First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.

Stars (Out of 10): 3/10 Stars

Spoiler Free: Anything that claims to follow/use Greek Mythology always intrigues me. I grew up on Percy Jackson and other Rick Riordan books, so I just have a soft spot for the stuff! Unfortunately, even with that soft spot, I did not enjoy this book at all. I wanted to drop it at 35%, and almost did after hearing from other readers that the story isn’t worth it in the end, but I ended up continuing (I still don’t know why.) In the end, they were right. While the story is the only thing I may have liked about the book, it still wasn’t phenomenal.

First off, this book uses a ton of tropes and stereotypes that I am just over. We’ve got insta-love, which tried to follow a haters to lovers pattern but switched waaay too fast to lovers. It honestly made me cringe at points, especially when the narrator would think of this boy she loved and how she would do anything for them. (Uhhhh… okay.) Additionally, I hate most of the choices surrounding Gabriel. One, he seems to carry some of the general gay stereotypes, but only at certain points. He spends a whole scene gushing over fashion with this other female character, but we don’t see that hobby/trait brought back again, which makes it feel shallow and fake. He is also constantly portrayed as someone to be protected, as weak and small, with our main narrator constantly saving him/feeling sorry for him. I honestly don’t know if the readers get to know Gabriel at all beyond feeling sorry for him and his situation, as that is all our narrator seems to think about him.

These continues on to other character problems. None of our characters feel really fleshed out, and most seem to be based off of one specific trait. We have our standard smart girl who only cares about proving herself and her superiority and our evil dude who just enjoys killing puppies for fun. The narrator’s main rival throughout the story also has barely any depth, even with the parallels the pair constantly have with each other (I was honestly expecting more here, some sort of revelation or something, but no.) Even the narrator’s best friend in the competition, Amy, shows little more than her thieving skills and sad backstory, and their constant tension (caused by tiny little things and always instigated by Amy) stops us from actually getting to know her as well. Even the gods all seem like carbon copies of each other, and this is the saddest part. Instead of developing their personalities from their powers and stories, all seem to be exactly the same. Vain, with huge egos and lust for power.

This brings me to our narrator, Hope (ironic name eh?). She seems to be almost good at everything, and when she does lose, it’s either because she wasn’t trying or her overflowing goodness got in the way of her hurting someone or letting someone else be hurt/left behind. She’s an overdone chosen one, and I feel like she doesn’t really have to learn or do anything in order to solve her problems. She’s just magically better than everyone. I did like the ARC with her mother, on how that’s her one motive, but even that is given up in the end for a more “selfless” narrative (which, to me, kinda removed Hope’s one drive as well.)

I did like that the quests/challenges were all based around other heroic quests, and the planning/idea behind them all was pretty intriguing. However, the action of completing them felt too easy for the most part, and any challenge Hope had with them was trying to ensure all her friends made it through as well. It once again enforced the idea that these challenges weren’t actually difficult at all for Hope.

Overall, I’m pretty disappointed with this story. It had a really nice idea, and the plot was mainly intriguing, but the lack of support from the characters/an uninteresting romance made the entire novel fall short.

Olympian Challenger byAstrid Arditi, has a very interesting concept. I mean it has Greek gods living in modern times, always messing with human lives, it has a challenge where the big winner can win a wish and it also has forbidden romance, which is something that always makes things more exciting. But to be quite honest, I was a little underwhelmed, I’ll start with simpler things, I thought the world was pretty cool, I also found it a refreshing take where the humans involved weren’t demigods (while I love demigods, a new twist is always welcome). I also really liked that while it was a contemporary fantasy romance, the part set around Mount Olympus was very Ancient Greece-y.

My main problem was with the main character, I found that she tended to contradict herself in so many ways. I know people can be made of many layers, but this kind of contradiction just felt a bit off, in one moment she would be more on the soft side and then the next she would be bitting people’s heads off, which yes I know people can find their courage to fight back, but not in the way that was done, it just felt like the ‘sudden courage’ just came out of nowhere. I don’t know, I thought that could have been done a little better. I also didn't like how she kept doing things that could be considered wrong and there just weren't consequences to her actions? It's like she just could do no wrong at all. Another thing, was that I thought it was a little slow to my taste, but it wasn’t like there weren’t enough things happening, because it sort of already happens since page one, but the pacing just didn’t quite agree with me. And last, but not least, I thought that maybe the secondary characters needed a little more development and it felt like they were just two-dimensional when they could have a third dimension.

I know I criticised the book quite a bit, but it’s not necessarily a bad read, I’d call it a solid read, maybe it didn’t work for me, but maybe it could for someone else.

