Reviews with content warning for Cursing - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I was not expecting for this book to end the way that it did and for me to be so engrossed throughout but this was honestly a really fun read that had very few issues for me. I haven't read the original trilogy of books as I mainly read this book in anticipation for the movie adaptation to come out and I have watched the movie adaptations of the original trilogy but this book has made me want to start reading the original 3 books as I really enjoyed the way that the story was told in this and I would not be surprised if the movie adaptations of the original trilogy left things out of those books.

It was such an interesting choice to centre the book around the very antagonist of the original series in President Snow, who is simply just Coriolanus here and nothing much else other than having the last name Snow and the reputation that comes with that name. This was a good way of characterising Snow more so then what was done in the original entries into the franchise, and it was done so in being able to add layers to Snow's character while also being able to show how morally corrupt he was and how he didn't suddenly become evil, rather it was a slow process that becomes cemented in the final few chapters of the book and the epilogue in particular - essentially it does not just write off his actions as byproducts of what happened to him in this book and make him a misunderstood villain but rather that the intention behind his later actions was always there but just amplified by this book's events. Lucy Gray was also such a fascinating character too as she truly is someone in the wrong place at the wrong time that brings out the best in someone as bad as Snow and gets nothing good for her efforts and contributions, I like how different she is to Katniss and how being a performer, she immediately adapts to the publicity of the Games and survives because of it. I really liked the two of them as characters but there were also many others that I really liked and/or found fascinating and wanted to see more of such as Tigris, Sejanus, Dean Highbottom, Dr Gaul and more.

Speaking of the Games, they were really interesting to read about as we get it from the perspective of an onlooker (Coriolanus) while Lucy Gray, the one of the two that is actually in the Hunger Games, is trying to survive and fight for her life and so we don't read about any of the action that takes place other than what is seen on the monitors and yet it doesn't get boring and instead adds to the level of mystery and intrigue of the book which is something that it continues on with it's ending and resolution or there lack of for Lucy Gray's fate. It was also really interesting to have the Games as a sort of midway point in the book and to end the first half or so of the book rather than have it be the climatic battle/act that you would expect it to be instead allowing for Snow and Lucy Gray's relationship to grow following the aftermath of Games and their respective participation in it as mentor and competitor/participant, when they both return to District 12. This really solidified the strength of the book for me as it continued to thrive past its main selling point of the Hunger Games and instead allowed for more of a character study of the two to take place.

I feel like my only issue with this really is the fact that at times the pacing felt a little off as it stayed a little too focused on something that didn't seem to have too much significance but that's only really a minor issue I had with the book and only knocks it down a little from being an actual 5 star book to one that's rounded up from 4.5. I'm really interested in seeing how the movie adaptation manages to cover all this information as there is a lot here and I'm sure that there are references scattered about, besides from the obvious ones, to the original trilogy so I really hope that it delivers as this is such a wonderfully written and engaging story that has you become deeply invested in a previously unseen and unheard of character (That actually makes sense given the context) and the central villain who appeared to be just pure evil but is much more layered than that.

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marisabenn's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was SO SLOW and could have been 300 pages shorter. The last chapter is amazing, but it's soooo much character building for 300 pages. It was honestly a struggle to finish this, and I only did because of the movie.

This was definitely an amazing villain origin story. I loved to see Snow become a sociopath... but again, it only really shines in the last few chapters.

Lucy Grey deserved so much. I loved her, even if I didn't really trust her. I was hoping she would be the poisoning that leads to Snow's chronic bleeding, but no. We never learn her fate which is disappointing.

I wish there were more chapters that went into the future and we could see Snow become president and even an introduction to Katniss.

I can't say I recommend this, but it was a decent addition to the trilogy.

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katattack345's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me hooked from the get go as did the original trilogy. I went into it not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised.

It is far more darker than the original trilogy but I still loved every page.

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izzysizemore's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ellaticonstellation's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had high hopes for this because I loved the trilogy and I was curious about President Snow's origin story. The story started strong but went downhill from there and I was so disappointed. Even the romance part didn't save it that made me sad because Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were so cute, but yeah, it didn't work well. All I could say was that at an early age, the villain tendency was apparent. LG and her disappearing act must be a poetic way of her way out, but even that, I hated. I love music, but I didn't like the lyrics in this book (except for the song dedicated to Coryo.) I liked the twist that Coriolanus' dad stole the idea of the Hunger Games from his friend and passed it on as his own. It was evil and gutsy. But, tbh, there were a lot of times that I want to DNF this because I was so bored. I guess, the third POV was a mistake as well. The saving grace of all this chaos was the narrator of the audiobook companion, Santino Fontana. He's a great narrator. You're an awesome writer, Suzanne, I devoured the trilogy, but this wasn't for me. I'm sorry.

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