Scan barcode
readingwryly's reviews
236 reviews
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
2.0
I’m so sad. I wanted to love this as much as I absolutely loved the rest of the series. I did not. I was finding it hard to discern whether it was because I’ve grown since I first read and fell in love with the hunger games, or if it really was underwhelming. After reading other reviews, I’m afraid it’s most likely the latter. It took a lot to get through this. The longest it’s taken me to get through a book in a while.
I was more excited before I knew that it was the origin story of Snow. It had to end in heartbreak, right? We know he’s a villain, so what’s the point in getting invested in him when we can’t root for him? I actually did feel for him in the beginning, but the rest of the book felt contrived, filling in bits of information to connect it to the rest of the books without adequately delving into the characters or making me feel the vulnerability and human connection that I so wanted.
It felt like a hunger games mad libs.
I was more excited before I knew that it was the origin story of Snow. It had to end in heartbreak, right? We know he’s a villain, so what’s the point in getting invested in him when we can’t root for him? I actually did feel for him in the beginning, but the rest of the book felt contrived, filling in bits of information to connect it to the rest of the books without adequately delving into the characters or making me feel the vulnerability and human connection that I so wanted.
It felt like a hunger games mad libs.
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
2.0
I think I learned something about myself from reading this novel. I like plot driven stories.
I’m giving this 2.5 stars. It just wasn’t for me.
I loved the Korean perspective and the commentary about women and social standing. I feel like I have grown as a person for having read this.
That being said, it was tough to get through. I hung in there with hopes that the story lines Cha was setting up were all going to come together in the end in some beautifully poignant way. That didn’t happen. I can see how this may have been intentional. It may have been the authors way of proving a point. And I can respect that. But it’s not what I look for in a novel.
There were too many questions left unanswered, too many threads left untied. I’m disappointed.
If you are into very character-centric stories and are okay with an open ending...this will be worth a read for you. Unfortunately, it just didn’t give me what I was looking for.
I’m giving this 2.5 stars. It just wasn’t for me.
I loved the Korean perspective and the commentary about women and social standing. I feel like I have grown as a person for having read this.
That being said, it was tough to get through. I hung in there with hopes that the story lines Cha was setting up were all going to come together in the end in some beautifully poignant way. That didn’t happen. I can see how this may have been intentional. It may have been the authors way of proving a point. And I can respect that. But it’s not what I look for in a novel.
There were too many questions left unanswered, too many threads left untied. I’m disappointed.
If you are into very character-centric stories and are okay with an open ending...this will be worth a read for you. Unfortunately, it just didn’t give me what I was looking for.