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Dystopian Book reviews

2021 Yearly Wrapup

1/8/2022

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2021 YEARLY WRAPUP
Note: All mini reviews are spoiler free! 

Is it bad that I always have more books that I absolutely detested each year than books that I absolutely loved?!
Oh whale 🐳  

Top 6 Least Favorite Books of the Year:

  1. The Betrothed: (⅕ stars): Read detailed review here. What even was this book? No plot, the characters are all either brain dead or infuriating (or sometimes both), and the romance was insta love 🤠 . Literally hated every second of reading this. 
  2. After (⅕ stars): Ok this was my fault for even attempting to read this 😂  I knew I would hate this book even before I started it, yet I still read it start to finish. 🤷🏻‍♀️  Anyways Hardin’s mood swings were hilarious 💀  he literally would tell Tessa to do something and then 0.2 seconds later he would get mad at her for doing it. And what did Tessa even see in this Hardin dude? 💀  
  3. A Curse so Dark and Lonely (2/5 stars): Read detailed review here. I never did attempt any of the other books in this series ever since I finished the first one in the series. That should say enough about how much I liked it. My biggest problems with it was probably the bland characters. Rhen kidnapped girls yet the author expected readers to sympathize with him instead. Harper was “not like other girls”. She was special, because she was the first girl Rhen kidnapped who was not happy to be abducted. Yah apparently all the other kidnapped girls were happy to be kidnapped. I wonder why 😐 Being abducted is horrible but being abducted by dull Rhen, whose personality would bore you to death, is even worse.
  4. Dragon Fury (⅖ stars): Read detailed review here. This was the final book in the spinoff to my favorite series. Overall, the spinoff series sucked. The writing was dumbed down as if the readers were five year olds, the characters acted like five year olds, and the villain was an idiot who kept falling for easy traps set by said five year old. It was just bad.
  5. Aurora Rising (⅗ stars): Read detailed review here. My main problem was Kal. He was so pushy and forceful towards Aurora! He practically forced her to like him back just because he proclaimed them to be “mates”. I immediately went 🤢  Mating bond tropes just are NOT my thing. Then Aurora literally asks for some space from Kal but nooooo he keeps disrespecting her boundaries and calling her “beshmai” (which means soulmate). The second reason why this book was clearly not a favorite, is because I had no idea what was going on in certain parts of the book 😅  it was a pretty confusing read at times.
  6. It Ends With Us (⅗ stars): (Separate detailed review coming up soon) Ok the second half of this book was good ngl. It had a really good message and the character emotions were written well. But the first half… it was wattpad writing at best. The two characters meet one night on a balcony and immediately start revealing their deepest darkest secrets as if they didn’t just meet for the first time 2 second ago. Plus the main ick I got is from the romanization of unconsented touching from the guy in the first half. I’ll explain more in detail and give examples when I write a separate review for this book! (I’ll probably release it sometime in February). 

Top 2 Favorite Reads:
There were only 2 series that I truly loved this year. I gave 5 star ratings to only 3 books in 2021 and all three of them are from these two trilogies:
  1. Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer (5/5): 
  • First book: 5 stars
  • Second book: 5 stars (my favorite of the trilogy)
  • Third book: 4.5/5 stars
PLEASE read this book. Everything about is just *chef’s kiss* 👌 . The two things I value most about a book is its intricate and addicting plots and how connected I feel to the characters. This series has both! The characters are so easy to connect with! Nova and Adrien immediately became one of my favorite book characters of all time right after I read Renegades. And the PLOT!!! This book is more middle grade than YA to me which is amazing, because in my opinion, middle grade book’s plots>>>>>> YA books plots. I feel like nowadays YA books have their plot overshadowed by unnecessary forced romance while middle grade books have the perfect balance between plot pacing and a hint of romance. I appreciated that a lot when I read Renegades! 
Plus, this book is basically Miraculous Ladybug (but better because MLB in recent seasons has went sooooo downhill. Which makes me sad since I’ve been a huge fan of the show since 2017 and now the show treats Chat as a sidekick most of the time, the romance is even more cringy than it used to be, I’ve somehow grown a huge dislike towards Marinette and Ladybug, etc. Ok whoa I just went on a huge miraculous ladybug tangent. Back to Renegades 👉 ). If you’re a fan of Miraculous, you’ll LOVE the Renegades trilogy because it also has a love square and superhero romance! Plus the main boy character’s name is Adrian (only difference is that its spelled differently but close enough), so what else are you waiting for?! GO READ IT.


2. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (5/5): 
  • First book: 5 stars
  • Second book: 4/5 stars
  • Third book: 4.5/5 stars
(Detailed review on this series coming soon). Hands down the best mystery series I’ve ever read (hehe besides Boxcar Children but that’s because it was my childhood favorite and brings a lot of nostalgia 😁 ). Anyways the best part about AGGGTM is that it’s not predictable at ALL (except the last book 😒 ). There have been countless YA mysteries in which the culprit is SO obvious. And that’s boringgggg. It’s much more fun when you’re kept on your toes and have no idea who the villain is. Second reason why AGGGTM is superior to all other mystery books: it doesn’t have random high school drama mixed into it. For some reason, YA mystery authors just LOVE adding worthless highschool drama and forced romances into their books that ruins the pacing of the mystery and is so cringy that I want to throw the book at a wall (I’m looking at you Karen McManus 🤨 ). But this series does not convolute its plot by throwing in meaningless scenes. Every single chapter has something to offer. It ultimately makes the reader unable to put down the book. (Yes I stayed up until 12:00-which is very late for me- on a school night reading the first book 🤪  ). 
Also Pip is literally an icon. If she could donate some of her highly intelligent brain cells to me, that would be great 😩  🤲  . She’s SO smart and I love that. And RAVIIII!!! He’s AMAZING! 
Note: I'll be releasing a detailed review for this trilogy on Feb 27th so stayed tuned for that!



Favorite Characters of the Year:
  1. Adrian Everhart
  2. Nova Artino
  3. Ravi Singh
  4. Pippa Fitz Amobi 
Favorite Rereads:
  1. The Hunger Games (obviously!): Read a detailed review here. This series will forever have a chokehold on me. Literally there are no words to describe how much I LOVE this series. 
  2. The Selection: Read a detailed review here. YES I know this series is “cringy” but I DON’T CARE 😤 . It’s my comfort read hehe.
  3. Legend series: Ngl I was disappointed by my reread of this. It had been about 4 years since I had last read it and the series just didn’t hit the same anymore 😕 . Would still give it ⅘ stars for nostalgic purposes.
    ​

Overall, 2021 was a pretty good reading year! While I only read 44 out of my yearly goal of 60 books, I’m still proud of myself for managing to read that much! :)

Read Spoiler Free Review for A Curse So Dark and Lonely
Read Spoiler Free Review for Aurora Rising
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The Hunger Games Reread Analysis/Review

10/16/2021

41 Comments

 
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Note: Spoilers in this review!!
Book: The Hunger Games series
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Dystopian
Age: For readers 11 and up 
Rating: Infinity/5

Page turning plot? Check! Best characters EVER?! Check! Amazing writing style? Also check 😌  The Hunger Games has it all!

But seriously, words can’t comprehend how much I LOVE these books! They’re the best written series I’ve ever read. Ever. Even after my fourth reread, this series never gets old! The plot is so creative and unique and the characters are well developed, which for me are the two most important criterias a book should excel in. I literally can’t find ONE thing wrong about this series (which is actually very hard for me to do since I ALWAYS find something to complain about in every series I’ve ever read lol). 

Top Four Characters Ranked:
  1. Katniss and Peeta: I can’t choose between them. It’s physically impossible 😪  I DON’T WANT TO HEAR A SINGLE BAD THING ABOUT THEM 😤
  2. Haymitch: He made me really mad sometimes and just when I think “There is NO WAY I will trust this infuriating guy again 😒  “, he somehow wins me over like 20 pages later. It’s a constant cycle. 🙄 🤚 Then I get pissed off two seconds later thinking about how he didn’t give the same treatment to Peeta as he did to Katniss… But then I always end up liking him again after seeing the way he cares for Katniss and how he comforts her. See, this is why Haymitch and Katniss are my favorite Hunger Games duo (after Peeta and Katniss ofc 🥰  )
  3. Finnick: Suzanne Collins better lock her door at night. After reading+ crying over Finnick’s ending for the fourth time, I’m coming after her. HOW DARE SHE?!😤 🔪
  4. Rue: The warning I gave above applies for Rue too. And Cinna. And Prim. 🤧  Everyone saw Rue’s death from a mile away (I mean come on, her name literally means grief) but I’M STILL NEVER PREPARED. I get so sad :( 
What I absolutely LOVED:

