**Very minor spoilers ahead**
This book has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 so when May 19th came along and my copy of the ballad of songbirds and snakes was downloaded onto my kindle, it's pretty safe to say I was excited, giddy even.
Were following a younger (18 year old) President snow before his rise to glory in the capitol. And in this book he's known as Coriolanus, which was so hard to say but I think I finally have it down lol.
Because Snow is the protagonist in this book, I went in knowing I was NOT going to find him even remotely likable... Which he truly wasn't, but I didn't anticipate just how much of a sociopath he actually is.
We follow his journey as he becomes mentor during the 10th hunger games and this is the first time mentors have been introduced. He's also trying to cover up that the snow family are actually poor and he stresses to keep up the family name throughout the book.
When tributes are assigned to each mentor, snow gets left with district 12's one and only Lucy Gray, Lucy is one of my favourite characters in this book, she's fun, outgoing, mysterious and just the complete opposite to Katniss. She steals the hearts of the capitol with her beautiful singing voice and her sad lyrical songs, but she is weak among the rest of the district tributes which causes Coriolanus to panic as he needs her to win in order to win the big prize which is to get a full year paid into the academy.
I won't go into much detail because of major spoilers, but from here on you really get a taste of just how nasty Snow is, were following his thoughts and how he sees and treats others and it's sickening.
I won't lie, there are chapters and moments in the book where it just gets boring, like most of the chapters about the hunger games themselves lost my attention a few times, but it's interesting enough to keep reading and it picks up with some surprises and twisty turns that I didn't really see coming.
I want to mention another favourite character of mine, Sejanus, he's such a sweet and pure soul, I actually loved reading about him and learning about his life and is role in the book. He's an interesting character who sees Coriolanus as a best friend and brother. I won't say much about him because I don't want to take away from your experience, but I love him! Sejanus, Lucy Gray and Maude were a delight to read about.
Anyways, by the end of the book, I felt like I wanted to jump into the pages and punch Coriolanus right in the face, he drove me mental, he's so evil. The book is just as brutal and gut wrenching as the hunger games trilogy, maybe not as impactful, but definitely powerful and left me sad and angry at the same time.
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the book, if you haven't read it yet, have a great time! :)
Bye for now And may the odds be ever in your favour.
