I liked it. Actually I liked it a lot. I went into it with no expectations and actually waited a long time to read it even though I got it the moment it came out. I was afraid of being disappointed like I have been in so many prequels... I LOVE The Hunger games Series. LOVE them. Read them several times each , so I was worried this book would suck and soil it for me. I was wrong. I enjoyed this one on it's own and really liked seeing how things evolved to where they would be in the future.