Peeta and Katniss’s Relationship(Featuring me fangirling over my otp 😁  🤩 ):
Hands down THE BEST book ship ever!! Literally no one will ever come close to these two 😌  Peeta and Katniss are both so comfortable with each other and it’s like they’ve been together for years. There are so many subtle ways this is expressed in the books:

“From the bag I pull two fresh buns with a layer of cheese baked into the top. We always seem to have a supply of these since Peeta found out they were my favorite.”
OK THIS IS SO CUTE?! The idea that Peeta constantly buys cheese buns and stocks them up in Katniss’s house, so she never runs out of her favorite snack, is just SO adorable to me 😫 . 
                                                                             ***
Obviously the Catching Fire and Hunger Game’s version of Peeta and Katniss is very different from Mockingjay’s version of Katniss and Peeta. In the first two books, their relationship was more of a sweet, young and playful kind. In Mockingjay, it takes a more somber tone with Peeta’s hijacking complications and Katniss’s true realization that she loves Peeta. I prefer Katniss and Peeta’s relationship in the first two books because it was SO CUTE! Yet, Mockingjay version of Peeta and Katniss is still too good to be ignored 😌  

Like when Katniss came to realization just how far her feelings for Peeta extend:

“‘[Finnick:] ‘After your first games, I thought the whole romance was an act on your part. We all expected you’d continue that strategy. But it wasn’t until Peeta hit the force field and barely died that I-’ Finnick hesitated. (...) ‘That I knew I’d misjudged you. That you do love him. Anyone paying attention could see how much you care about him,’ he says gently. (...) ‘Convince me,’ Snow said. It seems, under that hot pink sky with Peeta’s life in limbo, I finally did. And in doing so, I gave him the weapon he needed to break me.”

  • From the start of the series, Katniss’s attempts to convince others that she returned Peeta’s love was dubious at best. But for the first time, Katniss seemed to really convince Finnick and Snow of her love. But she wasn’t pretending. At this moment, Finnick’s thoughts gave voice to Katniss’s inner feelings and she convinced herself that she loved Peeta. And it wasn’t a feeling she could ignore any longer. (YES I’M A HOPELESS ROMANTIC WHEN IT COMES TO THESE TWO 🤧 )


