Review: The Savior's Champion by Jenna Moreci

Title: The Savior's Champion

Author: Jenna Moreci

Series: The Savior's Series #1

Genre: Fantasy/Adult/Action/Romance

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: April 24th, 2018

Edition: Kindle Edition, 562 pages

Source: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

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. 

*****

So, this book was amazing. 

I was initially on the fence about reading this book, as I heard a lot of mixed things about it. From the writing being 'meh' to the content being graphic. I am so glad that I decided to give it a read. This was a pretty quick read for me, especially considering how long it is. I'm trying to think of how to talk about this book, and not spoil anything.

Tobias is a great character, and possibly the best (adult) male character ever written by a female author that I have read. He has layers to him that a lot of male lead characters written by women don't have. He's not a bro-y macho womanizer. He's a pretty average guy. He quit his apprenticeship of being an artist to take care of his mother and crippled sister after the death of their father. (This is all revealed in the first chapter, so it's not a spoiler).

Leila is a great character. There is a lot more to her character than is let on, for a good chunk of the book. I had suspicions regarding her character at about 70%, but I thought it was something else than what it turned out to be.

I liked her humor, that she had agency in her own life. That she wasn't reliant on a man to do anything for her. That she wasn't motivated by a man.

Cosima is possibly the most insufferable character I have ever encountered, but she's supposed to be, so a job well done there.
There are a number of named characters in this book that have an impact on the plot, but I am unsure how much can be said about them that won't be spoilers. Also, most of them die, and I can't talk about that part at all.
The author has a Youtube channel about writing, and she has videos that go in-depth about who her characters are. And since she wrote the book, she knows how to talk about it without giving important things away, It's also a good way to know how to pronounce the character's names. I recommend checking it out, she's also very funny in my opinion.

 The book is set in a Pseudo-Greek/Roman country, but it's not quite at the same time, and the magic, little that there is, isn't really explained that well. The Savior seems to be the only one with magic in this world, but where it comes from is never really talked about. But that's also not really what this book is about. I hope it's explained a little further in the sequel. I just wish I had an idea of when that would be. This book came out this past April, but I have been hearing about it for what feels like much longer.

This was the best book I have read in a long time. The writing is just unexpected in many ways, and I just love this book. It has a lot of graphic violence, and harsh language, and some sexual situations. So if those things bother you, then maybe skip it.