The leader of Olympus' security forces is dead, and so a new Ares must be crowned in a spectacular contest. Zeus also adds a sweetener to the deal; whoever wins the title also wins the hand of his sister, the beautiful Helen. Achilles has been training his whole life for this opportunity, and his lover Patroclus is determined  to help him achieve it. But when Helen submits herself as a contender, the game changes and it's not just a title they're fighting for...

While I did still enjoy this one immensely (I'm almost as big a sap for Achilles and Patroclus as I am for Hades and Persephone), I found myself thinking throughout that this story is essentially the Triwizard Tournament plus elements of the Hunger Games, only with less death and more sex! Three tasks, whittling down the candidates until a winner is crowned.

And they essentially boil down to Ninja Warrior (with added actual ninjas), the Triwizard maze (where your fellow competitors might just attack you at any moment), and the obligatory gladiatorial battle (but where your main characters choose nightsticks as their weapons rather than swords, knives or anything else pointy and sharp).

It just doesn't quite flow as well as a story; it reads more like a series of one off scenes that have been stitched together, with the bridge between each being the characters enjoying eachother. Still a fun read, but just not quite as emotionally engaging as the previous books. 

I did very much like the balance of personalities between Helen, Achilles and Patroclus though. The triad really works, each contributing something to their relationship to make them a strong and believable unit. Equally, each of them are strong characters in their own right, and it was very easy to fall into each of their POVs and understand their perspectives. In particular, I strangely liked the slightly hypocritical stance Achilles takes whereby he's sure that Helen will forgive him when he wins the tournament, without ever giving thought to what he would do if she wins. When you're in his head, the thought process makes absolute sense, even if objectively it's a bit ridiculous! The writing really brings to life these character foibles for each of them.

However, I wasn't always convinced by the development of the relationship; there are a couple of places where things just feel too 'easy', or are glossed over to get them to where they need to be which does detract from their story. Likewise, there are some moments where the reasons for a character doing/not doing something feel very weak... there are some convenient excuses used that just feel a wee bit lazy. I almost feel like this book could have been a lot more of an emotional rollercoaster and given the reader a whole lot more depth if the pace had been slowed a little, or if the book had been twice the length! 

This book also introduces a thread of what I assume will be an ongoing story arc throughout the rest of the series. It's cleverly done by introducing 'outsiders' into Olympus, but those outsiders are still familiar to the reader as characters from Greek myth. It does raise the stakes a little, and I'm interested to see how it might play out. I'm fully invested and can't wait to keep reading!