Author: Lauren Oliver
Category/Genre: YA, Dystopian
When I first read Delirium, I was awed by the amount of love I ended up having for the story and characters. It took me some time to get around to Pandemonium though, a few short weeks before Requiem’s release actually, and so because of that I’m going to be reviewing both of these books as a bit of double feature review post here.
Immediately from the beginning of Pandemonium, I noticed a difference in the storytelling and tone. I’d gone into the second installment with no knowledge, managing to stay away from the spoilers (thank goodness), and was pleasantly surprised by the change of setting, characters, and world. Lena felt like a much stronger character. I met new characters I grew to like through the progression of the story, and things happened that felt much more detailed than the first book. It had a heavier feel--with an edge--and I thoroughly enjoyed that.
I’m likely in the minority when it comes to Julian because I just didn’t like him much. Cool character--nice guy, but he didn’t click with me…and I didn’t really feel the chemistry between him and Lena.
The best quality of Pandemonium is there isn’t any sign of some “middle book syndrome”, but it’s even stronger…. Often beautiful and heart-wrenching. And by the end, I was thankful I already had a copy of Requiem because I couldn’t wait a second longer to find out what was going to happen next.
And that’s when things began to really hit the fan… (warning: possible spoilers if you haven’t read book two)
Requiem was both amazing and frustrating all at once. There was a lot going on. Characters coming together. Reunions that made me rejoice. POV shifts I loved and wanted to see more of. Action. Romance. My eyes were glued to these pages for twenty-four hours and I couldn’t put the book down. I wasn’t particularly fond of how the triangle was treated, with Lena toying around with Julian’s emotions to watch and see if Alex would get jealous. I mean, she did have more important things to worry about after all. *facepalm*
However…the closer I got toward the end, the more I realized something was terribly wrong and frustrating. I screamed. I cussed. I almost pulled out my hair. It was nothing I expected. I would expand more on this but it would probably contain spoilers--just know I loved every bit of the book EXCEPT the ending. What. Was. That?! So aggravating.
Nonetheless… I still liked it. Maybe I like torturing myself. I don’t know. But I want more. I don’t want this as the end.
Now, I wait for the show.
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