【 CHAMPION OF FATE 】

book #1 in the Heromaker series

This was a lovely story, and the acknowledgements are deeply sad and beautiful.

Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Author: Kendare Blake
Published: September 2023
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Pages: 480 (paperback)

This was my first Kendare Blake book, so I was very excited to read something by her! I’m pleased to say it was well worth it.

I would classify this as leaning more towards the atmospheric type of book, where the world and the characters come a step before the plot itself. But nonetheless, I thought this was fun, original and I didn’t want it to end.

Reed was a great main character; a no-nonsense sort of girl who’s doing her best to meet expectations and prove herself worthy. The concept of the Aristene was wonderfully interesting, and I loved have complex their role it and how Blake developed that. The idealisation of glory in war was surprisingly refreshing – usually I like fantasy stories where war is tragic and horrid, but there was something fun about the pursuit of glory in this book that was both palatable and intriguing. You’ll have to read it to really understand what I’m trying to say.

I can’t wait to read about more of Reed’s adventures – and I certainly can’t wait to read more of Blake’s books.

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Title: Champion of Fate
Series title: Heromaker
Author: Kendare Blake
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Behind every great hero is an Aristene.

Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers.

Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.

Nothing is going to stop Reed–until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected.