Book two in the series and can I say YAY FOR BOOK TWO. I always fear reading book two in a series as it can go either way, absolutely adore or nope not it at all. This had brilliant vibes for book 2 and it was fast paced, great characters and left you wanting more in book three. Cannot wait to read that!

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such honest good fun, and we continue on with both the action and adventure we saw in book one. It branches out away from the competition a little, but find another instead!

Sadly I didn’t think that was different enough, but that is often the case with these sorts of trilogies. Look at the hunger games, the extinction trials, the nyxia trilogy. It repeats a similar format to vary the impact on the reader while staying with the overall plot.

In this case it works well but not brilliantly. I did love the gladiatorial element, and getting an insight into other residents of the planet. The adventure was perhaps a little too straight forward from a story telling perspective, it all seemed clear if things were going to go well or poorly for the most part. It is however still fast paced and fun; so you don’t have much time to notice! :)

I’m definitely interested in what Cade and co get up to next, so will be picking up book three as soon as it’s out! 3.5 stars.

* * *
3 / 5


Eh. It was okay. I think my main problem with this is series is that the concept is just ... weird? Weird alien god type things pitting different worlds against each other where the god thing for Earth just plucks people out from different timelines and just, I don't know, leaves them? It weirdly reminds me of the Maze Runner in that it just doesn't really make any sense??

The main redeeming feature of this book for me is that I LOVE a good gladiator setting with absurd epic battles in arenas and free for all brawls and weird-ass tactics on both sides, and The Challenger did manage to deliver on this account. In fact it took up the majority of the book. I definitely dug it.

The writing is fine, the characters are fine, some of the ideas are pretty cool. This is a fine book and it is basically the first one but with arena fighting.

Can Cade and his friends survive long enough to make it to the second round of the tournament they are being forced to play in?

I really enjoy Taran's stories, he always writes engaging characters and fun adventures. This book, I felt, struggled a little as the middle book in the trilogy. The plot felt a little messy and too much time was spent on the gladiator arena and too little time spent on Cade's participation in the main tournament which was set up to be far more epic than it was. I understand why we needed the gladiator storyline but the pacing was a bit off for me. The cliffhanger at the end was annoying too but more just because I know I have to wait so long for the resolution.

I enjoyed it and I will definitely read the last book but hopefully the pacing issues will be improved.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This is the second book in the Contenders series and it was just as amazing as the first one!! There's just so much action and things happening that I found it so difficult to put it down, I ended up binging it and finishing it in an afternoon I adored it so much!

We follow the same characters whom are starving and they've discovered what their first challenge is, however they're not prepared, Cade is the Contenders who is chosen to fight against an enemy whose much more stronger than him.

Cade and a group of his friends head of into the forest to find a certain remanent but they end up getting captured and slaved, Cade and his friends end up in a battle against an old friend amongst others in a New Roman colosseum arena but will Cade and his friends survive this battle before heading home for their original Contender battle?? I guess you'll have to read it to find out!

I have a complicated relationship with these books. On the one hand, I think the concept is really good, I like the plot a lot (both the meta-plot and the more contained plot of this particular book). I also think it's a good male YA protagonist - something harder to find than one would think in 2020 (they always seem to be either a bad example or something that I think teenage boys are going to find damp). 

I think it's that last point that makes these books not for me - but still something I would recommend for other people! This book has a good balance of action for male and female characters, and there's an emotional angle to the story that I wouldn't necessarily have expected from a book geared to YA boys. 

Overall these books are thrillers, not quite as hard hitting as The Hunger Games felt when I first read them, but equally 'disturbing meets fun' as often happens with dystopian YA. There are humorous moments, there are legit dinosaurs and roman soldiers meeting on the page, but there are also some really difficult themes brought up, and Matharu doesn't shy away from exploring the consequences of book one. 

