Oh man, this series was quite good. I really enjoyed this pretty much the entire way through.
The character relationships (both romantic and not) were well thought out and felt complex, and the characters themselves shared that trait.

it didn't feel like these children got some awkward redemption arc, but rather that they were still aware that they'd done terrible things, and knew they'd live with the consequences, even though in the end they were all still victims of circumstance and past abuse and trauma.

I'm a big fan of morally grey characters, and this series is full of them. Pretty much anyone in these is sorta terrible at some point or another, and I love that.

Also this book hurt me, multiple times. Even the times where I knew, I knew,

that it was going to end tragically

still had me wounded by the way it was written, the way the characters reacted. 

I would die for the Lowe brothers. Their relationship is going to live rent free in my head for years probably.

(also the enemies to lovers arc is mmm *chef kiss* TWICE. THREE TIMES EVEN.

the character relationships were great, not just romantically, but just in general. the way they all interact is quite nice. You can see them all grow from the first book to the second, but it still shows that they're teenagers in the end too (traumatized teenagers, but still teenagers.)

It's throwing me off how many people on other review sites felt like the romantic relationships fell flat. (I believe they're using the term 'fanservice') I think they might just be upset that their faves didn't end up together. In my opinion the authors did a good job of portraying

a relationship that was always destined to be toxic because it wasn't based on anything real, vs. a relationship that wasn't, due to the two characters having a bone-deep understanding of each other because they were more similar than different. Alistair and Isobel fed off of each other's worst traits and made each other worse. I'm surprised people didn't... get that? Whereas while Gavin/Alistair and Reid/Isobel are similar in their worst traits, instead of feeding into them, it made them want to be better.

anyways, big fan. 10/10 would recommend.

Excellent follow-up with high stakes, lots of plot, and even more character development. Foody and Herman's writing is so evocative and gripping that I read this book in one sitting, staying up until 2am to finish!
Also. Bisexual Alistair means so much to me and I love him with my whole entire heart.

Gavin

and I will share the presidency of his fan club.

I really liked how they ended the tournament and just all the little character dynamics 

Slow burn, enemies to lovers, fight to the death, shady adults

I finished this duology because I was curious how it would end, but overall I struggled to enjoy this book and the first one.

I liked the trials and challenges they faced recreating the relics,

but the constant changing of each character's feelings and objectives made it difficult to connect with them. Moments that should've been tense and time-sensitive were filled with drawn out, emotional dialogue which made it seem like they were rarely in actual danger.

My biggest problem with this duology is how it relies on telling rather than showing. It tells you that every character is a villain/monster/bad person, but overall there is little to show this outside of a handful of events. We have to rely on reading their every thought. Everything is spelled out, even to the point where obvious, simple story beats are explained at length, leaving no opportunity for thought or speculation from the reader. 

I enjoyed the world building, setup/involvement of the champions' families and some of the magic, but unfortunately this series fell really flat for me.