Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver

Description from Goodreads:

The final instalment in the internationally bestselling Delirium trilogy.

It is the rule of the Wilds:
You must be bigger, and stronger, and tougher.
A coldness radiates through me, a solid wall that is growing, piece by piece, in my chest. He doesn't love me?
He never loved me.
It was all a lie.

'The old Lena is dead', I say, and then push past him. Each step is more difficult than the last; the heaviness fills me and turns my limbs to stone.

You must hurt, or be hurt.

Lena can build the walls, but what if there's no one left to take them down? The powerful, heartbreaking conclusion to one of the most eagerly awaited, talked-about series is here.

--

Finally finished with the series! What a ride it was. I'm really glad I found this trilogy, even though it took me a little bit of time to finish it from cover to cover. Delirium and Pandemonium definitely are my favourites, but Requiem is my least favourite. I did like the third book, but there were somethings that didn't really please me too much and the book as a whole was some what anti-climatic. However, I did find myself enjoying the book and it I think Requiem was reasonably okay ending to the trilogy, even though I was hoping that it would end up with a bang.

Requiem is told from two different perspective: from Lena and Hana's point of view. Surprisingly, I enjoyed more Hana's story than Lena's. Every chapter that was told from Hana's p.o.v kept me intrigued and wanting to know more, and I think at one point I actually counted the pages of Lena's chapters so that I would know when can I read again about Hana's life. The main reason probably for this was that Lena's chapters seemed to repeat themselves, as they were all about the revolution, survival, or the love triangle which started to feel a bit dull after a while, whereas with Hana the readers got inside information about the cured society and their plans. Also the internal struggle Hana experienced was interesting to observe and I grew to like her a lot more than previously. She experienced a really wonderful character development which completely overshadowed Lena and her story. However, one of my favourite chapters of the book was from Lena's point of view so I have to give credit for that.

I was rather bummed how the love triangle turned out to be. I can totally understand Lena being torn between two guys, but at times I became rather annoyed with the whole situation. It is rather obvious which of the guys Lena really loves and I hated seeing her playing with the other guy. I really liked both the guys as their characters are sort of silent, strong, suffering types, and even though I didn't really care for the love triangle in this particular book, I did like how I myself became really attached to both guys. I just wish there were more scenes of them in the book.

I think everyone who has read some of the reviews of Requiemmust have come across how some people were disappointed with the ending. I have to admit that at first I though "Is this really it?" as I would have liked the trilogy to end with a big (maybe a surprising?) bang, but all of it was rather predictable even though there was left a little bit of room for the reader's own interpretation. Now that I have gotten a bit of time to think about the ending, I like it more now, even though I'm still not fully satisfied with it. I understand why Oliver would have wanted to write an ending like that and I think it was rather safe way to end the trilogy.

Even though the structure was very clear and focused, Requiem lacked a bit of depth. Quite many things felt rushed to me - like she ran out of ideas. I think some of things like the love triangle and the relationship between Lena and her mother would have deserved more time and exploration. Oliver did address all the major themes presented in the trilogy, but she just scratched the surface in the third book. There was so much material to make some really touching and deep comments, for example about greed and lost. I would have liked to know more about how much Julian was affected by being thrown into the Wilds and being separated from his family. The readers never learn what he was really feeling if the indirect grunts and dark looks he had from time to time aren't counted.

I did enjoy reading this book, but I have to admit that the last 25% of the book was way better than the rest 75%. At points it felt like the book was jamming in one place but luckily Hana's p.o.v did give some relief. I do want to reread the trilogy at some point again just to get the overall picture as there were pretty long pauses between the books. Nevertheless, I really recommend the trilogy and Requiem for those who are interested to read it!

☆☆☆

Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) by Lauren Oliver

Description from Goodreads:

I’m pushing aside 

the memory of my nightmare, 

pushing aside thoughts of Alex, 

pushing aside thoughts of Hana 

and my old school, 

push, 

push, 

push, 

like Raven taught me to do.

The old life is dead.

But the old Lena is dead too.

I buried her.

I left her beyond a fence,

behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

--

Oh my dear god. After the first book Delirium, I was really impressed by the world Oliver had created and the language was the kind that absorbed you straight into the world. So, I had some preconceptions about the book: how will she step up with Pandemonium when the first book was so good?! The start was a little slow, but when she got things moving, I couldn't put the book down. I had to read the whole book in one sit! I think it was 3 a.m when I finished reading because I just couldn't simply stop myself (I think I stopped reading just to get some food). And the funny part is that even though I was really tired after finishing (well, it was 3a.m in my defense), I couldn't sleep because I was so excited about it. I kept reliving my favourite moments and speculating what will happen in the next book. I have to say that Delirium trilogy is one of my favourites at the moment.

The book is basically divided into two different timelines that collide in the last two chapters: "now" and "then". I found the structure to be a really good choice from Oliver, as it gave another new dimension for the whole series and allowed Pandemonium to be distinguished from Delirium quite efficiently (I loved how the chapters began in Delirium with small paragraphs from the book of Shhh or with old sayings). Lauren also introduced some new characters. Some of them I liked, some of them not. For example, a young man called Tack is a character of whom I have mixed feelings about. At the beginning he seems a really strong and complex character and I had quite high hopes for him, but in the end he was a bit of a let-down for me. He had so much potential as a character, but the readers didn't get a chance to get a better look at him Hopefully, in Requiem he won't be as superficial character. But some other new characters like Raven and Julian turned out be quite fine and I'm looking forward to what Oliver will do with them in the future. 

Julian especially was a rather nice surprise for me. I didn't care for him at all once he was introduced. Even though he is brainwashed just like the others in the cured community, I didn't feel sympathy towards him and I was very suspicious of him all the time. However, thanks to a certain link of events, we get to know him better and  after that I could have hit myself because I didn't see it coming. Julian was actually pretty neat guy. I still love Alex unconditionally, but there's something about Julian as well..

I also have to mention that I loved what the author did with Lena - she was all broken up after the events in the book one, and this was really emphasized with her physical and empty emotional state. You really need to read the book to get what I'm meaning. Without revealing too much, Lena has to start her life from a clean slate without any foundation or support from her previous life. And I got to admit, she does pretty fine job doing it considering the circumstances. Another thing is that, even though I was devastated that Alex got killed in the book one, I was super glad too that the book 2 wasn't all about Lena describing her shattered emotional state. I think that Lena's suffering was really well shown through her emotional indifference and physical unwell-being.

Oliver is obviously a wizard in her twists, and even though I often see some coming, some of them in the book were surprises for me! That is always a huge plus for both the author and the book. And I can promise you, the book will end in a major cliff-hanger. I literally squealed a little when I was reading the last few pages. The author really knows her business when it comes to write an ending to a book. I really loved this book!

☆☆☆☆☆

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

Description from Goodreads:

Lena Haloway is content in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a. love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid” community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine, border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. 

But 95 days before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure. In this powerful and beautifully written novel, Lauren Oliver, the bestselling author of Before I Fall, throws readers into a tightly controlled society where options don’t exist, and shows not only the lengths one will go for a chance at freedom, but also the true meaning of sacrifice.

--

I have read this book only once and I just can't bring myself to read it again for a single reason: I abso-freaking-lutely loved it!! I'm so afraid that I won't love it as much as I loved it during the first time, so I have been postponing the second reading for 1,5 years now (and I still haven't done it). So I have to apologise if my review is a bit vague because I can remember only so much without rereading. 

