Red Rising

I honestly seriously debated if I should keep reading this a few times throughout the first part. I so almost quit. I was frustrated. Some things just didn't make sense. The author seemed to contradict his own writing, didn't explain things as well as I would have liked, or seemed to write things just because. But I pushed through. I told myself that maybe the world building just took time to fully grasp. Maybe it would get better. Thank fuck, it did!
Once I hit the second section I pretty much didn't put this down until I was done. I ate while reading. I fed my dogs with one hand because I was holding my kindle. This isn't a perfect book, but it'll keep you reading as it's consistently well paced.

Obvious influences and references I picked up on:
- Greek and Roman mythology to the max
- Harry Potter (People in houses based on personality and intelligence? Do you need the sorting hat?)
- Lord of the Flies (But also with girls.)
- Ender's Game (There's an actual reference to Wiggin by name.)
- Divergent (Factions, but even more caste system like.)
- Battle Royale and Hunger Games (Goal isn't to kill to win, but there aren't rules against killing to win.)