Battle of the Books: The Savior's Champion

It’s time for another Battle of the Books! This week we’re talking about an indie author Jenna Moreci. This one will be unique because the two books competing are companion novels, so it’s the same story, told through different perspectives. The two books are The Savior’s Champion and The Savior’s Sister. These are dark fantasy romance novels in the Adult category. While I highly enjoyed both novels, I feel the need to express that these have explicit language, gore/violence, and some sexual content. Fair warning, I will try to keep out spoilers but expect some, especially in The Savior’s Sister, skip to the end to see the winner. 

Now, onto the comparison. Starting off with the first in the series, The Savior’s Champion. This follows Tobias who is struggling to provide for his family, including his sister in crippling pain and need of more money to be able to care for her. A tournament for the Savior is held to see who is worthy of being the husband of the Savior and future ruler which would offer money to all contestants, swaying a reluctant Tobias to join, even if he knows he won’t make it and will likely die in the process. The story is gory and violent and along the way, he meets Leila, who he quickly falls for. A problem, when you’re in a fight to the death to marry a different woman. 

Overall, the romance was sweet, the violence was intense and the plot was always at a sprint. You get to see the main character struggle, both internally and externally, and show how far perseverance and grit can take you, with a bit of help from superpowered abilities. I really enjoyed the novel and while I guessed the big twist, it was still very satisfying. The characters were well thought out and well portrayed.  The world was complex but still easy to follow. It was a very well done book. 

For The Savior’s Sister, I was wondering how I would enjoy the book since I already know what was going to happen and wow, this is how you do a companion novel. (SPOILER WARNING) Leila’s perspective was so interesting. Throughout TSC she was always popping in and out and this novel really explores her side of the story. It made sense that her story be told because we only really knew a fraction of what was going on. TSC was a survival adventure, while TSS was much more politically focused. Leila was actively deceiving everyone, going after those trying to kill her and trying not to fall in love with one of the contestants. Tobias was angsty while Leila was full of sass and a far different humor. I loved getting to see her interactions with her sisters and how she took on those who belittled her.  

Overall, I was shocked by how much I loved the novel. I enjoyed every page and gaining context to the events in TSC. There was drama, gore, romance, and a lot of backtalking. I got to see more of the characters I loved and all the missing pieces of the story were so satisfying. 

The winner: This is a tricky one for me but I have to go with The Savior’s Sister. TSS wouldn’t be the story it was without TSC, but overall I think this is the more well-written and more enjoyable novel. It was a sequel I didn’t know I needed and I loved getting to see Tobias from Leila’s eyes and watch their love story all over again. But that doesn’t mean that TSC wasn’t extremely well done. It is still one of my favorites in the adult fantasy category. I hear there is works of another novel to the TSC series, so perhaps I’ll do a battle comparing all three!

For now though, it’s TSS. What books should battle next? Let us know in the comments and see you next week! Write-on!