Disclaimer: I was in a massive reading slump while reading this. It also took me over a month to still be unable to finish it. I couldn't connect to the story, which felt predictable. 
 The story boiled down to: Darrow does something risky/comes up with a brilliant plan-->said plan gets sabotaged or he is betrayed. Rinse and repeat. 
 I loved Red Rising far far more. Golden Son just didn't have the same feeling anymore. Darrow was the same but the perspective had shifted to political intrigue and court schemes and it just didn't suit my taste. 
 I can image that I'll reread this again some other time and take more enjoyment from it. It honestly just came at the wrong time for me. 
 Overall, I liked some of Golden Son, but not enough of it to become enamored with it. I wasn't hanging off the edge of my seat because the action was so incredible and I wasn't guessing the outcome of events because ultimately it felt rather contrived and easy to see through. 
 Despite grievances with plot, I still loved the characters and I think I will always love the characters that Brown has created, but the story just didn't grip me this time.