Brendon Ennis

I loved this book for so many reasons. In other reviews, I have read things such as, " the plot was hard to follow, " or, " the overwhelming amount of names and odd vocabulary made reading this book difficult, " but I had no trouble following it. However, I do agree with some things people have said. One being the repetitiveness. In one day Coryo will wake up, Tigris makes him breakfast, he goes to school, he'll have to do something related to the games, walks home, and goes to bed. This can repeat multiple times before we are introduced to a change of schedule. I also agree with some statements claiming that this book would benefit from being in first person. I believe that without that insight, besides the tidbits in italics, into his mind his actions at the lake seem out of character compared to the overall "good guy" persona he had held throughout the book. If it was in the first person, we could get more of a feel for Coryo's more self-centered motives and tendencies. However, that did not stop me from loving the twist at the lake. It definitely shows what Coryo is willing to do to gain power and hold on to it.; that being a personality trait he carried on through his later years shown by his use of poison against his political opponents and enemies. I, as well as many other people, I'm sure, would have loved more information on Coryo's political career and why Tigris had grown to wish death upon her dear cousin. Overall I loved the book but, like with every other book, had my grievances.