Doesn't live up

This book is a let down compared to the original trilogy. I found myself considering giving it a lower score, but it's not really a bad book either. It's just kind of weak compared to the previous books.

I remember with the three original books I was completely sucked into the story, it lived in my head rent free. TBOSAS just kind of exists, it never really managed to grasp me. A shame really, because I had such high hopes for this one.

Part of the problem was the amount of characters. I couldn't keep up with who was who. Almost relieved every time anyone died because that meant one less person to keep track of. There was just not a single character I felt connected to and I'm not sure if it's because there's so many of them or because they're just poorly written.

Coriolanus is obviously not meant to be likeable, but his morals flipflopped so frequently it just annoyed me. I did like how erratic it became the last chapter before the epilogue though. But obviously not a guy to root for.

Lucy Gray gave off major 'not like other girls/people' vibes, especially in part 1 and 2. From the moment she's introduced it's highlighted how quirky and talented and unique she is, not only by Coriolanus 'unreliable narrator' Snow but by literally every character. The snake scene in the arena only solidified how special she is. I tend to dislike characters when they're written like this. I did like the rest of the Covey though.

Lastly, unpopular opinion, but I didn't like Sejanus as a character. He's supposed to be the guy you root for because he's one of the few people who is genuinely 'good'. But his goodness is so on the nose it annoyed me so much. Apart from that, all he does in the entirety of the book is express negative emotion and make abhorrent decisions. Of course he didn't deserve his ending, but it didn't draw out any strong feelings in me.

The first two parts are terribly slow and sometimes even boring. The third part got better for me and the last chapter pleasantly surprised me!

To close off with some positives, I do like the lore this book provides. I like the returning of some (sur)names, I loved getting a glimpse into what the Capitol and the Hunger Games used to look like, and I love the history provided for some iconic spots and songs in the original trilogy.

Conclusion: a decent enough book on its own, but a downgrade to the series.