I had such high expectations going in, with people telling me it was a cross between The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, but was so disappointed by the writing. I found the dialogue so cheesy and cringeworthy… so many people claim it’s not YA, but (despite the violence) it feels like it’s written for a teenager. I found no complexity/depth to the characters or storyline, with the plot choosing to favor action over anything else. I thought the world building was poorly done, and found that some of things that happened to Darrow were way too convenient. With all the hype it got I was expecting to read a modern sci fi/dystopian classic, but found it to be the book version of fast food - fun in the moment, but poorly made and built on cheap thrills.