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.

World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee

Description from Goodreads:

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

--

Before I start to talk about the actual review, I think I need to mention that my expectations for World After were exceptionally high. I loved the first book of the series, Angelfall , and I think I could even mention it being one of my favourite horror books as it seemed to had it all: intriguing but imperfect female protagonist, disturbing and haunting world, and a continuous threat that could develop into anything and everything. So, if the first book is something like I just described, it is pretty natural to expect similar text from the second one. But I'm afraid, that at least I have to say that my expectations weren't met. 

We were left off in a very intense situation in the end of the first book, but World After takes a slightly calmer approach which is totally fine as the readers indeed need to take a breath after all that action and chaos. However, the calm does last for very long as Penryn, Paige, and their mother reach a resistance military camp where they need to think about their next move. The beginning sort of drags on even though Ee includes some action and interesting insights to Raffe's past (which are my favourite parts of the book!!). However, I couldn't help the feeling that all this was seen already before: Penryn's kickass martial arts, Penryn's mother doing her own crazy thing, and then one of the most disappointing twists: Paige goes missing, AGAIN. 

So of course, Penryn needs to go after her, maybe even more so now as Paige has been the object of terrifying human experiments which has turned her into a demi demon, causing her to lust after raw meat (even though her spirit still was the same old Paige). And the similarities to the first book do not end here (spoilers ahead so if you don't want to know what is going to happen in the book, please do not read) : Penryn gets captured by the terrifying Scorpions (like she got caught by the resistance) but she manages to escape (like she did from the resistance camp) and Penryn also infiltrates the Angel headquarters and gets to be an eye candy for the Angels (like she infiltrated the Aerie in the first book and had to flirt with one of the angels), and gets rescued by Raffe in the end. I just kept feeling that I was reading the same book for the second time with only slight changes and additions. I was hoping World After to have a unique plot from the first one but instead they ended up being rather similar, at least in my opinion.

One another thing that was sorely disappointing was the relationship development between Penryn and Raffe. In the first book, we get quite a lot of teasing (which is just fine by me) yet there were some sparks like the kiss we get in the end of the first book. First of all, we get a good look at Raffe only almost at the end of the book (if the flashbacks aren't included) and even though his first appearance is rather tingling and great, the rest of his time on the book was wooden and predictable. I had always liked Raffe, but I felt like his personality changed quite a lot during the second book. He suddenly started making a lot of jokes (which weren't even funny) and started teasing Penryn (which was very awkward) every chance he got. Where did the brooding and suffering Raffe go? I want him back! Secondly, I do realise that even though Penryn and Raffe had always felt the pull between them and of course they would be thrilled after seeing each other again after such a long time, I think they were just too friendly to each other after their reunion. I mean, they barely know each other and still they were all lovey dovey and almost pronouncing their undying love for each other. And that didn't suit me very well.

I'm not here to state that the book was absolute rubbish as it had it's moments as well. Penryn's combat scenes were as impressive as ever and I have to give Ee credit for doing such rigorous research for it as you can see that she didn't make it all up. I also loved the flashbacks to Raffe's earlier life which also gave some context why Raffe is the way he is and how the angels used to behave before the apocalypse. Another interesting thing that I didn't see coming was that we also get to know what Paige experienced while she was angels' captive. Those details gave the book another dimensions that it desperately needed.

I think I do want to read the third book of the series, but I have admit that I won't be having as high expectations as I had for this one. The thing that I'm most afraid is that the relationship between Penryn and Raffe is going to end up being very superficial and predictable. They had so good start in the first book but the direction they are headed doesn't sound very appealing to me. I guess we just need to wait and see.

☆☆

I'm back!

Hi there!

I'm incredibly sorry I have been absent for almost 6 months. I can't believe it has been that long since I have actually posted a review! One of the most important qualities of a good blogger is to post regularly, and I have failed miserably in that area. But no fear - there's going to be a change! Even though I'm still rather busy with all my university stuff, I have made a promise to myself to keep reading other books besides psychology books, so you can expect to see more of my reviews from now on.  I hope you're not too upset with me (if you even noticed that I had been gone) for being absent. And thank you for sticking with me!!