A corrupted city. A brewing rebellion. A god’s will. Serra Blackburn and her adoptive father, Finn, pursue a fresh start in Adhelm, a city that enslaves the entire elven population. Despite her desire to free them, she must first deal with her new job as a smuggler. When a job goes downhill, betrayal is suspected among the crew and Serra’s boss partners with a suspicious new client.After a … client.
After a terrible revelation, Serra and her friends leave the crew and are forced to join the rebellion against the city of Adhelm. But things are not what they seem, a new enemy lurks in the darkness, threatening everything Serra holds dear.
Faced with scrutiny, loss, and an impossible task, Serra must find a way to let go of her past and save her new home.
Rise of the Champion is the first book in The Champion Series.
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Our heroine has strong beliefs and is not afraid to stand up to defend them. Which can be problematic when the entire town is against you. But who said things were going to be easy?
This is book one of the series, so a good place to start.
This is a fantasy story with elves, dwarves and magic. Always a fun combination. The story is well written and easy to read with a well developed setting that has a nice depth to it, helping to make it seem real. The characters are also well done and I am particularly fond of our heroine. I like heroines that are tough, smart and willing to fight for what they believe in. The story moves at a good pace and includes several twists and turns that kept things unpredictable and fresh. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to the next book in the series.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.
This is the 1st book in the 2nd series by Clara C. Johnson I’ve read. I can honestly say, I am so very happy to have found this author.
This book is as AMAZING as her other books. Intriguing, well developed characters, check. Super cool world building, check. Plus the story, I mean, who doesn’t love elves, dwarves & a plot that flows wonderfully. It is also nice to have this side of the Paranormal realm.
Take a leap of faith and grab this book! You won’t be disappointed. Clara C. Johnson knows her stuff!
I found I was not pulled into the story as quickly as I thought. I like the setting and the overall situation particularly with the characters Serra, Finn and Theren as their interactions often made me smile. The story did progress although a bit slow for me. I really did like how the broad picture of the situation was revealed as Serra progressed on her journey.
I received an ARC and am voluntarily sharing my honest review.
Serra was found starving at the side of the road by Finn when she was six. Finn may be a Dwarf, but he raised Serra as his daughter. This story includes a rebellion against slavery, a cult that wants to bring back the old Elven Gods using black magic, a romance between Serra and Theren, an Elf she purchased and set free, plus action, action, and more action. The ending is a cliffhanger. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Set aside a very full, long day for this PG15 paranormal fantasy epic as seventeen-year-old human Serra Blackburn and her dwarf foster-father Finn Almunt journey to Adhelm in the kingdom of Sostar in hope of work.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really liked this tale of how a simple young girl ends up being the Champion and saving a country in the end. The story stats out with Serra Blackburn and her adoptive father, Finn, entering into Adhelm and thus begins the tale full of danger, rebellion, and trying to survive. Serra is an amazing character and stands up for what she believes in and how she does it made a great story. The story winds it way as me meet and really get to know Serra and Finn as they meet and make friends and enemies in Adhelm. It just drew me in as I had to see what Serra would do next and how she would try to fight for what is right. All the characters were well written and easy to like and hate as needed. A good start to an epic story.
Serra doesn’t have any special powers or magical abilities. at 5 foot nothing she’s not physically imposing and she’s not even a particularly good liar – her poker face could use some work. What she does have is a passion for justice and some seriously loyal friends. She’s not one to sit back and take the easy path even when it means putting her life on the line for a tiny chance at success.
This is a historical fantasy that for most of the book could be historical fiction other than the setting and inclusion of dwarfs and elves. The magic does not really play a part in the story until right at the end, and at that point I almost felt like hey, wait where did this come from? because all of a sudden there was this new conflict and it felt like the main conflict of the rest of the book had been forgotten. It does all come together in the end though. It is a bit of a slow start and took I think the first 1/4 of the book until it felt like the action really started. Lots of set up/world building/character development etc. Once the ball gets rolling it is worth it though. And a well told, engaging read even when I wasn’t’ sure where it was going in the beginning.
This is the first book in The Champion series and the immediate threat in this book is resolved, but many questions are asked and issues are left hanging to draw you into book 2. I have high hopes for the next book being better than this one since there is a much clearer direction to the narrative at the end.