Friendships Ranked:
  1. Haymitch and Katniss: 
  • Throughout the series, Katniss turned to Haymitch for comfort before anyone else (Even before turning to Peeta, Cinna, Gale, etc). Like on page 33 of Catching Fire, just after President Snow visits Katniss and indirectly threatens her. Katniss ponders who she should confide in about Snow’s visit and her options are Cinna, Peeta or Haymitch. Ultimately she chooses Haymitch to trust with her information. 
  • Second instance of when she turns to Haymitch for insight is when Katniss rouses Haymitch out of his bed to tell him her plan about starting an uprising.
  • And finally, even when she is still furious at Haymitch, she turns to him for support after she breaks down with guilt over Peeta’s torture:
“I start crying. It's impossible to be the Mockingjay. Impossible to complete even this one sentence. Because now I know that everything I say will be directly taken out on Peeta. Result in his torture. (...)
‘What's wrong with her?’ Plutarch says under his breath. 
‘She's figured out how Snow's using Peeta,’ says Finnick.
Several sets of arms would embrace me. But in the end, the only person I truly want to comfort me is Haymitch, because he loves Peeta, too. I reach out for him and say something like his name and he's there, holding me and patting my back. “It's okay. It'll be okay, sweetheart.” He sits me on a length of broken marble pillar and keeps an arm around me while I sob.
‘I can't do this anymore,’ I say. (...) ‘All I can think of is—what he's going to do to Peeta—because I'm the Mockingjay!’ I get out.
“I know.” Haymitch's arm tightens around me.
“Did you see? How weird he acted? What are they—doing to him?” I'm gasping for air between sobs, but I manage one last phrase. “It's my fault!” And then I cross some line into hysteria and there's a needle in my arm and the world slips away.” 
I kid you not, I could not stop sobbing at this part. I cried three times in Mockingjay and this was one of them 😭  This part was heartbreaking. I cried along with Katniss while she broke down in realization that her actions translated into Peeta’s harm. This passage is proof of Katniss’s love for Peeta. I don’t mean to get all sappy and romantic but…. It’s so rare to obtain instances where Katniss’s love for Peeta is undeniable. Usually we see all the romantic actions done by Peeta. But this is one example where Katniss shows that she equally loves Peeta back.🥺   
Oh shoot I’m supposed to be talking about Haymitch and Katniss…. Hehe ok back to topic. 
Haymitch accepting Katniss with open arms is so comforting to read about 😭  Even if they were in the middle of a very intense fight, none of that matters anymore. They both bicker constantly, but are there for each other when needed. No one understands Katniss like Haymitch does and it’s clear to see when Katniss wants no sympathy from anyone else except Haymitch’s. Also, usually it seems like Haymitch is aloof to Katniss and Peeta. But in Mockingjay, Haymitch’s feelings of love and guilt for Peeta’s capture ring true as well as his affection for Katniss.

  1. Haymitch, Peeta, Katniss
   “Haymitch and Peeta are there as well sitting in a pair of matching rockers, playing a game of chess”
  • I love how Haymitch and Peeta randomly playing chess in Katniss’s living room is so normal to her 😂 . This sets up the dynamic between Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch and shows how comfortable they all are with each other! 
3. Johanna and Katniss: Ngl Johanna was not my favorite in the SLIGHTEST in Catching Fire. I didn’t really care about her. But she grew on me in Mockingjay. When Katniss and Johanna begrudgingly formed a reluctant friendship in the last book, they both ended up getting used to the strange comfort they experienced from each other. I was sad when Johanna ended up skipping the combat mission into the Capitol and that was the last we saw of her :( Ugh and when Katniss gave her the pinecone.. 😭
“At the hospital room door, I watch Johanna for a moment, realize that most of her ferocity is in her abrasive attitude. Stripped of that, as she is now, there’s only a slight young woman, her wide set eyes fighting to stay awake against the power of drugs. I cross to her and hold out the bundle. ‘What’s that?’ she says hoarsely. Damp edges of her hair form little spikes over her forehead. 
‘I made it for you. Something to put in your drawer.’ I place it in her hands. ‘Smell it.’
She lifts the bundle to her nose and takes a tentative sniff. ‘ Smells like home.’ Tears flood her eyes.”
4. Finnick and Katniss: Their friendship was meh until halfway through Mockingjay. Finnick and Katniss could relate to each other and their struggles were similar. Katniss refused to acknowledge this and shut him out until District Thirteenth went under lockdown. That’s when Katniss opened up to Finnick about her concern for Peeta and she came to the realization that Snow was using Peeta to break Katniss. 
But still, other than a few moments here and there, I can’t remember there being much substance in Katniss and Finnick’s friendship so that’s why I am placing it a bit lower than the others.
5. Katniss and Buttercup: No. Because WHAT WAS THIS SCENE: 😭  
“She's not here," I tell him. Buttercup hisses again. "She's not here. You can hiss all you like. You won't find Prim." At her name, he perks up. Raises his flattened ears. Begins to meow hopefully. "Get out!" He dodges the pillow I throw at him. "Go away! There's nothing left for you here!" I start to shake, furious with him. "She's not coming back! She's never ever coming back here again!" I grab another pillow and get to my feet to improve my aim. Out of nowhere, the tears begin to pour down my cheeks. "She's dead." I clutch my middle to dull the pain. Sink down on my heels, rocking the pillow, crying. "She's dead, you stupid cat. She's dead." A new sound, part crying, part singing, comes out of my body, giving voice to my despair. Buttercup begins to wail as well. No matter what I do, he won't go. He circles me, just out of reach, as wave after wave of sobs racks my body, until eventually I fall unconscious. But he must understand. He must know that the unthinkable has happened and to survive will require previously unthinkable acts. Because hours later, when I come to in my bed, he's there in the moonlight. Crouched beside me, yellow eyes alert, guarding me from the night.”
Stabbing my heart a million times would have been less painful than reading this… I’M IN MY FEELS. NO ONE TALK TO ME 😭  THIS PAGE WILL GO DOWN AS THE SADDEST PAGE IN BOOK HISTORY. NO JOKE. THIS IS WHY I HATE REREADING MOCKINGJAY. THIS BOOK HURTS ME MENTALLY WAY TOO MUCH.
Ok but it’s so sad to see the two of them, who were at each other’s necks for YEARS be the only ones left to comfort each other at the end. STOPP I’M MAKING MYSELF SAD AGAIN.
6. Gale: Ok I know that everyone hates Gale but I honestly don’t mind him. He was very opinionated, stubborn and only saw the world through his point of view, but I don’t believe he was a bad person. That being said, I hated Katniss and Gale’s friendship halfway through book 2 and 3. I loved it in book 1 but after that it just felt awkward (which I guess was a result of Gale’s unresolved feelings for Katniss). It’s a shame since I really loved their friendship in book one!! Gale had Katniss’s back for YEARS and kept her family alive when she went away for the games. He was a beacon of loyalty in the first book but not so much in book 2 and 3. It wasn’t Gale or Katniss’s fault in particular, but both of their personalities just clashed too much, making it hard for their friendship to last. 