The world of Delirium is one of my favourites dystopian ones. Ever. You can straight away see how much time the author has invested in it: she has come up with an original idea of this really twisted society which sees love as something disturbing and dangerous, the book of SHHH which guides the lives of cured of Deliria (which I by the way just ADORED), how Deliria can be "treated", and how the cured live after the procedure. It was really interesting how a particular environment and its customs can become to a norm to anyone if this person has lived in it for her whole life, like in the case of Lena. She is afraid of "infected" people and she wants to be cured as soon as possible. Well, at least in the beginning, before she met Alex. 

If I'm completely honest, I would refuse to be treated as well if I came across with a guy like Alex. He is one the most attentive, smartest, romantic, and caring YA book love interests I have read about. I still can't get it out of my head how Oliver described him: hair coloured like burning leaves, and eyes all honey and golden. But despite the fact that he is described as the man of my dreams, his personality was the thing that made me fall in love with him; he is a multidimensional character. I loved how he is really careful with Lena as well as very patient. It is always a delight when the author doesn't jump straight away to the two main characters being lovers but gives them time to develop the relationship properly. Their relationship felt real, authentic, and very very intimate by the end of the book. 

Even though the beginning of the book was rather slow, I didn't mind it at all (I know that this might be a problem for some people). The fact that the readers were well introduced to the culture of the cured society was very important as it will be a major part throughout the whole trilogy. If the setting wasn't well established in the beginning, I'm not sure if I would have loved the book as much. 

Finally, I have to say that this book didn't only make me giggle like a school girl, but it also made my heart beat in my chest as I was afraid, and my eyes water as I felt the pain Lena felt. There were so many big emotions in this book which is just one of the many many reason why Delirium has to be one of my favourite dystopian books (ever). 

☆☆☆☆☆

Stacking the Shelves (#7)

It's Saturday and so it's time for Stacking the Shelves!

Here's what I managed to get my hands on:

Paperback:

Delirium (Delirium, #1) by Lauren Oliver
Pandemonium (Delirum, #2) by Lauren Oliver
Requiem (Delirum, #3) by Lauren Oliver

I think I squealed a bit when I found that the whole trilogy was only £5 at The Works! I didn't have to think twice as I grabbed all three books and marched to the till. I actually had the first two books as different editions, but I wanted all three to be from the same batch. So now I own two copies of both Delirium and Pandemonium.. No regrets.

Top Ten Tuesday (#6): Books as movies/TV adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday this week is about the books I would love to see as a movie/TV adaptation

1. Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis. How cool and visually impressive science fiction movie trilogy could be made of these books. I would definitely go to see them in the movies!

2. Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver. I think they tried to make a TV show out Delirium but I guess it flopped, or something (does anyone know more about this?). I would prefer if they made movies out of the books rather than a TV adaptations. 

3. Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. YES! One of the many reasons why Lux movies would be great is that we could see actual physical Daemon Black, but also the cool light alien forms Luxens can adapt. 

4. Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Yes, I know they have made a movie out of Eragon, which by the way was awful! They completely raped the book, and I hope someone brave will try to make a remake out of it. Pretty please, with modern technology and with a budget big enough, the movie could be grrreat.

5. Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Yes, yes, yes. 

6. Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch. How awesome TV series would these book make? I think they could make every episode 1,5h long just like BBC Sherlock's episodes are. Gentleman Bastards books are pretty eventful and epic, so they could be made into movies, but something tells me that TV adaptation would be pretty great as well.

7. If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern. I'm not usually a big fan of rom-coms but I think this one could change my mind. Granted that it is well casted and done!

8. The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler. How cute movie adaptation could be made of The Future of Us? I really want to see it!

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor. Just thinking about a movie adaptation of Daughter of Smoke and Bone gives me goose pumps! Think about how amazing the angels and chimaeras would look like. Think about Karou with her blue hair and Akiva with his burning eyes. Yes, please!

10. Angelfall by Susan Ee. Once again, a very visual survival/action/romance movie. I can already see the angels and the devastation of the city with own my mind's eye. I want this and all of the above happen so badly. Please, moviemakers, adapt these books into movies! 

Do you agree with me on these?