Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Description from Goodreads:

I HAVE DONE BAD THINGS.

I CAN'T TAKE THEM BACK,

AND THEY ARE PART OF WHO I AM.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever... because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

--

Another gripping book from Roth! However, even though as much as I liked Insurgent, I have to admit it wasn't as good as Divergent. But that usually happens to me, liking the first book more than the second one, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. The second instalment did offer once again lots of action, some great twists, realistic handling of the emotions concerning the aftermath, and some drama between Tris and Four.

My favourite thing in this book was the depiction of Tris coping with the loss of her parents, killing her friend, and the overall trauma caused by the betrayal and attack by Erudite. Even though post-traumatic stress disorder is a disorder that might be sometimes difficult to depict as it can have various forms, I think Roth did a pretty good job depicting one variation that affected Tris: she became depressed; saw nightmares; had trust difficulties that had subsequent effects on her relationships, especially with Four; had painful flashbacks; and at times she felt empty and lethargic. And the fact that her PTSD didn't last for only for the first chapter, but was one of the major themes lasting the whole book, made me rather happy (if you could say so). Her emotional distress became very realistic as her symptoms persisted and persevered, protruding into all aspects of her life. 

And of course like I already mentioned, it would be only natural that her PTSD would influence also her relationship with Four. He is trying to be as supportive and understanding as possible when it comes to Tris's emotional turmoil, but Tris keeps pushing him away which understandably creates tension between these two. I liked that now that they are officially together, their relationship wasn't depicted through rose-tinted glasses, but it was made as relationships really are: there are ups and downs. Even though I did like Four before, I only started loving him in this second book. He was so attentive to her needs, caring, and understanding with Tris, but yet staying true to his own character. In Divergent we see him as this independent and headstrong man, but in Insurgent we get to see a softer side of him which I really enjoyed. His character development is proceeding pretty well and I'm hoping to see more of it in Allegiant.  

The plot in overall was definitely better than an average one, but the end felt a little bit of anti-climatic for me. There was a situation going on maybe after I've had read 75% of the book which would have ended the book perfectly, but no. The book continued. I had read somewhere before staring the book, that there would be a big reveal in the end of Insurgent, but for me it was more of a confirmation to my suspicions more than anything else. I was rather happy nevertheless that we got a little bit of information why Tris lives in a society where people are divided into factions, because I was already hoping to know it in the first book. Nevertheless, I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but otherwise the book kept me fully entertained the whole time.

I'm rather scared to start reading the third book, Allegiant, because it has the average rating of 3.63 while the the other two books have over 4.2. Of course I might end up loving Allegiant even though people in general have been a tad disappointed with it. I'm not going to read it straight away after finishing with Insurgent, but I will definitely find a copy of it in the near future. I want to know more what happened in the past and what will become of the society! 

☆☆☆ or ☆☆☆☆

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!

☆☆☆

Waiting on Wednesday (#10)

Waiting on Wednesday is about sharing a book every week you cannot wait to be published. This week, I'm waiting on

To All the Boys I've Love Before

by Jenny Han

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Chick-Lit, Contemporary

Pages: 288

Expected Publication: April 15, 2014

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Description from Goodreads:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

I don't know about you, but to me this sounds like a perfect summer read! I rarely end up reading chick-lit, but sometimes you come across with amazing sounding gems like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and you just know that you have to get a copy of it! 

What do you think about To All the Boys I've Loved Before? 

Top Ten Tuesday (#7): Spring 2014 TBR list

Top Ten Tuesday this week is about the books that are on my Spring 2014 To Be Read -list

1. The 5th Wave (The Fifth Wave, #1) by Rick Yancey. This book has been on my TBR list since it was published, and I have heard such amazing things about it that I need to find a copy of it asap and finally read it!

2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The description sounds so amazing, that I think this book could become one of favourite books ever.

3. The Selection (The Selection, #1) by Kiera Cass. Well everyone seems to have read this, so I really need to join the club.

4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. I really liked TFIOS and Paper Towns was a really good read as well, so of course I need to check out more of his books.

5. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. Hmmm, very mysterious! I need to know more.

6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I think this book is about me??

7. The Diviners (The Diviners, #1) by Libba Bray. I love the 20's and combined with some mystery The Diviners sounds too good to be true. I really need to read this one soon. 

8. Everbound (Everneath, #2) by Brodi Ashton. I really enjoyed the book one and I simply fell in love with the retelling of Persephone's tragedy. Really high expectations for Everbound. 

9. The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Jenna Fox Chronicles, #1) by Mary Pearson. This book has been on my shelf since last Spring, and I almost forgot that owned a copy before I started going through books I want to read this Spring. So maybe it would be time to put The Adoration of Jenna Fox out of its misery and read it.

10. Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1) by Veronica Rossi. I simply love post-apoocalyptic/dystopian YA novels, and since this one has pretty good ratings I want to give it a try.

What books do you want to read this spring? I have you already read any of these?

Spring Cleaning Review-a-Thon Sign Up

Romancing the Dark Side and Nocturne Romance Reads are hosting this pretty cool review-a-thon event from March 20th to March 24th 2014. The aim is to get on writing those reviews that have just been waiting to be written (because for some unknown reason someone has been procrastinating..)! If you got interested in joining, you can find more info from here. 

"My co-host Lenore from Nocturne Romance Reads and I are super excited to be hosting our first Review-A-Thon! Blogger Confession: I’m a procrastinator when it comes to writing book reviews! So when Lenore asked if I’d co-host a review-a-thon with her, I jumped at the chance to do a little spring cleaning of my review pile. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get! We hope to help make catching up a little more fun and do a little spring cleaning to that ever growing list of to-be-written reviews."

My goal will be to write 5 reviews during this event.