Quotes that made me sob (I get very sappy and try to act all deep in this part 🤪 ):

“‘And.. you in Thirteen…’(...)’Dead by morning!’(...) The camera knocked down to record the white tiled floor. The scuffle of boots. The impact of the blow thats inseparable from Peeta’s cry of pain. And his blood as it splattered the tile.” 
  • It was heartbreaking to witness even the smallest fragment of Peeta’s torture. 😭  By now, the Capitol must have succeeded in hijacking a large portion of his brain and replacing his fond memories of Katniss for a more sinister version of them. Yet, even in his disoriented state, Katniss’s survival remained at the forefront of his mind, unrelenting in nature.

Moral of the story: Don’t reread Mockingjay unless you want your heart to be physically crushed and trampled on 🤠  Oh and also that Peeta and Katniss are the best book ship ever 😎

Read my Spoiler Free Review for the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Read my Spoiler Free Review for The Selection
Read my Spoiler Free Review for Shadow and Bone
41 Comments

The Selection series by Kiera Cass- A Reread Book Review

9/12/2021

52 Comments

 
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Note: This review is spoiler free (spoilers are all marked and have warnings)!
Book: The Selection series
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: Dystopian
Age: For readers 13 and up 
Rating: 5/5

I hate all books that are solely focused on romance… butttttttt the Selection series is the only exception. 🥰  I don’t care how cringy this series is, I will never stop loving it lol. IT”S JUST SO FUN TO READ OK?! I know I’ve trashed on a lot of books throughout my blog that honestly are no worse than the Selection series in terms of cringiness, but YOU KNOW WHAT? I still love this series. 😌  It’s fine. I’m a hypocrite. I admit it. 😖   Actually, that’s funny for me to say because in two paragraphs I’m going to rant about how much of a hypocrite America is…. Oh whale 🐳 it takes one to know one I guess! 🤷‍♀️

Anyways, is it really a Bookconfessionssecrets’ book review if I don’t rant about a book?? So even if I love this series, I’m going to rant about it. Here we go:

What I disliked about this series:

