I had heard so many bad things about this book, but I still liked it! I was surprised with the direction of the plot. It's still The Hunger Games, but it's still a smarter version. I didn't mind that love took a back seat at all. This isn't something you read for the romantic undertones. The characters are still good. The plot is still good. I have no middle book syndrome where I don't want to finish the series which is frequent with me. Moving on...