This book is not normally something I'd go for but the premise was interesting enough that I wanted to give it a go. I'll be honest with you, I wasn't keen on any of the characters - the Gods were, well Gods and therefore only looking out for number 1, and the humans... they were insipid, and/or gits. As for the romance elements, none of it was believable. I'm sad to say I just wasn't a huge fan.

3/5: I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for a review. This book started off slow. The author loved her thesaurus and the words overwhelmed the story at the beginning. About 1/3 of the way in it started to get interesting. At times the story got confusing with the sheer number of primary characters and it was hard to remember who everyone was and who was in what scene. I wish there was a half-star option because I would have increased my rating to 3.5 stars.

Nice and entertaining book with good characters. I really enjoyed the writing and the rhythm of the novel, and I would probably recommend this to anybody who feels like reading a YA-novel.

When I saw this cover I was immediately fascinated and couldn’t wait to read the book. I really enjoyed the first few chapters. Getting to know Hope, seeing her mother’s situation, and entering Olympus were well written and moved at a fast pace. Once the challengers break up into roommates and start training, I got bored and annoyed.
Arditi’s imagination is great and there is a lot of potential for a good story and great characters, I just didn’t see them here. Interactions between characters were often awkward or annoying (Hope’s roommate flips back and forth from quirky friend to hardened enemy it becomes frustrating and off putting). I could not connect with Hope. Her inner monologue was on constant repeat which got old quickly. The romances were not that great to read and I just couldn’t get into the challenge around everything else.
World building was done quite well throughout. There were great descriptions to assist with the unfamiliar areas. I put this book down a lot, and for long periods of time. This could be a good book for some, just not for me.

I couldn't put this book down. The mythology did it for me. How the whole world was set up, and how weird everything was. In a good way! The mythology was super interesting and the world dragged me in super fast. I found the whole premise super interesting, especially with Hope's mum. That was something I feel like I don't remember been done before, which is super well done.

However, the romance feels flat at times and I wasn't really convinced at the end that this was the greatest love out there for Hope. The writing I've seen some people comment on, but I found the writing overall good and it fit my reading preferences well.

Can I also take a moment to say that the cover is magnificent? Absolutely breathtaking!

As a huge fan of Greek Mythology, i eas very excited to read this book. I found this story fun and enjoyable to read and cant wait to discover what awaits the characters in book two

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This was my first book by this author, It was okay. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!

LOVED it. I really appreciated how human all the gods seem and the characters interact. You can really empathize with the bullies and friendships. It does seem like it's rather obvious from the beginning who is going to win to the Gods which irks me a little because if it was really such a "competition" then it shouldn't be even if the heroine is clearly head and shoulders in character above some of the cretins. From my understanding of Greek mythology though they were much crueler, and maybe it's the audience this book is aimed at but I didn't really see that level of cruelty in their actions (even though they're literally using human suffering as entertainment). It had an almost Harry Potter and the goblet of fire-esque feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I'll start off by saying the only reason I asked for this book was because of the cover! The cover is amazing and really drew me in. I am guilty of the crime of choosing books for covers.

I really went back and forth on what to rate this book. The book as a whole did not warrant higher than a 3 star rating, but the second half and ending were much better than 3 stars. However, I couldn't forget the first half and how I had thought seriously about putting this book down (I NEVER DNF books).

Hope Diaz is just trying to get through high school and keep her mom from forgetting who she is when a good deed lands her on Mount Olympus and competing, at the pleasure of the Olympians, to become the next hero and champion of the Gods. Hope isn't interested in a competition, but the aspect of being granted any wish she desires tempts her need to save her mother. After some resistance Hope works to win the battle of the Gods using her wits and compassion. But will it be enough?

I want to start with the positives of this book, unfortunately they almost all came in the second half so I'll just go chronologically instead. That means the negatives first. The beginning of this book painted Hope as a Mary Sue and I couldn't stand it! She gets good grades, she likes to read, she's a champion swimmer, she cares only about her mom and thinks parties are stupid. It felt so fake! And then when she gets to Mount Olympus she continues this perfect facade by disliking the "bad" contenders and befriending the gay guy and telling him how he is so much better than he thinks he is and his father (who hates him for his sexuality) is awful. <i>"Then he is missing out on his beautiful son. You're wonderful just as you are, Gabriel. You have to believe it. </i> What teenager talks like that? I am for supportive friends and encouraging people to be who they are meant to be, but that is her first friend and she says things like "beautiful son"? Really? Can we just stop painting her as the savior to all controversial causes? This is where I was really tempted to drop this book. I want my hero to feel realistic and Hope just felt like every parent's dream for what their teenager will be.