  1. America: I’ve read this series three times, and all those three times I have painfully read through pages upon pages of America being an idiot. 
  • Exhibit A ( Spoilers for Book 1): How in the world could America get angry about Maxon hanging out with the other girls in the Selection when she was two timing Maxon with Aspen? It was very hypocritical. It’s worse because America knew from the beginning of the series that Maxon’s job is to hang out with all 35 of them. But Maxon has no idea about Aspen the entire series. I have no idea how America could get so angry at Maxon when she was cheating behind his back.
  • Exhibit B: WHY DOES SHE RANDOMLY BURST OUT IN TEARS IN “THE ELITE”?! The first time was in the beginning of the book (chapter 3 I think???) and Maxon was holding her. Then America randomly bursts out crying because she pictured Maxon holding someone else in the same way. Like it’s fine to get jealous but what was the reason for a sudden crying session? 🤠
  • Exhibit C: America was so petty and angry at Maxon for not saying “I love you” to her for the entire series. She claimed that if Maxon had just said those three little words, she would be sure of his love for her and choose him over Aspen. First of all, I don’t see America saying the three words either. Which is fine, but then you can’t just turn around and complain about how Maxon doesn’t love you back just because he didn’t say a few words (which America never said to him anyways). It’s like she’s expecting a lot but not ready to give anything in return. Anyways, I’ve never really understood the big deal about saying “I love you”. They both have acknowledged their love for each other in so many ways. How can three words suddenly mean more than all of their previous actions? They’re just words. Actions speak louder than them.
    2. Ahren (Spoilers for "The Heir" skip this paragraph): 
  • Probably my least favorite character from the duology. I always cry at the end of the heir because Ahren left Eadlyn all alone. He’s horrible for eloping with Camille and leaving Eadlyn behind without a goodbye. He was only 18. Surely he could be patient and wait a little longer. Plus his parents approved everything. Was it really necessary to go behind their backs and run away? He excluded his twin, his parents and brothers from his wedding. For what, idk? They were all supportive and he had no reason to elope. Can’t believe he had the nerve to say this in his letter to Eadlyn: “I love you. Maybe not as deeply as you’d like. But still.” -334. Way to go Ahren! After betraying your sister and leaving without a goodbye, you said the worst thing possible; that you don’t love her as much as she thought you did.
  • Also in “The Crown”, the officers are debating whether France purposely got Ahren and Camille married to debilitate Illea. Eadlyn was all: “Noooo they were in love.” But honestly, it was a mistake for Queen Daphne to get the two married without consent from his parents. It was just weird how they couldn’t have waited or invited his parents to the wedding. Maxon and America had nothing against Ahren and Camille being together, so I don’t get why Queen Daphne didn’t even invite them to their son’s own marriage. 

    3. Eikko and Eadlyn (Minor spoilers for "The Crown"): Eikko and Eadlyn was the stupidest thing ever. Every interaction was forced by Kiera Cass. That too, they only had about four conversations that went beyond surface level. This is how most of their convos went:
*Eadlyn wandering through the castle and Eikko sees her*
Eikko: Hello your Majesty. How are you feeling today?
Eadlyn: Not that great. The Selection is so stressful.
Eikko: I understand. I can’t imagine that amount of stress you’re feeling…
Eadlyn: Yah…
HOW DRY OF A CONVO IS THAT??? How did those two even fall for each other when almost all of their conversations were like this?! 💀

4. Queen Amberly: Why is Queen Amberly praised so much? She doesn’t seem confident nor poised. Instead, she seems cowardly and demure with no spine or self respect. She doesn’t really do much anyways. We just see glimpses of her in the Women’s room or in the dining hall. But every time she appears, everyone praises her queenly behavior. What queenly behavior? For what?? Eating dinner? 

What I was confused about:
  1. Eadlyn’s Selection: I don’t get the purpose of Eadlyn’s selection. Uprising and unrest on the kingdom’s hand? Easy! The solution Maxon and America take is to deal with the issues and bolster their kingdom. JK. Instead they decide to marry off the future queen in hopes that they can distract the people of the country for three months before the unrest starts up again. So basically Maxon and America are just pushing their problems to another day. And I thought I had a procrastination issue…😂
  2. The Constitutional Monarchy (Minor Spoilers for "The Crown"): At the end of “The Crown”, Eadlyn announces that the kingdom is now going to be a constitutional monarchy. She also claims that it will drive away Marid. But how does the constitutional monarch solve the Marid problem? With his popularity, he would be able to run for prime minister and win. In fact, Eadlyn should be more scared in anticipation that Marid will win a seat and rule in corruptness. 
  3. The Rebels: The castle security needs to be fired immediately 🤡  Whoever it is, they’re not doing their job properly. HOW DID SO MANY REBEL ATTACKS OCCUR IN WHAT SHOULD BE THE MOST PROTECTED PLACE IN ALL OF ILLEA? ​

