finished and I'm speechless. Wow. Incredible. Jenna Moreci's writing is enthralling and funny and emotional and incredible and I don't know how to say how much I loved this book but I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

Elisa Bieg

This book has a very good premise, and interesting world building. The trials are pretty well thought-out and the overall story is dramatic and gripping. 
However the plot development is far too drawn out. In an effort to add even more drama, the author stretched out the story for far too long when it was almost at the end, and the foreshadowing and teasing is so heavy that by the time the big reveal hits, it has lost ALL impact — except to the MC, it seems, who was deeply shocked and apparently had absolutely no idea. Bless his heart, as they say in the South.

Also, once the romance really gets going, the author really lays it on thick, with interminable dialogue that would be bearable if it were a bit cleverer, but alas it mostly ends up being sappy and a bit cringey.

So by the time the book ended (and it didn’t REALLY, so if you don’t like open-ended plots, avoid this one), I was so very, very ready for it to be over.

I’m still going to give it 3 1/2 STARS because I really did enjoy all the trials and challenges, but I’m a bit annoyed because with some good editing and sharper dialogue, this could have been great!

jenn kause

hunger game style tournament for the queens heart???
HELL YEAH

This book is amazing and I absolutely love it. I still have yet to read the companion novel, The Savior’s Sister, but I’m excited because of how much I loved this book. One thing is that at times the characters felt a bit flat other than that it’s beautiful written. The world building is amazing and I’m in love with the way she set up the government in this fictional place.

Alex Najera 

Eryn Bradshaw

Former artist turned laborer Tobias Kaya works in the sugarcane fields day in and day out to support his mother and paralyzed sister. The Savior has come of age to marry, and as tradition states, the Sovereign's Tournament will be held to find the Savior's husband. Tobias enters, not to win her hand in marriage, but to earn money for his family. Along with nineteen other men, Tobias must face challenges, trials, and fight to the death to come out alive and on top. But while in the tournament, Tobias unexpectedly meets a woman he falls in love with and has a new goal to escape the tournament to be with her. Will he meet his goal or his untimely demise in the labyrinth?I really really really wanted to like The Savior's Champion. I enjoy Jenna Moreci's YouTube content. The premise caught my attention. There was a fantasy element. The world was loosely based on Ancient Greece. There's a mysterious magic power the Saviour uses that her ancestors helped to heal the land and bless people. It seemed Hunger Games-esque with the competition where only one can emerge the victor. Challenges that made it so it wasn't just about murdering each other. But inevitably, the book feel flat for me. I think it was trying to encompass too many things into one novel. It was Hunger Games combined with Gladiators combined with The Bachelorette combined with a hint of Tangled (Rapunzel) (the savior has a little chant to heal people towards the end of the book, even though she didn't use it in the rest of the book) and Twilight (the savior glows in the sunlight).

Plot
The bare bones of the plot were interesting. The Savior, who descends from a longline of Saviors, has come of age and must marry to produce the next Savior. Makes sense since she is the ruler of Thessan. Her father puts on The Sovereign's Tournament, the last Sovereign's Tournament winner. He is the one making all the challenges for the men to take part in. I don't really know how the twenty men are picked, but there are twenty men in the competition. But I guess it really wasn't terribly relevant. There were penis measurements to select the competitors, so I suppose that's relevant?

Here's what I didn't understand about the tournament. There's no actual rules aside from completing the challenges and don't die or royally fuck up. These men can, and do, kill each other unprompted and without reason. Our first death was because one competitor didn't find another competitor funny. So why isn't it an all out fight to the death? Why make these men go through challenges? Why doesn't a competitor just get up in the middle of the night and slit everyone's throat? Okay, I suppose they couldn't slit people's throats since they have no weapons, but the first death is a brutal smashed face to the wall and punched until dead. What is stopping them from just killing each other?

The major plot twist and, if I'm being honest, everything about this book is predictable. I enjoy a good plot twist, but it ruins the fun when you can guess the plot twist or the direction of the novel relatively quickly.

World Building
What's there to say? There is none. From what I understand, world building is not Moreci's favourite thing to write. I totally understand, however, we all have to do things we don't like to end up with something good. The entire world was a blank slate. I didn't watch any of Moreci's videos about The Savior's Champion until after I finished reading, but I think it's based around Ancient Greece.

The thing that bothered me the most about the world building was the labyrinth. On the front cover of the book it says, "Respect the Labyrinth. Obey the Labyrinth." So if I'm to assume anything, most of the book should take place in a labyrinth. So a complex maze with some puzzles, some scary creatures, get to the middle of it and win. That's not what we got. At the start of the Sovereign's Tournament, Wembleton, our host, explained that the labyrinth USED to be a labyrinth years and years ago, but many of the hallways were blocked off now. So what we left with? A hallway of doom with "exciting features."

