The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Hmm, I was surprisingly on board with this book for the first half, or maybe even the first 2/3, but the last part just...dragged...on....

Really, my main complaint is that it's just too dang long and then suddenly the last like, chapter or so goes by so fast? There was also way too much singing, to the point where I expected Tom Bombadil to show up and start laying down some sick beats about Goldberry.

Complaints aside, I went into this with somewhat middling expectations, so I ended up liking it more than expected. Seeing the early stages of the Games, and how they ended up the way there were in the original trilogy, and just more of the Capitol in general was all interesting to me. AND I liked that Snow wasn't given some tragic background that would act as an excuse for why he became a villain. Dude was basically just evil, turns out! Several options for redemption in his life, and he picked the road that led to the Dark Side every time. Overall, 3.5 delicious baked goods from Ma out of 5, rounded up.