The second half of the book and the actual competition made this book better. Hope works with the other contenders to master many of the challenges and befriends all the teachers, continuing the Mary Sue aspect. However, as other challenges begin to get ruthless in their conquest to win Hope starts to show and give in to real emotions like rage, envy, and fear. For the first time she starts to feel real. It was what this book needed from the beginning. The quest revolve around other heroes quest and I have to hand it to the author, she did her research on Greek Mythology. She does a great job incorporating several myths about different heroes. She also portrays the Gods perfectly. She doesn't make them perfect or human. She paints them in all their deadly sins and competitiveness and it aligns with their portrayal in myth.

There is a romance which was a little awkward at times. It wasn't my favorite relationship and seemed a little bit too cliche, but again the ending made it have more value in my eyes.

The ending! The author set it up perfectly for another book. It is a cliffhanger, but it also wraps up this story nicely. It guaranteed that I will continue the series when the next book comes out.

I am a sucker for mythology, so the concept of this book seemed pretty cool but lets be real that cover made me read this book. IT IS GORGEOUS!

As a fan of the Percy Jackson series I was really curious as to how similar/ different this story was going to be from those books and Astrid Arditi did an amazing job of telling an original story. Centered more around the children and descendants of Greek gods than the Gods themselves, I enjoyed that this book didn't try to romanticize the Gods but showed there cruelty and deception. This book really highlighted the heroes (Hercules/ Perseus/ Jason) of the Gods, and the quests they underwent and the sacrifices they made on behalf of the Gods.

Although there was a lot that I liked about this book it I gave it 2 stars, as much as I enjoyed the writing and the protagonist I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters. The flow of the book was slow, even the few action scenes were slow. The love interest was boring, there relationship was very insta-love and the framework of the plot made it very easy to guess the ending. I will continue with this series simply because I'm curious as to where the author will take this story.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review, all my opinions are my own.
Thank you to the publishers for sending me this book.

When I saw this cover and read the summary, I knew I needed to read this book. Hope Diaz is a high school senior at a private school in New York City. Her mother suffers from dementia and Hope helps take care of her. One day, every senior in New York City receives the same silver invitation but only some of them can read the message hidden in the card. Those that read the message and then follow the instructions given were transported to Mount Olympus and told they were chosen to complete a series of quests that would end with one of them being given chosen as the God's Hero. Sounds super cool, right? I liked this idea, I enjoyed the different quests, and I appreciated how past hero's trained the teens and allowed readers to learn about some of the less common stories in Greek Mythology.

However, there were several things I didn't like. I didn't like how awkward the word choice was in the beginning. It was stilted and unnecessarily advanced. It felt like the author was trying to prove how smart Hope was by using obscure words in place of well-known ones but it only made it feel like the author was trying WAY too hard all through the first few chapters and it was very distracting. Thankfully, things definitely relax as the story goes and the narrative slowly starts to sound like something a teenage girl would be saying/thinking. Sadly, that didn't help me like the main character any better. Hope is supposed to come across as a teenage girl under too much stress (mother who's slowly losing her mind, absent father, low-income scholarship student at a private school, and forced to participate in the Olympic version of the Hunger Games). Instead, Hope is a judgemental little brat who is overly obsessed with a random guy named Kieron that she's literally known for maybe 3 days. She tries so hard for her first two days on Mount Olympus to find a way to escape back to Earth but once she realizes that's not an option and only the winner will be able to leave, she turns her attention to semi-trying to win but mostly sits around wondering why Kieron doesn't love her and occasionally picking up a random book on myths. She is just so shallow at times that it hurts.

I honestly don't know if I'm going to read the second book when it comes out. I finished the first book and while I do feel that it's something teen readers may enjoy reading, I didn't appreciate it.

I had pretty high hopes for this book after reading the description. While I enjoyed the story, it wasn't quite what I was expecting so I was a little letdown.

In the modern day, the Greek gods are still around, and they want a new hero. Sucked into the insanity of Olympus against her will, Hope is a contestant to become said hero. She got sucked in while trying to save another contestant from drowning. Because of her good act, she gets chucked into the dangerous world of gods, demi-gods, heroes and monsters. To survive she will have to tough, determined, intelligent and quick-witted.
Olympian Challengers could be described with one word; okay. It is nothing incredibly unique or exciting, but it was like eating candy: not good for you but fun to consume for consumptions sake. Hope was pretty generic, but was not a bad character per-say, she was just a cooky cutter character. As for the other characters, for the most part, Hope had two semi-interesting friendships, but one of the two still seemed pretty cooky cutter. I did enjoy the friendship with the self ship thief, since it allowed Hope to seem more moral and compassionate in comparison. Story-wise, the story did not really wrap up, making it obvious there is an intendend sequel. Because of this, the ending of the story did not really feel properly concluded and I was left feeling more like I had just finished a chapter, and had not been given a full book. In the end, Olympian Challenger was okay and I give it the rating of THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

I really enjoyed the story it was different than most of the young adult books out right now. A very strong female lead that was not a damsel in distress. I think that the ending dragged on too long and the whole 'you are the first girl in a thousand year that I love' unrealistic

First of all, that cover? WOW. I'm tired of covers with 'girls in pretty dresses look resolute' but this one is amazing.

