Enjoyed this a lot. The action scenes were great, described vividly and with detail, I like the character work done on our MC as he showed growth throughout his journey from training to tournament. The relationships he forms and harms are reflective of his teenage arrogance. There are however minor plot holes that I found that do nothing to hinder my engagement with the story. The political and military aspects are easy to understand and as this is a YA novel, I can't complain.

I would have appreciated if the perspective of his parents and brother had been shared but I can imagine that will come in the second book which I am looking forward to.