Book Reviews

Book Review: Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins (spoilers!!)

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you’re all having a lovely day today. I am bringing you my review for the latest Hunger Games novel, Sunrise On The Reaping. By the way this review might have spoilers in it so if you haven’t read this book yet, go read it then come back and see my review.

Blurb/Synopsis:

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

My Review:

I was unsure whether I wanted to read this book or not, because I read A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and to be honest I didn’t love the book, I did enjoy the film thought, but the book was hard for me to follow. However, I adored Sunrise on the Reaping. It was everything I wanted for Haymitch’s story – and it made me tear up which is a feat from books, I don’t usually cry at them. I loved getting to experience everything that Haymitch had been through and understanding why he became the way he did, it made me like him even more than I did before. For me the most emotional parts were Louella and Lou Lou. That was absolutely heartbreaking both times.
I have seen a lot about the sadness surrounding Lenore Dove, and yes I agree that scene at the end was awful, and it is the moment that destroyed Haymitch, but I didn’t like Lenore. So many of her actions had terrible consequences and I don’t think that she ever felt these consequences herself – not even Haymitch being forced into the games because of her. I didn’t feel her character was sorry about it, she didn’t deserve to die that way but I wish we had seen a bit more of her. I also wish we had seen more of the games and the training before the games.

Despite those few issues, this book was absolutely five stars and my favourite read of August.

Have you read this? What did you think of it?

Book Tags

April Showers Book Tag

Happy Friday bookish people! I hope you are all doing very well today. I am bringing you my first book tag of April, (and yes I say first because there will be a second one next Friday so check that out too!).

I found this tag on thissplendidshambles.com

Book With Water on the cover – Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

This is the very first book I thought of, it is covered in a blue/green wave pattern.

Classic Novel You’d Like To Curl Up On The Couch With – Emma by Jane Austen

Emma is my favourite Austen novel but honestly this question could also be answered with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte but that is kept for rainy days so it is very cosy.

A scary book to read in a rainstorm – none of them!

Scary books freak me out anyway, let alone reading it during a rainstorm.

A good book recommendation for rainy days – Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

This is a good question, on rainy days I usually like to read a nice fantasy and the last time this happened I was reading Sorcery of Thorns and that is the book I would recommend.

The characters you’d like to spend a rainy day with –

Hmm… difficult choice.. I think I would have to choose Kellen from Spellslinger because he could keep everybody entertained with his wit, then I would choose lou from Serpent and Dove because she could do some magic and bring some of the amazing sounding food from the books then I would be stuck because I don’t have a room big enough for all the people I would like to have over!

A book that has blue on the cover – the upside of unrequieted

Again, I had to go with the first book I thought of and the Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli is a bright blue all over cover.

A book with a rainy setting at some point

This is very difficult because I can’t think of a single one!

A book you wouldn’t mind using as an umbrella

Catching fire from the Hunger Games series, just because I lent it to a friend when I was in high school and she left it in her bag, outside in the rain so it is already all curled up from the water damage so a bit more rain can’t hurt it any worse than it is already.

A character you would like to share an umbrella with

ooh, another good question. It is very hard because I would choose a male character, but I am so short (literally I am only 4 foot 11, I am tiny) so whoever I would share an umbrella with would also need to be tiny and there aren’t many characters that small…. okay, I am going to choose Eve brown from Act Your age Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert, she is so bubbly that she could make anyone feel positive even in the rain and I also think she is quite short.

A novel with a dry beginning but an amazing ending

I am going to choose Dangerous Women by Hope Adams because the beginning takes a long time to set everything up but the book as a whole is brilliant.