After that, the story. It's a clever use of Greek mythology, which I do actually know a bit about. I loved Gabriel, relatively indifferent to Amy but she was cool. Hope was another of the 'I don't have any talents, oh actually I'm the best at everything' type of heroine, but it worked very well in this novel. Shades of Twilight in her relationship with Kieron. I was surprised to see Hades as such an out and out villain, but that's probably because of yummy Eric Thomson on Hercules...wait, what was I talking about?

Right, the book. Very much enjoyed, hate the cliffhanger, when's the next one coming out?

The story is a little bit boring. I’m a huge fan of Percy Jackson series. All about the gods and myths are not as exciting as i expected it to be. Wish there are more exciting scene but the story is too simple.
Thought I quite like Hope’s personality.

DNF at 30%

This book really intrigued me because of the synopsis, it sounded so good but unfortunately it was not the book for me.

I mainly picked this book up because it had greek mythology and it did not disappoint, the 30% that i had read, I absolutely loved the way the author incorporated the greek mythology but it was not enough to keep me reading this book. One of the main reasons I did not finish this book was because of the writing style, it bothered me a little, I could not really connect with the heroin no matter how hard I tried.

However, just because I did not like this book, does not mean that you won't.

“‘A true hero fights for what’s right, no matter the cost or the glory dangled at him. It isn’t about what you want, Hope. It never was. You have a duty to win tomorrow.’”

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publisher, Astrid Arditi. I’ll thank Rick Riordan and Madeline Miller for my weakness for Greek mythology tales.

When Hope receives a mysterious invitation, she doesn’t expect it to lead her to Mount Olympus to become a challenger in the gods’ competition for a new hero. She doesn’t even believe in Greek gods; all she wants is to return home to her sick mother, who is slowly losing her mind like all the women in her family. Hope’s determination to return home slowly turns into a desire to win as she realizes that the reigning hero is granted a wish. If she wins, she may have the power to cure the most important person in her life.

Olympian Challenger is sort of Percy Jackson + romance. The mythology has a lot in common with the way Riordan writes it. For example, Hope’s mother reminded me a lot of May Castellan, and there’s a lot of focus on training heroes. It’s not as good, but let’s face it, Riordan is tough to compete with. I really enjoyed the way Arditi included famous Greek heroes in her story (I have a soft spot for Heracles and Achilles), but I wish there had been more women. (Atalanta? Medea? Her one female hero, Ariadne, spends most of her time in the library.)

I was less fond of her portrayals of some of the gods, particularly in villainizing Hades, but I guess that’s bound to happen. There’s also an overall sense of contempt toward the gods, and that’s a tired angle. Gods are not humans; they don’t behave like humans, and it’s very easy to make them out to be all bad. It’s much more complicated to try to figure out why gods do what they do, and there’s no depth to that here. I typically want more motivation from my villains.

The writing isn’t wonderful. There’s some stilted dialogue and a tendency to tell rather than show. In part, it’s a pacing problem. There are too many scenes for one book, particularly once Hope gets into her challenges (Why are there ten? I lost interest after four or five. They run the same pattern every time.) and many of them feel rushed. The novel could have been streamlined there in favor of building character and relationships.

That’s not to say I wanted to spend more time with Hope’s love interest, Kieron. He’s the typical brooding, stand-offish, and otherworldly handsome male that YA novels are overflowing with, and their instalove is all drama and no substance. I liked Hope well enough except for when she was agonizing over what Kieron thought of her; then her emotions ran to dramatic extremes, and it was tiresome. On the other hand, there’s a cute gay Cupid ship, and I think I needed that in my life. I almost wish the book had been told from Gabriel’s point of view, since his character development was a lot more significant than Hope’s.

Hope’s relationship with her mother is really strong–maybe the strongest relationship in the book, even with its small amount of page time. It’s the defining feature of Hope’s character, and while there’s some attempt to have her come into her own by the end of the novel, it’s a little saccharine. She’s a sort of cliche heroine whose goodness is beaten over our heads, but naturally, she thinks she’s a terrible person. Female characters with self-esteem are rarer than Greek gods. Her friends are fine but not wonderful, although Heath makes for an interesting villain. I wish there’d been more of his backstory throughout the novel instead of just at the end. While Olympian Challenger was fine for a one-time read, I likely won’t continue with the series.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.