Challenges
Speaking of exciting features, let's talk about the challenges. They were really boring. Walk through the good old Hallway of Doom, come to a death trap that is very much taken from Indiana Jones. Don't touch the ribbons or arrows shoot at you. Turn a wheel to drain a flooding room. Avoid a wall from smashing you into the other wall and turning you into human soup. Then there were official challenges, which were... also boring. Strapped to a chair while a maniac cuts people open and if your heartbeat goes too fast, you explode! Get a rose in the woods and bring it to the Savior. Make an antidote to the poisoned wine you just drank. I didn't see a point to any of this. Especially because there was Wembleton, the host who announced things to a crowd of spectators then shoved our twenty men underground, away from any view of them. The whole reason spectators get invested in The Hunger Games and The Bachelor(ette) is because they can watch the whole thing. There are only a handful of times where spectators are part of the Sovereign's Tournament. Because it's an old fantasy world, there are no cameras or televisions, yet there is still a need for an obnoxious host for a reason I still can't discern. Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games was a minor character and the host for the spectators, sure, but he still had character and a purpose. Wembleton is utterly pointless.

Characters
Pointless, you say? Just like most of the characters in this book. I am going to be drawing on The Hunger Games a lot here because it's such a perfect comparison of do this, not that. There are twenty men that compete in the Sovereign's Tournament. It's dangerous and most do not make it out alive. A total of three competitors live after the tournament, if I understand the format of the tournament correctly (which there are no rules to). The winner and two honorably released men. In Hunger Games, there are twenty-four competitors, two from each district, and only one makes it out alive. This is a large cast of characters, it's impossible for the reader to remember every single competitor AND any other characters introduced unless they have a crazy good memory or made a flow chart while reading. The Hunger Games introduces the reader to the competitors in bits. There are some that are more memorable because of their impact on Katniss, and others only known by their district because Katniss has no real interaction or connection with them. It sucks a bit because these characters have to die, but it's the way it is. However, in The Savior's Champion, every single competitor is introduced to the reader AND given a nickname they will be known by while in the competition. So Tobias, our main character, is also known as The Artist. Twenty characters, forty names. They all just blurred together because Tobias had interactions with EVERY. SINGLE. COMPETITOR. The competitors are stuck together in a hallway of doom and then camp together. Tobias and, by proxy, the reader will inevitably interact with all of them whether he likes it or not.

On top of trying to remember forty names, all the men are the same flat character, sometimes with a sprinkling of a personality that coincides with their nickname. Flynn, the Prince, is princely. Orion, the hunter, is quiet and brooding. Antaeus, the Giant, is literally just a stupid giant man. And every single man in the competition is a horn-dog. They talk about boobs, raping, tits, fucking, cunts, breasts, and sometimes cocks (sorry Mom 😅). It felt like the imagined portrayal of the generic boys' locker room talk. I'm not a man, but I can only assume this is not what all men talk about it. An off-handed comment every so often about how good a girl looks, but their entire conversations aren't steeped in sex and toxic masculinity. And for a book to reek of dirty talk, to have both the Tobias and Leila, his love interest, virgins added to the cringe factor. To drive home how cringy it was, here's a slightly NSFW interaction they had:
Tobias nodded, eagerly propping himself up onto a pile of pillows. As Leila wedged herself between his legs, her eyes widened.
"What?" he asked.
"You're hard."
"You're beautiful. And naked."
Leila giggled into her hands, her cheeks bright pink.
"What now?" he said.
"I'd never seen one before." Her eyes became larger. "A cock."
I'd like to note, before this interaction, Tobias CONSTANTLY is fantasizing about having sex with Leila. And Leila isn't too much cleaner in her talk than he is in his thoughts. Every single character, including side characters we meet just once or twice, are absolutely obsessed with sex. The characters had potential for depth, but they were filled to brim with horniness.

The book makes an attempt to have different representation in it, which ended up feeling forced. Some women talked about how many different women they've had sex with. There was a competitor who, despite competing to marry a woman, admitted to preferring pretty boys. And then there's the fun trope of the bisexual villain who wants to torture Tobias by forcing sex on him. Mix this in with the pot of straight men fantasizing about women and straight women fawning over Tobias' penis and one attempt at trying to buy Tobias for a night of sexual fun, it was not entertaining to read.Overall Thoughts
I don't have a problem with swearing, violence, and sex. All in moderation. The Savior's Champion could do with learning the word moderation. If all of it was taken out, a pretty good YA novel might emerge. If it was toned down and more character development and world building was sprinkled in, it could be a pretty good Adult novel. But unfortunately, this is what the book was. Just a disappointment. And to add to that disappointment, no loose ends were tied up. I know it's a series, there's another book coming out at the end of this month, but I was left with more questions than when I started the book. Leila even said she'd explain (spoiler) things to Tobias, but it was a long story and it was never explained. Sadly, I am only giving this book 2 Stars. I likely won't continue reading the series. It's a fast-paced, easy read. It's difficult because part of me liked it, but there's just too much disappointment wrapped up in the book.Check out more reviews on my blog!

