Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

922 reviews

wild_rabbits's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

lacyleereads's review against another edition

adventurous 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

abbimmorgan's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

I decided to reread the Hunger Games trilogy after 10 years and was pleasantly surprised by how well the books held up, especially being YA. I hadn’t read this prequel yet, so I was excited to give it a go. And how entirely underwhelmed and disappointed I was.

This book was boring. In the THG, Collins doesn’t waste a single word or sentence. Here, the book dragged out forever. I almost didn’t finish it. There were so many pointless details, long, unnecessary songs, and characters that could’ve been completely removed. It was interesting to learn more about the beginning of the games and how they evolved over time, and how the war affected the Capitol citizens, but this story could’ve been done in less than 300 pages. There was very little action, but when it did happen it felt very rushed. We had to hear details about every meal Snow ate, but the actual exciting parts were breezed by? 

And as another reviewer put it, some of the Easter eggs for the original trilogy felt too “nudge nudge wink wink.” They were too in your face and overplayed. 

I feel like overall this book was a waste of my time and I’m annoyed how many hours I spent reading it since it was so long. If it would’ve wrapped up after 250 pages, this could’ve been a 5 star book. But I’m left feeling very disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder

georgiaabigail's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original trilogy, I adore the hunger games universe and learning more about the earlier games and how Snow became who we know him to be. I struggle reading books when I dislike the main character but I was too invested in the plot to stop!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death and War

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

avasbookmark's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Police brutality

thesecretsapphic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

thebaconbaron's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

okaychanly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.0

 I understand why Suzanne Collins chose to write a prequel, as President Snow in the original THG trilogy was an intriguing, complex villain. There were some parts that I had to push through, and then suddenly in the third act, things felt really rushed. And when you’re reading from the mind of young Coriolanus Snow, it’s obvious that this is a guy you should not root for, no matter how hard post-war life has treated him. Moreover, the way he lays “claim” to Lucy Grey and tries to take control of everything and everyone around him is disgusting to watch. That being said, this book still compelled me (watching Snow’s descent into madness) and I wanted to know how things would turn out, plus it had a good amount of Easter eggs and info alluding to the main series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

maryconney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Medical content, and War

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Alcohol