aly36's review
4.0
This book is a definite gladiator book. I like where the plot it goes in the story. I think this author did a great job in the book of setting the plot up for more books in the series. I think I could see this series in a movie, for sure. I will be excited to see how the next book goes. A fight for survival for your bloodline is a good idea. I think the “Rock” would be a great fit for a role in this book when it becomes a movie. *I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
taisie22's review
4.0
Tournament of Hearts: The Librarian Gladiator is the first in a planned three-book series. The town of Hamelin has a yearly ritual called the Tournament of Hearts in which four contestants are selected to fight each other to the death. Not only are the losers killed, but their entire bloodlines are wiped out as a sacrifice to the gods for a good harvest.
Neven Fairchild is the town historian and librarian whose job it is to trace genealogies and family histories. He is totally unsuited to fight in the Tournament, but has been selected nonetheless, along with his friend, Talpus, a girl warrior named Reoni, and an old man named Kreinveck. Needless to say, things don't look good for Neven.
Klakthorn, the evil Councillor who has been running the Tournament has his own motives for what should happen. There are also flying beasts called Jagisado and one in particular named Smoke who are ravaging the countryside, but also seem to be helping Neven.
The world building here is wonderful, but there is a lot of detail and characters. I got confused sometimes with everything that is going on. There is a lot of fighting and it can be a bit gory in places. This is a book well worth reading however as it goes places you'd never expect (I don't want to give too much away). Neven is an interesting hero, certainly not a warrior, but not quite the nerd you might expect him to be. Warning: the book does end on a cliffhanger, but the next book should be out soon.
Neven Fairchild is the town historian and librarian whose job it is to trace genealogies and family histories. He is totally unsuited to fight in the Tournament, but has been selected nonetheless, along with his friend, Talpus, a girl warrior named Reoni, and an old man named Kreinveck. Needless to say, things don't look good for Neven.
Klakthorn, the evil Councillor who has been running the Tournament has his own motives for what should happen. There are also flying beasts called Jagisado and one in particular named Smoke who are ravaging the countryside, but also seem to be helping Neven.
The world building here is wonderful, but there is a lot of detail and characters. I got confused sometimes with everything that is going on. There is a lot of fighting and it can be a bit gory in places. This is a book well worth reading however as it goes places you'd never expect (I don't want to give too much away). Neven is an interesting hero, certainly not a warrior, but not quite the nerd you might expect him to be. Warning: the book does end on a cliffhanger, but the next book should be out soon.
sionna's review
3.0
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review through the group For Love of a Book*
I'm so torn with this book. I'm giving it 3 stars but, I want to give it more. I think in the future I'll read it again and see what happens.
For now, I thought it was a good book and really interesting but, for some reason I could not connect to the characters. I liked Neven and his friends, especially Delgado but, I just couldn't make the full connect. The world building was fantastic though. It was very deep and the next book looks primed to be even more so. Although, the book starts out by throwing the reader in the middle of things, and I felt I was scrambling to pick up the pieces and understand immediately. --Then again, sometimes I love this feature so, could just be how I'm feeling right now--
Lots of mystery and intrigue involved as well as betrayal. So much there to pull you in and wonder about the mystery and how it would be solved. There was also a few stories going on at once here and switching from one to the other could be jarring. Usually we were with Neven but then suddenly the Character the read is shadowing gets switched. I'm also more used to this at the start of a chapter and not in the middle. But, recently I've been reading first person stories so, that might also be what made the switched so weird to me.
Overall, I liked the story and characters and the magic wasn't really there(still confused on how someone died) BUT in the next book I feel things would really get better and more explained. So, will I read the next book? Probably. ^_^
I'm so torn with this book. I'm giving it 3 stars but, I want to give it more. I think in the future I'll read it again and see what happens.
For now, I thought it was a good book and really interesting but, for some reason I could not connect to the characters. I liked Neven and his friends, especially Delgado but, I just couldn't make the full connect. The world building was fantastic though. It was very deep and the next book looks primed to be even more so. Although, the book starts out by throwing the reader in the middle of things, and I felt I was scrambling to pick up the pieces and understand immediately. --Then again, sometimes I love this feature so, could just be how I'm feeling right now--
Lots of mystery and intrigue involved as well as betrayal. So much there to pull you in and wonder about the mystery and how it would be solved. There was also a few stories going on at once here and switching from one to the other could be jarring. Usually we were with Neven but then suddenly the Character the read is shadowing gets switched. I'm also more used to this at the start of a chapter and not in the middle. But, recently I've been reading first person stories so, that might also be what made the switched so weird to me.
Overall, I liked the story and characters and the magic wasn't really there(still confused on how someone died) BUT in the next book I feel things would really get better and more explained. So, will I read the next book? Probably. ^_^
chrisistrangerthanu's review
4.0
I receive this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I was torn as to whether I would rate this book as a 3 or a 4 star read, but the world building and character development definitely deserved 4 stars. I found some parts of this book very frustrating, particularly the 'tournament of hearts' aspect, but most of the story was a brilliant concept and I loved the relationship between Neven, Talpus and Delgato.
I found that the story felt like it had two parallel tales, one which was the tournament, and the other which was the greater story of Nev's destiny as 'the chosen one'. I'm not a huge fan of that trope in general, but Nev was quite an intriguing character, with empathy and intelligence, rather than toughness and brashness. Some of the character arks were pretty tragic too and I actually shed a couple of tears.
I felt that with some improvement the book could have been a solid 5 star. I would have abandoned aspects of the tournament, stop shifting character perspectives so there was a bit of mystery regarding loyalties and intentions, worked on editing the first half of the book to streamline it, and brought in a few more histories for Neven to learn snippets of the past from. Having said that, this book had one of the best last quarters of any of my favourite books. The author really hit their stride and it was both engaging and heartrending, as all great books should be. The scene with Smoke and the Steel soldiers after the battle was so amazing. I really liked that the book didn't have a romance either, but rather focused on the bonds of family and friendship. It was a genuinely enjoyable change from a lot of other books and I found all the relationships to be nuanced and really enjoyable.
I am definitely considering reading the next book in the series.
I was torn as to whether I would rate this book as a 3 or a 4 star read, but the world building and character development definitely deserved 4 stars. I found some parts of this book very frustrating, particularly the 'tournament of hearts' aspect, but most of the story was a brilliant concept and I loved the relationship between Neven, Talpus and Delgato.
I found that the story felt like it had two parallel tales, one which was the tournament, and the other which was the greater story of Nev's destiny as 'the chosen one'. I'm not a huge fan of that trope in general, but Nev was quite an intriguing character, with empathy and intelligence, rather than toughness and brashness. Some of the character arks were pretty tragic too and I actually shed a couple of tears.
I felt that with some improvement the book could have been a solid 5 star. I would have abandoned aspects of the tournament, stop shifting character perspectives so there was a bit of mystery regarding loyalties and intentions, worked on editing the first half of the book to streamline it, and brought in a few more histories for Neven to learn snippets of the past from. Having said that, this book had one of the best last quarters of any of my favourite books. The author really hit their stride and it was both engaging and heartrending, as all great books should be. The scene with Smoke and the Steel soldiers after the battle was so amazing. I really liked that the book didn't have a romance either, but rather focused on the bonds of family and friendship. It was a genuinely enjoyable change from a lot of other books and I found all the relationships to be nuanced and really enjoyable.
I am definitely considering reading the next book in the series.
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