{"id":31998,"date":"2025-11-17T11:24:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:24:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=31998"},"modified":"2025-11-17T11:24:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:24:19","slug":"review-the-seventh-champion-by-sylvia-mercedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/17\/review-the-seventh-champion-by-sylvia-mercedes\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f The Seventh Champion by Sylvia Mercedes"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-31998\" data-postid=\"31998\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-31998 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_wdbx339 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_svhb339 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_h5yp340 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"987\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=640%2C987&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-31999\" title=\"the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\" alt=\"the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_v0aa340 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Swept from her quiet life as an apothecary\u2019s apprentice to the treacherous court of the High King, Rosie Harpwood is shocked to discover she is the long-lost daughter of the demonic Dragon Queen. Reawakening her dormant magic is the kingdom&#8217;s only hope for salvation, but the journey is perilous, and she&#8217;ll need a champion to guide her. So the High King hosts a series of trials to determine which prince is worthy of the honor \u2014 as well as claiming Rosie&#8217;s hand in marriage.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Rosie, however, has other ideas.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">A talented healer and lover of small, fluffy creatures, Rosie wants nothing to do with demon queens or saving the world. Determined to escape this fate, she joins forces with one of the champions to plot her getaway. Prince Valtar may be enigmatic and a little bit terrifying, but something about him makes her blood burn in ways that have nothing to do with her dragon heritage.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Trained from youth to serve the Dragon Queen, Valtar has proven himself a ruthless assassin. Posing as a suitor to get close enough to his target shouldn&#8217;t be a problem. But Valtar wasn\u2019t planning on his target being Rosie, the girl he failed to assassinate years ago . . . who has haunted his dreams ever since.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_b8ul340 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_quin340  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25881 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png?resize=296%2C72\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Nov 11, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Dragon Queen Duology<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Ace<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>A captivating romantasy that kept me asking questions and turning pages to learn more.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We have two juxtaposing characters, Rosie, an apothecary\u2019s assistant, proclaimed a princess, and Valtar, a would-be assassin who finds himself hesitating instead of doing the one thing he\u2019s supposed to&#8230; kill Rosie.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Right away, there is considerable conflict between the main characters, as well as between Rosie and her additional suitors. See, the princess isn\u2019t only being asked to assume her role, but her role requires her to marry a champion and, with his partnership, sail across the seas to kill their enemy, a foreboding dragon queen. Valtar is supposed to ensure Rosie doesn\u2019t even make it that far, bidden to do the dragon queen\u2019s commands or lose his brother instead. Except nothing seems to be going to plan.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Neither Rosie nor Valtar wants to be in this situation, and as the contest for a champion evolves, the threats are coming from all sides. I think that\u2019s why I enjoyed this story so much; there is plenty of action, twists, turns, and some intrigue. The stakes are high, life-threatening in nature, and that plays out repeatedly. The setting is lush and otherworldly as it should be, with an even match of world-building and character development.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What kept this from a five? A few instances where I questioned the character&#8217;s choices, which didn\u2019t seem consistent with them. And some instances where I think Rosie protested and rebelled a bit too much, when in fact some of the answers were there for her. It was one of those moments where I\u2019d love to read about a character who embraces the circumstances they find themselves in, rather than fighting so hard against them.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, it was a good start to a series, and I\u2019m very interested in finding out what happens next. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and it forced the characters into a situation I didn\u2019t really see coming. I can\u2019t wait for book two.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_y784341 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/47J67C2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/48koqh2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\/1146980771?ean=9780593952245\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-seventh-champion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Sylvia_Mercedes_The_Seventh_Champion?id=8ftFEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Swept from her quiet life as an apothecary\u2019s apprentice to the treacherous court of the High King, Rosie Harpwood is shocked to discover she is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[570,112,128,48,1],"tags":[152,404,405,571,564],"class_list":["post-31998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ace","category-landra","category-penguin-group","category-reviews","category-uncategorized","tag-4-stars","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads","tag-romantasy","tag-romantic-fantasy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f The Seventh Champion by Sylvia Mercedes - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg\" title=\"the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\" alt=\"the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 973px) 100vw, 973px\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Swept from her quiet life as an apothecary\u2019s apprentice to the treacherous court of the High King, Rosie Harpwood is shocked to discover she is the long-lost daughter of the demonic Dragon Queen. Reawakening her dormant magic is the kingdom's only hope for salvation, but the journey is perilous, and she'll need a champion to guide her. So the High King hosts a series of trials to determine which prince is worthy of the honor \u2014 as well as claiming Rosie's hand in marriage.<br \/><br \/>Rosie, however, has other ideas.<br \/><br \/>A talented healer and lover of small, fluffy creatures, Rosie wants nothing to do with demon queens or saving the world. Determined to escape this fate, she joins forces with one of the champions to plot her getaway. Prince Valtar may be enigmatic and a little bit terrifying, but something about him makes her blood burn in ways that have nothing to do with her dragon heritage.<br \/><br \/>Trained from youth to serve the Dragon Queen, Valtar has proven himself a ruthless assassin. Posing as a suitor to get close enough to his target shouldn't be a problem. But Valtar wasn\u2019t planning on his target being Rosie, the girl he failed to assassinate years ago . . . who has haunted his dreams ever since.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-recommends-banner-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Nov 11, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Dragon Queen Duology<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>1<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Ace<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>A captivating romantasy that kept me asking questions and turning pages to learn more.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We have two juxtaposing characters, Rosie, an apothecary\u2019s assistant, proclaimed a princess, and Valtar, a would-be assassin who finds himself hesitating instead of doing the one thing he\u2019s supposed to... kill Rosie.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Right away, there is considerable conflict between the main characters, as well as between Rosie and her additional suitors. See, the princess isn\u2019t only being asked to assume her role, but her role requires her to marry a champion and, with his partnership, sail across the seas to kill their enemy, a foreboding dragon queen. Valtar is supposed to ensure Rosie doesn\u2019t even make it that far, bidden to do the dragon queen\u2019s commands or lose his brother instead. Except nothing seems to be going to plan.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Neither Rosie nor Valtar wants to be in this situation, and as the contest for a champion evolves, the threats are coming from all sides. I think that\u2019s why I enjoyed this story so much; there is plenty of action, twists, turns, and some intrigue. The stakes are high, life-threatening in nature, and that plays out repeatedly. The setting is lush and otherworldly as it should be, with an even match of world-building and character development.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What kept this from a five? A few instances where I questioned the character's choices, which didn\u2019t seem consistent with them. And some instances where I think Rosie protested and rebelled a bit too much, when in fact some of the answers were there for her. It was one of those moments where I\u2019d love to read about a character who embraces the circumstances they find themselves in, rather than fighting so hard against them.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, it was a good start to a series, and I\u2019m very interested in finding out what happens next. The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and it forced the characters into a situation I didn\u2019t really see coming. I can\u2019t wait for book two.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/47J67C2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/48koqh2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-seventh-champion-sylvia-mercedes\/1146980771?ean=9780593952245\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-seventh-champion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Sylvia_Mercedes_The_Seventh_Champion?id=8ftFEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31998"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32007,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31998\/revisions\/32007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}