I also appreciated learning about various places/people who have vanished from history, it's a fun aspect of this series as a whole and I felt like this book really leaned in - you kind of want to read with Wikipedia open in front of you to research alongside - which is something I do enjoy in fictions set in the real world (or...sort of?). I like having that starting point to widen your knowledge. 

I wouldn't say this is the kind of YA that I would recommend to everyone, you know how some YA transcends genres? But I would wholeheartedly recommend this to librarians or parents looking for books for younger teens who perhaps crave some action - but who don't want to recommend some of the...sexist stuff coming out of other publishing houses geared towards teenage boys at the moment. (Naming no names of course). I like Cade as a main character, and I think he would appeal to others even more. 

I also feel the need to mention, again, that there are dinosaurs AND Romans. 

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own. 

The Challenger is out August 20th

Thank you to Hodder Children’s Books and Netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in The Contender series and I had been so looking forward to reading it especially after the ending of the first book! I really enjoyed the sequel and I definitely need to know what will happen in the next book like asap!

This book starts where the first book ends with Cade and the others waiting to see what Abaddon will make them do next and grieving for those who died at the end of the first book. I am still in shock at all the deaths in the first book, I was not expecting that so I started this book already apprehensive and fearing for the lives of the rest of the group.

This book was as intense as the first and it kept me hooked and reading well into the night. I loved how because of what Abaddon told them the second battle will be, they had to travel outside the keep and we got to see more of the world and especially see the type of civilisation that was created through all the people that were sent there from different time periods and different parts of the world. It is steeped in history and I loved it so much!

I loved that the darker parts of the civilisation wasn’t glossed over too, especially how they treated those they enslaved and tortured. It was really dark at times where we see through Cade what could happen to them if they don’t escape after being captured. They go through some brutal battles even before having to face what Abaddon has in store for them. We see more prehistoric creatures which were absolutely terrifying and had my heart racing when Cade and the others had to fight them.

Basically this book completely messed with my emotions and I just could not stop reading because I needed to know what will happen next. As they had to fight as gladiators they had to fight to the death which meant killing other teams. It was interesting to see that as they had to face some people they knew and some they didn’t. Cade and the others struggling to deal with them having to kill or be killed and how it affected them was also so heart breaking to read.

I also loved seeing the friendships develop between them all and how they supported and trusted each other and they were able to rely on each other to survive. I loved seeing friendship theme being so prominent in the story as we really need more of this! There were some small hints of romance but I liked that it wasn’t that prevalent in the books.

The only thing I wish we got a bit more of was ending of the book, there was a lot of build up and I was expecting something a little more? I just felt it happened so quickly that, compared to everything else they went through in the book especially to try to prepare Cade for this battle I would have thought we would spend more time on that part of the story.

I still really loved the book and with the way the book ended I absolutely need the next book asap because I seriously need to know what will happen next!

Talk about leaving you hanging! A frustrating (yet fitting) end to a cracking story.
Picking up not long after the events of Book One, Cade learns that he is to act as the representative in a much bigger battle. It’s a threat he is ill-equipped to deal with, so the priority for the group at the start is to find armour.
Unfortunately, while searching for what they need the group are taken by slavers. Cade has to barter for his freedom - resulting in them being forced to participate in the emperor’s gladiatorial games.
What follows is fraught with danger, but wholly believable. Seen from Cade’s perspective we are made to witness a number of awful battles as he strives to complete the tasks put in front of him to secure what he needs to have a chance of success. We get a lot of awful scenes, but Cade’s honest reactions to these mean we never see them as anything other than a very necessary step towards what he needs to do to get home (or be in with a chance to).
There’s hints of romance, which you could see coming a mile off. There’s deepening bonds of friendship and there’s a clear sense that these characters we come to care about are mere pawns in a much bigger game.
I am so grateful to NetGalley for granting me access to this in exchange for my thoughts. Now I need to dig a little and see what the plans for part three are...I have questions that I’m really hoping will be answered!