The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (Review)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Format: Audiobook 

Source: BorrowBox

Publisher: Scholastic Audio

Narrator: Santino Fontana

Length: 14 hours 20 minutes

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, 

Publication Date: 19th May 2020

Synopsis/Blurb (taken from Goodreads):

“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. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

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 favor 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.“

My Thoughts & Review

I’ve been a Hunger Games fan ever since the first time I picked up the books back when they came out, so when I heard that Suzanne Collins was releasing this book I was super excited and couldn’t wait to get reading.

It was interesting to find out a little more about Snow in his younger years and to find out about the earlier games, but that’s as far as my enjoyment for this book went. I found the rest of the book boring, the story didn’t quite hold my attention, and I had to force myself to push through the audiobook. There were actual times where I zoned out. Normally I would rewind and re-listen to the sections I zoned out in but I didn’t for this book and in all honesty I didn’t feel like I missed anything important.

The pacing was so off in this book. Most of the way through it was so slow and I contemplated about giving up but then all of a sudden it picks up at the end, which was a little too late for me. The sudden pick up in pace made me feel like the ending was rushed.

In terms of character I wasn’t a huge fan. I couldn’t really connect with them and also I felt Collins tries way too hard to make readers like Snow’s character.

Compared to the previous Hunger Games books this was quite a disappointing read, and I won’t be adding a physical copy to my collection. I’m happy to stick to the first 3 books only.

Before I end this review I must praise the narrator Santino Fontana for his efforts on narrating such a slow book.

My Rating

💙💙1/2

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Leave a comment below and let’s have a chat.

Happy Reading!!!

---

You can also find me on: Twitter || Instagram ||Goodreads ||Bloglovin

---