3.5 stars

“Warrior of Legend” is the sequel to “Champion of Fate,” a novel telling of the deeds of the secret society of the Aristene, immortal women who assist heroes seeking glory. Reed is a newly anointed Aristene of Glorious Death, meaning all her heroes are doomed to perish, and she is still in love with Hestion, her first hero, who only survived because his brother took his place. Now Reed has a new hero, a princess seeking a glorious marriage, and Hestion is one of her suitors. War is brewing between the princess’s kingdom and their longtime enemy, and Reed will be caught in the middle. Meanwhile, a new threat against the Aristene has risen: terrifying men mutated partially into animals, hunting the warriors. In order to prevent calamity, everyone must make choices they would rather not.
This story started off promising, with a slightly darker tone than the previous novel, and with characters already learning hard lessons from the get-go. By the end, it had become something very weird, and not in an entertaining or satisfying way; and I felt that everyone was acting out of character. I think Blake also leaned a little too far into involving Fennbirn (the magical island where her other series takes place) and its legends; I’m all for different series being in the same universe, but it started to take me out of the current story. I’m not really sure where the series will go from here, but I’ll probably read to find out.

What a beautiful masterpiece of a book...

Warrior of Legend did not leave me feeling disappointed, actually I think it was better than the first book!

The characters developed so much in this book from the very start to the end and I loved seeing all the povs in this. Gosh, it felt like the plot took you on a rollercoaster ride (and an emotional one at that)!

So many plot twists I couldn't see coming and some almost had me in tears. The writing in this book was quite different from the first, definitely more mature which was a nice surprise!

I had a feeling this book would hurt and...yep, yep it did. I can say I definitely stared at a wall in fits of rage, although that cliffhanger was wonderfully done and I can't wait for the third book!

*𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴/𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤*

I forced myself to read this one slowly because I knew I'd be sad once it was over!

This story has it all. Amazing world building, characters that you'll both love and hate, and twists and turns that will keep you coming back for more.

Kendare Blake does a masterful job creating the Aristene world, winding each location into the plot and giving enough backstory to keep the story moving and interesting. The characters are both magical and real. Not only is Reed our FMC but she's a flawed one at that. And the supporting characters were some of my favorites, Hestion (so dedicated), Aster (loved her mother like personality), Veridian (the rebel we all love), Aethiel (a boss ex-queen). I even loved the acknowledgments for this one - peek Three Dark Crowns.

The story is heartbreaking and will leave you screaming WHY?! But that makes it all the more entertaining!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Harper Collin's Children's Books/Quill Tree Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was an excellent sequel that left me devastated.
Full of tension, drama, love, badass women fighting I could not stop reading.
Roughly a year after the events in champion of fate we follow our characters as they try to navigate through the choices they made in book 1.
The pacing and plot were done well. I liked how we got to see more characters povs. The relationships were chefs kiss. Not just the romantic one's but also the sibling/family dynamic one's.
Learning more about the Aristene elders was cool but I'd sucker punch them if I could....just kidding 👀
Silco my precious you were the best.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book in a series, so make sure you read the first book before starting this one. Fantasy is woven fantastically yet again by Kendar Blake!

I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one setting because it was so good and I could not get enough of the characters. I really loved the characters the author created and there journey that they took. The story was fast paced but detailed where I felt immersed but not bored. I will be recommending this book to all of my family and friends.

My immediate thought after finishing this book was I want more. Seeing more of the Aristene, the intense journey Reed and Lyonene wet through was all so well done and I am just not ready to leave this world. The book was still satisfying and it does feel like a complete duology, this is clearly the end of this part of their journey, so don't take this as things feel incomplete. I just really love all these characters so much and its such a rich world that I want more. Mild spoiler here, the ending does leave open that possibility too, but without feeling incomplete. That said lets go back to how amazing these characters are, I really enjoyed seeing more of the Aristene and more of just how their society works. I appreciated the new characters and how they affected the dynamics between our returning heros. The magic system is fascinating and I think it was used so well throughout the book too. The plot was well done, I liked the pacing and was struggling so much with not wanting to put the book down but also not wanting the book to be over as I approached the end. All around an excellent book. Kendare Blake is a masterful storyteller and I'm now craving a Three Dark Crowns reread to make sure i didn't miss any other connections.

First, thank you to Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read the ARC of Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake.
After reading the Champion of Fate, the first book in the Heromaker series, I was hooked on the story of the world of the Aristene’s. Warrior of Legend did not disappoint. Reed is a fierce FMC and continues to amaze me. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, there was another twist that left me speechless. And what a cliffhanger of an ending. I can not wait to read the third book in the Heromaker series and see what Kendare Blake has in store for Reed and everyone else in her world.

I did not realize this was book 2 I thought this wA book 1 so I don't think I can Really judge it fairly without reading the first book int the series. WITH THAT said what I could get out of it was an author who is super talented with words and creating a world you can imagine yourself in even with jumping in a book Kate j had no problem immersing myself. I look forward to the chance to go back and read book 1 to see how much better of a picture I can get because this kind of fantasy work is top notch and hard to come by.