I enjoyed this first book, but I thought the second installment in the Red Rising surpassed the first. Red Rising wasn't necessarily too original. I felt that it had many plot parallels with the Testing; however, I liked the characters and decided I wanted to go ahead and read the Golden Son. 
 Normally, the second book in a trilogy is the weakest; however, I do not feel like this is the case with the Golden Son. It has many plot twist that don't align with the stereotypical sci fi/dystopian formula. I really appreciated that the story was more original and that the characters continued to grow and mature. 
 The best part of the story was the ending. It was amazing! 
 After reading the second book, I am avidly suggesting to my friends to start this series!