Set in the world of Kendare Blake's ground breaking Three Dark Crowns series, Champion Of Fate is a masterclass in fantasy set around strong female leads. Fast paced, filled with action and laced with plot twists, Champion Of Fate will leave readers desperate for more.
From the blurb;
'To be an Aristene is to give up your mortal life. And to be granted a new one.
'The Aristene is a mythical order of female warriors. While heroes are the ones immortalized in legends, it's the Aristene who guide their paths to victory. They are the Heromakers.
'Reed - an orphan raised by the order - has always dreamed of taking her place beside her sisters-in-arms. To do that, she must help her first hero achieve glory on the battlefield.
'Nothing is going to stop Reed. Until, that is, she is assigned the fiery and infuriating Prince Hestion. As their alliance turns into something more, she starts to question the true cost of becoming an Aristene. With battle looming, Reed must make an impossible choice - her hero or her order.'
Blake's talent as a top tier fantasy author within the Young Adult section is on full display in this impossible to put down novel. Champion Of Fate rings with a uniqueness that will capture the imaginations of every reader.
With an empowered cast of female characters Blake show's off her talent at crafting marvellously choreographed action scenes, and beautifully crafted, realistic characters whose individual arcs are all seen through with care and diligence, leaving no character feeling like a cheap extra.
Champion Of Fate has no boring chapters. Readers are launched from one plot twist, to another epic battle, to a soul wrenching moment of love or sorrow throughout the book, keeping us on ours toes as we race with Reed toward her destiny.
While the order itself, Reed and her friends roles within it, make for enough of a driving force to keep us glued to the pages of Champion Of Fate, it is the villain of this book who is truly startling. Blake crafts her master villain with a calculated hand. Lacing his horrific acts with a bitter twist of madness, that will leave shivers running up readers spines and hearts racing.
Reed, who swiftly becomes a lovable character, is crafted in an honest light. Her choices and her actions are not always perfect. She is not the kick-ass heroin of so many of today's novels, whose every move is a calculated choice they already have planned out chapters before. Instead Reed is the epitome of driven. She knows what she wants, and strides for it, making some mistakes along the way but never relinquishing her desires. It is this honesty in her character that makes her both lovable and addictive. We cannot rely on her to make the right choices, to listen to the right people, or to take the right path, but we cheer for her anyway. Reed's successes feel hard won, they feel celebratory, and equally her struggles feel real. We know how much she has worked, and how pure her heart is.
Champion Of Fate is set to be a duology, which will leave readers filled with excitement, as the second novel is set to release September 2024. We can not wait to see what Blake brings to this world, and to Reed, next.
We give Champion Of Fate Five Stars
ISBN - 978-0-86154-750-0 Cover Price - £9.99 First published in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and Australia by Rock the Boat, an imprint of Oneworld Publications 2023