Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Balada șerpilor și a păsărilor cântătoare by Suzanne Collins

438 reviews

nia_readsalot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, War, Drug use, Blood, Addiction, and Violence

micallab's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was amazing. I went into this a bit worried that it was going to be another tragic villain backstory, and I am happy to report that, while Snow does experience hardship and struggle, that is not really what this is. This book follows 18 year old Snow as a mentor in the 10th Hunger Games, and it details the very early beginnings of his rise to power. I thought it handled his character in a really interesting way, by setting him up to be a sympathetic character but showing how, despite struggling in many things, he is not a good person. He is still prejudiced and controlling, even when responding to hardship or experiencing romance and "friendship." I thought it was an interesting take on his character, and a super complex and nuanced one as well. As I was reading, I would almost feel bad for him, but then he would say/think/do something that reminded me of what he's going to do and that he's going to do it for completely selfish reasons. The dynamic between him and Lucy Gray was so interesting to explore, as was the dynamic between him and Sejanus. Lucy Gray was also a highlight of this book for me. She was such a great character to learn about, and the contrast set up between her and Snow was pretty cool to me. I found her to interesting, because at first she seems a bit weird, but as you get to know her and learn about her life and her past, you get to understand her in a very deep way. Something else I was worried about, that the main female character would be too similar to Katniss, since Katniss is such an interesting and engaging character, but I really shouldn't have doubted Suzanne Collins. Lucy Gray is so different from Katniss, yet there are so many connections between them that were so well done. Sejanus was another highlight for me. He had a unique and interesting story, and though he as a person was sometimes seen as annoying, he was a very good person in his heart, and I couldn't help but love him. He serves to represent almost the ideal of goodness to contrast with Snow and other Capitol citizens, and I thought it was well done. There are some truly horrifying moments in this book, and Suzanne Collins did not shy away from it at all. It was horrific but incredible. Overall, I loved this book, and I am so glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, Child death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Classism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, War, and Suicidal thoughts

neurospicy_mama's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Suicide

Minor: War and Cannibalism

lemoneverdeen's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, and Addiction

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Eating disorder, Death, Alcohol, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Deportation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Body horror, Child death, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Gore, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Stalking, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, and War

aaambi17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes creates an incredible situation in which to question the state of civilization vs nature; how we as humans war with that, and more subtly, a showcase of how war makes victims of everyone involved. How it influences different reactions — because to some extent we are products of our circumstance, and how despite all conditions, we remain the keepers of some form of agency via our choices even if they don’t bring out the better in us. 
All in all, an incredible prequel to an incredible series which only furthers the world building & the complicated structure of Panem’s society. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Blood, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism

lua_pires's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and War

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Death of parent and Cannibalism

elenabluenette's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Medical trauma, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Blood, Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Grief, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Dementia, and Drug abuse