This spoke with a little bit of a roller coaster ride for me. I was really enjoying the beginning, then I got really bored, then I was interested again. Maybe it’s too long? I’m not sure but let’s get into it.

First off the characters. Lyra felt a little childish to me. She swore a lot, which I don’t always mind a book, but I found in the beginning. It was very jarring. It was just a lot at one time. Later on in the book she didn’t do it as much, and I found it was just better spaced out. But even her as a character, sometimes her thoughts and things that she said, just felt a little childish to me. I still liked her as a character and I found her interesting, but it was just something that annoyed me as I read through the story.

Hades was delicious and enjoyable. However, I did find him a little Insta lovey. He also started to just feel like every hormone field male characters that we tend to find in many fantasies.

I really like the side characters both the gods/goddesses and the human champions that went through the trials. I almost wanted a little more backstory in interactions with them.

The plot itself was interesting. At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of the trials because it just felt like the rules didn’t really apply. But later on as the labours continued, I found them a lot more interesting and I enjoyed watching Lyra fight through the laborers. I was a little disappointed that she missed three labours as I would’ve liked to see her play through those. 

The ending was a little interesting and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think a lot of it will depend on how the second book plays out. I feel like the first book could’ve ended off really well and be a standalone, but maybe there’s a bigger picture that I’m not seeing and won’t understand until I read the second book.

Overall, I think if you’re looking for a fantasy that reads a little bit like an upper YA or new adult book with Greek Gods and life or death trials similar to the hunger games then you might wanna give this book a try.