What I loved:
  1. It’s Addicting: I don’t know what it is about this series but it’s SO addicting. I could literally start on any page from one of the three books, and the next thing I know I’ve been reading for three hours straight. The plot is just so entertaining and fun to read!
  2. Maxon and America: I LOVE THEM. They’re so cute together 🥰
  3. Kyle and Eadlyn: Kyle and Eadlyn are PERFECT for each other. Childhood enemies to lovers! What could be better than that?! In my mind they are endgame and the last 20 pages didn’t happen hehe. I lowkey ship Keadlyn more than Maxon and America… that’s how much I love them!
  4. Maxon: He’s the BEST!! I want a Maxon in my life 😭
  5. Eadlyn: I like Eadlyn a lot. Sure, she was a little rude here and there. But seriously, she’s a million times better than America. Sidenote: Why does everyone hate the duology? I found it fun to read. I liked Eadlyn as a main character much more than America. Yes, Eadlyn is spoiled but she did grow up in a palace and was raised to live in luxury. That obviously does affect people’s nature. But what’s important is that she did have character development in the end.
  6. Celeste: She deserved better 😭 My favorite character from the original trilogy is her!

If you haven’t read this series yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Drop whatever you’re reading and go read the Selection series NOW. Sure, it has it’s cringy moments but the addicting storyline more than makes up for it.



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Read Spoiler Free Review for "The Betrothed" by Kiera Cass
Read Spoiler Free Review for Shadow and Bone
Read Review for "The Shadows Between Us"
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52 Comments

Reviw for A ballad of songbirds and snakes by suzanne collins

8/9/2020

2 Comments

 
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Disclaimer: This review is spoiler free
Book: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Author: Suzanne Collins
Page Number: 517 Pages
Genre: Dystopian
Age: For readers 12 and up 
Rating: 4.5/ 5 stars
 
“Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping.”

Synopsis: Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. However, the odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favour or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.


Before reading Abosbas, I was absolutely TERRIFIED of starting it. The mix reviews of Goodreads and the lackluster response to this prequel was overall upsetting to me because this is THE Hunger Games series! THG is my precious little baby! My second favorite series of all time, the one I reread every year! I fell in love with the original series and the characters within it (Katniss and Peeta could run me over and I would thank them hehe). So here I was ready to get my bow and arrow, all Katniss style, trying to see if I would need to fight Suzanne Collins for ruining the precious Hunger Games series with this prequel. Turns out I didn’t need to! I had a few problems here and there but overall I thought it was a nice edition to the Hunger Games series.

“And he wanted to keep her. Safe and close at hand. Admired and admiring. Devoted. And entirely, unequivocally his.”

Without further ado, here is what I love about Abosbas:

The Worldbuilding: We got to experience the Hunger Games back when it was a shabby, run down version of the games we are used to. I loved viewing the process where the mentors and Coriolanus brainstormed ways to make the Hunger Games more interesting and we slowly saw those games transform into the games we’re more familiar with. Minor Spoilers: I’m still confused on how we went from keeping the tributes in the zoo to keeping them in five star hotels during Katniss and Peeta’s games loll.
Writing Style: I love Suzanne Collin’s writing style! It’s so free flowing and so easy to read!
Coriolanus Snow’s POV: I admit I was a bit skeptical about Suzanne Collin’s decision to choose Snow as the main character when she could’ve chosen Johanna’s, Finnick’s or Haymitch’s story to write. But I did not need to worry because Suzanna Collins is amazing and even made evil Snow’s pov amazing. I loved seeing Snow as a young teen who is conflicted with both his dark side and his good one. His battle for good vs. evil rages throughout the book. Coriolanus wants to care about others but he also wants his reputation intact. Suzanne Collins did an awesome job with the development of Coriolanus’s character. SPOILERS: The transition from when he was an innocent teen to when he became evil is spot on! The amount of guilt felt over his first kill, Bobbin, wasn’t transferred when he killed for the second time. By his third kill, Coriolanus got used to killing and had no problem dealing with the nonexistent guilt afterwards.
Sejanus: SPOILERS (skip this entire paragraph): Suzanne must really enjoy me crying huh…. WHAT was that?! His last words really sent me into a crying fit…. “Ma”. This was the turning point to Coriolanus’s character, when he purposely involves himself in the death of his friend. He is responsible for his murder and somewhere the lines get blurred and by getting used to killing others, Snow has transformed into the villain we all know and hate. Thank goodness…. Coriolanus was getting a little too likeable in this book… I had to keep reminding myself that he’s pure EVILLLL. 
The Ending: SPOILERS Skip the entire paragraph: I knew this was coming. From the beginning I knew that Snow would eventually turn on Lucy. But wow… I was not expecting the bucket of tears. Suzanne Collins…. You did it again. You’ve made me cry over fictional characters yet again (I actually don’t cry for books often.. Only for my top 6 favorite books series). I grew so attached to Lucy that I wasn’t ready to accept the fact that she was gone. When I started this book I imagined that at the end, Dr. Gaul would give Snow an ultimatum: either kill Lucy Gray and inherit a lot of power by becoming president of Panem or keep her alive and become a nobody. In a way that’s what happened, Snow chose power over love and human decency. I’m still shocked at the ending and want answers NOW. Is Lucy Gray alive?! Ughhhh I need to knowwwwwwww! If someone filmed me right after I finished this book, they would get footage of me staring at a wall for hours crying about this ending…
Lucy and Coriolanus: I liked them together! Sure, they were nowhere near the power couple (Katniss and Peeta-my otp) and their pairing did seem a little forced at times, but I thought they were cute! SPOILER: You should have seen how big I was grinning after Lucy won the Hunger Games and Coriolanus was so happy that he could see her again! 

“What are lies but attempts to conceal some sort of weakness?”

What I didn’t like: 

The Third Point of View: It should have been from first point of view! There was no need for the 3rd pov with the way it was used in this book. It could have been done better if the pov was used correctly. Instead of the constant povs from Snow during the Hunger Games, why didn’t we get at least one pov from Lucy Gray? I wanted to hear her experience during the games rather than read about what Coriolanus is having for lunch in the dining hall. If it was from 1st pov, then Suzanne Collins couldn’t have written from Lucy Gray’s perspective. But this book is in 3rd pov so there is no excuse there.
Lucy “Belonging” to Snow: Anyone else get a little creeped out when Snow constantly says that Lucy belongs to him? *Raises hand*. I know it’s because she’s district and he’s Capitol, but I didn’t like how he referred to her like that when she was supposedly the love of his life. 
The Pacing: This is the main thing Abosbas struggled with. There were many points where I couldn’t put down the book and then there were times where I couldn’t force myself to read another sentence. There was no in between. I also felt like the most important and action packed scenes were written for only a little bit while the uninteresting aspects of this book had pages upon pages of writing on it. Suzanne should have focused more on the Hunger Games action parts of the book.
The Hunger Games: Don’t get me wrong, I loved this Hunger Games but at the same time I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed once I compared it to the 75th Hunger Games in the original trilogy. It just seemed a bit too easy after SPOILER: all the tributes were killed before the games. There were only 14 tributes actually in the arena?! Uhhhh easy much? And most of the time the tributes just hid in caves or such instead of having action packed scenes. 
Yet I still loved these games, it was still fun to read about. SPOILER: Did anyone else think that when Snow went into the arena to retrieve Sejanus, he would be stuck in the arena somehow and forced to compete in the games? And then the winner would come down to either him or Lucy and he would turn evil and kill her just to win the games and stay alive? Just me? Ok haha!
​

“The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings”

Overall, this book was awesome! It might not be for everyone but I certainly enjoyed it! It was not a (Kat)astrophe (haha get it? Katniss? Katastrophe? Ok ok I’ll keep my jokes to myself). It also made me so happy to be in the Hunger Games world once again. The Hunger Games and one other series (The Unwanteds) are my two most treasured series and I’m so glad I got to experience another book in this world again!
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