Review: Spartan Heart by Jennifer Estep

Spartan Heart

Author: Jennifer Estep

Release Date: December 5, 2017

Publisher: Self-Published

Mythos Academy: Colorado Book #1

ASIN:  B0776XQKYL

Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: Author

New school year, same old problems . . .

At Mythos Academy, everyone knows exactly who I am: Rory Forseti, Spartan girl and the daughter of Reapers.

Even though I fought alongside my cousin Gwen Frost to save the mythological world from Loki and his evil Reapers of Chaos, I’m still the most hated girl at the academy because of all the horrible things my parents did. I had hoped that this school year would be different, but the other kids just won’t let me forget about my parents.

But something strange is going on at the Colorado Academy. First, I run into a Viking guy who dislikes me more than most. Then I notice some odd artifacts in the Library of Antiquities. And worst of all, I start hearing rumors about a new group of Reapers who can summon mythological monsters.

I might be the most hated girl at Mythos Academy, but I’m also the only one who can save it . . .

I enjoyed the Mythos Academy series so I was both excited and a little bit apprehensive to jump into SPARTAN HEART. Excited to revisit the world, but a little nervous that I wouldn't love the new feel with different main characters.

Rory's parents were evil Reapers and none of her classmates will let her forget it. I liked her grit and enjoyed her development. I kinda 'saw' that she was going to get a talking sword and become a champion before it happened. I think I would have liked if her talking weapon was something other than a sword better. It would have made her stick out as different from Gwen and set her apart a little bit. The romance in SPARTAN HEART didn't do that much for me. I didn't dislike it, it just didn't make me swoon. I enjoyed the secondary characters and what they brought to the team that Rory finds herself a part of.

I'm super glad that Gwen and Vic made an appearance, but it was way too small of one. I missed their voice in the rest of the book. I think that if Gwen wasn't brought up in thought so much or spoken about while reliving events that took place so much, I wouldn't have missed her and Vic so much.

I enjoyed reading SPARTAN HEART, but in the end I wasn't left overly excited about reading more. I'm glad that I was able to dip my toe in, but I don't think I will take the plunge with the rest of the spin-off.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.