Epic fantasy with slow-burn romance - Chosen Champion ARC Review

Chosen Champion (Vortex Chronicles #2)

by Elise Kova

Publication date: May 1, 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis:

A princess on the run, with enemies on all sides...

Vi Solaris is on the eve of getting everything she’s ever wanted—her family, her home, her throne—and to save the world she’s going to have to give it all up.

The Empire sees her as their Crown Princess, returning at long last. But Vi only sees visions of fate guiding her to the world’s gruesome end. Across the sea is a man who holds the keys to deciphering her premonitions and thwarting the ancient evil ravaging their world. But to get to him, Vi will have to contend with enemies of the crown, romance she didn’t expect, sorcerer pirates, and a betrayal she never saw coming.

She will learn the hard way that some evils never die... They only bide their time...

Return to Solaris in the second book of Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles, a young adult epic fantasy filled with even more magic, adventure, and romance. Get ready for twists you never saw coming that will keep you up all night reading!

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I enjoyed this one. I did. I just think it came at the wrong time. I’ve been in a reading slump for over a week, and I haven’t been able to get into any book, including this one. It has all the ingredients to make it great, but I just couldn’t get into it. 

I love Vi. She’s amazing, a total kickass and doesn’t rely on anyone. She’s also really, really, stubborn. Entirely too stubborn for her own good. And I love reading about her. She’s really easy to like and care about, and I loved seeing her continue to grow. And the romance is sweet. Slow-burn, which I love. But I would love to get to know Taavin better. We get to know a little more about him in this one, but I still feel like we’ve only just scratched the surface when it comes to him. Because of this, I can’t really say what I think about him, because I feel like I just don’t know his character.

The plot was kind of slow. Unfortunately, there was less action than in the first book, and I would’ve liked it to be a little more fast-paced. Maybe a more fast-paced plot would’ve made it easier to get into. Maybe it just wasn’t what I should’ve read at the time. I don’t know, but what I do know is that it was slow at times, and I would’ve liked more action.

I know I keep coming back to this in my reviews of Kova’s works, but it’s worth repeating: the world-building is exquisite. The way Kova expands her world fromAir Awakens is honestly astounding. Now, as you may or may not know, Air Awakens is one of my absolute favorite fantasy series, mainly because of the incredible world-building. But the world I fell in love with is so much bigger than we see in Air Awakens, and honestly, all I can say is that it’s high fantasy at its best.

I have nothing to remark on regarding the writing. Kova just has a way with words, there’s no doubt about it. Her writing just feels so real and realistic, which really makes the characters pop off the page. And any author that can make a high fantasy feel as real as the actual world deserves all the love, in my opinion. After all, isn’t that exactly what reading is about? Escaping into a different reality for a little while?

Overall, Chosen Champion has everything I’d want in a fantasy. Sure, it was a little slow at times, but it has relatable characters, a slow-burn romance and epic world-building. The only problem is that it came at the wrong time when I haven’t been able to enjoy any book for over a week. But even with that, it’s a definite recommendation from me, because it’s fantasy at its best.