Nicole Worsham

From the very beginning, I was sucked into the world of The Savior's Champion. I loved learning about the world, the tournament, and the characters through the story! Everything felt so real to me! The slow-burn romance made it so I never wanted to put the book down and I found myself cheering them on. Overall, I absolutely loved this book, and I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Angelique Dvali

Neva Davies

CW: death, scenes of a sexual nature, foul language and derogatory term usage

The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci is a monster. And I'm not referring to the page count. 
Death is a huge part of this book, pretty much beginning the minute the tournament begins. You'll find yourself covering your eyes with your hands, not wanting to know how it ends but unable to let it go. You'll root for the main character and cheer when things work out. And then.... the end will leave you wanting more. 
I hope Jenna Moreci is working on the sequel because I'm looking forward to it!

5/5 stars

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book for Indie Reads Book Club! Support yo indie authors!

Book Series: The Savior’s Series Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: a gay couple, but other than that not really anything else

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 17+ (gore, violence, language, sexual situations)

Publisher: Jenna Moreci

Pages: 562

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Tobias Kaya doesn't care about The Savior. He doesn't care that She's the Ruler of the realm or that She purified the land, and he certainly doesn't care that She's of age to be married. But when competing for Her hand proves to be his last chance to save his family, he’s forced to make The Savior his priority. 

Now Tobias is thrown into the Sovereign’s Tournament with nineteen other men, and each of them is fighting—and killing—for the chance to rule at The Savior's side. Instantly his world is plagued with violence, treachery, and manipulation, revealing the hidden ugliness of his proud realm. And when his circumstances seem especially dire, he stumbles into an unexpected romance, one that opens him up to unimaginable dangers and darkness. 

Trigger warning: this novel contains graphic violence, adult language, and sexual situations

Review: Oh. My. God. I LOVED this book! I kinda described as a Male version of The Selection but with violence and gore. I loved Tobias and I loved Leila. Both were very well developed and I loved how they were written. Tobias was written to not be like how a stereotypical guy is portrayed. He let his feelings show and I think that’s very important for young boys in this day and age. The world building was also magnificent and the plot was crazy good and that writing! THE WRITING WAS GREAT!
My only issue is that I predicted the twist at the end about 17% of the way in, but I’m really good at that. My group I read this with didn’t seem to catch onto the twist, so it was a very well done twist, just one that I predicted lol. But knowing the twist makes the book more interesting at least!

Verdict: Highly recommend this book.

Rebeca 

5 WELL DESERVED STARS 

HOLY CRAP!!!!! This book was soooo good and such a ride. I finally got to pick it up when I got extremely sick and my doctor told me I couldn't go to work for like 4 days. I've been reading it like crazy and let me just say PICK IT UP. The characters are so well written and the challenges within the tournament were brutally fantastic. Will definitely be one of my favorites this year. 😍😍😍 I am in love.

Natalie Rawlinson

Had me Gripped from the start. However I soon learned not to get too emotionally attached to characters.
Great fun to read. Highly recommend 

Tiffany Engler

TW: violence, unwanted groping.

Overall

So, this book reminds me of a couple of things. One of them being The Hunger Games. Men enter in this Sovereign’s Tournament to marry The Savior. They basically have to kill each other or die during challenges, which reminds me of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire.

Overall, I really liked reading this violent story. Unfortunately, all the little “twists” at the end weren’t surprising. I guessed all of them early on in the book. That’s the main reason why this book isn’t getting a higher rating.

I like Jenna Moreci’s writing, for the most part. I’ll definitely pick up The Savior’s Sisters when it comes out. I’d love to reread this story from Leila’s point of view. I just really hate the terminology she used. There were times that I could have sworn this book was written by a man.

This book was an easy book to read. I followed along with the audiobook. I can’t stay focused right now to save my life when it comes to fantasy.

Please be aware, this book is not for everyone.

Characters

Leila: She’s by far the best character in this book. She’s a character with many secrets and she’s does a lot of things she should not be doing in this competition. I love that she can stand up for herself when she needs to.

Tobias: He’s kind of obnoxious. There are times where he doesn’t stick up for Leila, in fear that the other competitors would find out that he’s not really there to win The Savior’s heart. He’s the only one of the group who entered the tournament with intentions that did not involve The Savior, but his family. For that, I do like him.

The Other Competitors: They are all pigs. I realize they were all put in this book with the intention that they’re going to die anyway. So why not make them the most dumb and disgusting group of men ever?

The Challenges

I love that not all of the challenges were violent. I feel like Jenna got really creative with adding challenges without violence. Some of the challenges reminded me of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The labyrinth reminds me of the maze so much. There are so many things that can happen in the labyrinth. It’s insane. Definitely some of my favorite “gruesome” scenes happened in there.

The Romance

The romance fell kind of flat for me. I feel like I need more time with Tobias and Leila. I think that their romance will bloom in the next book after The Savior’s Sister. I’m hoping their romance will bloom. I’m also really hoping that we’ll get more of their romance. Who knows? They might be too busy trying to save their lives.

J’Naia Stepp &
The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci

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J’Naia Stepp &The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci

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J’Naia Stepp &
The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci