There are some good *ideas* here, but this is not a book. It's a first draft. It is in desperate need of an editor (probably more). 200 pages need to be cut.

The dual perspective is pointless, especially when the characters are in the same room. They serve nothing for the plot and don't make Kai seem intimidating at all.

The entire plot happens because people are so interested in the FMC that they vote her into a death tournament to learn more about her. HUH? This would make more sense if the government put her in there to try and kill her without public outrage because she's an Ordinary. Death tournament = cool idea. Ordinaries = cool idea. None of this is well executed, or executed at all in some cases. They're just ideas, floating around waiting for the reader to prescribe them meaning and context that does not exist in the text. This has the unfortunate effect of making one think about this book and question things, which makes the entire thing unravel.

The Rebellion is so underdeveloped it seems like a random thing the author forgets about until she doesn't. Again, there are good ideas here like the Ordinaries and the dangerous Elites working together because of the oppression they face, however, there is no discussion of infighting. Of course, there would be infighting! Especially between the Ordinaries and the Elites. It would make more sense for there to be two separate rebel groups working together begrudgingly. Also, they are so incompetent. They just reveal themselves to the MC. A lot of their plans make more sense and they seem to exist more as an info dump than as a functional piece of the plot.

I don't really blame the author. This reads like a first draft, it likely is a first draft. The publisher should have pushed for the multiple rounds of edits that this book needed.

This honestly could have been great. I was excited to read it because I remember enjoying Red Queen. Instead, it's a baby's first draft poorly mimicking Red Queen and doing nothing original or interesting.