I knew from the blurb alone that I would enjoy this book, and the book did not disappoint. Percy Jackson was one of my favorite books growing up, so seeing this book described as Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games, I knew I wanted to read this book. Seeing this book take on some of those elements I loved as a kid and made it have a queer lens made me enjoy the book so much more.
Teo's world was easy to get sucked into, and understand the magic system and structure. The trials themselves were incredibly interesting, and it helped to see the character development and concern grow as each trial got the competitors closer to the final trial and what that brings for each of these characters. It was hard to put the book down because I was just so invested in the story. Thomas writes their characters in an organic way. How they included seamless gender representation in this story was extremely refreshing, as well as the inclusion of characters dealing with body dysmorphia which is something I haven't seen much in YA books. My only complaint about this book is that we have to wait for the sequel to come out to finish the duology because I HAVE to know how it ends!
Teo's world was easy to get sucked into, and understand the magic system and structure. The trials themselves were incredibly interesting, and it helped to see the character development and concern grow as each trial got the competitors closer to the final trial and what that brings for each of these characters. It was hard to put the book down because I was just so invested in the story. Thomas writes their characters in an organic way. How they included seamless gender representation in this story was extremely refreshing, as well as the inclusion of characters dealing with body dysmorphia which is something I haven't seen much in YA books. My only complaint about this book is that we have to wait for the sequel to come out to finish the duology because I HAVE to know how it ends!