Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Trilogy #2)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Photo credit: Eckhart Public Library)

It took a long time for me to get around to reading the second in this series and I’m not sure why as I absolutely loved Delirium the first in the trilogy. However as the author is so good it didn’t take me long to get drawn right into the world that she has created. It’s an original idea that she has come up with especially in a world filled with so much young adult dystopia fiction at the moment. Most of it mediocre at best.

The strange thing about the main character, Lena, is that you don’t automatically love her but she somehow slowly makes you start to like her and eventually you find yourself rooting for her and really wanting her to come out on top. I really enjoyed the introduction of Julian as a new love interest even though it really surprised me. In a world where love is a disease and the main character had never experienced any kind of love before she met Alex in Delirium I didn’t expect the introduction of a new male character. However I liked Julian, possibly more than I liked Alex and I’m intrigued to see where him and Lena go in the final novel.

Storyline-wise, this installment was pretty fast paced and exciting. As I previously mentioned it didn’t develop in the direction that I thought it would. I assumed that Alex would somehow miraculously survive and that Lena would go on a dangerous rescue mission to save him or something along those lines. However Alex is just a painful memory for Lena and she believes him dead and gone. This instalment centers more around the Invalids living in the Wilds who take Lena in and she becomes part of the resistance.

Once again this author kept me enthralled and I’m looking forward to finishing up this trilogy.

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Annabel by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Novella #2)

Now this was much better than the Hana novella. It was really interesting to find out more about Lena’s mother and how she ended up in the Crypts and eventually how she escaped. What was really good about this novella was that you really learn a lot more about the whole world that the series is based in.

It was particularly interesting to see how Annabel ended up with Lena’s father and how the cure didn’t work and she was able to love Lena and Rachel properly like a genuine mother would.

I enjoyed reading this novella and though Hana was a bitter disappointment this made up for it and I would definitely recommend any Delirium fans to purchase this.

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Hana by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Novella #1)

This was a bit of a waste of my money to be brutally honest. I’m always nervous when it comes to buying these little novellas as I find them hit and miss at the best of times. I always hope that they will at least tell you a little more about favourite characters and more about the background of the storyline. This did neither really. Yes, we see more of Hana but I’m not an enormous fan of hers.

We see very little of any other characters other than a tiny bit of Lena and Alex at the end but we don’t see anything new from them. Also we learn nothing new about the whole world that the books are set in which was disappointing to say the least as overall that is what interests me most in this series.

Not worth buying to anyone who’s currently thinking about it. You will learn nothing new.

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Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy #5)

Cover of Spirit Bound (Vampire Academy, Book 5)

Hmmm…. For awhile there I wasn’t really truly enjoying these books. I felt like the main character, Rose, was too self-involved and in love with herself but, somehow, I’ve begun to like her all over again. She is still self-involved but maybe not as much and she’s not as in love with herself as she has been in previous books. However she is still very much flawed but I’m beginning to accept that and even kind of like that about her. I can tell you it makes the whole book a much nicer reading experience when you don’t detest the main character.

This installment begins at St.Vladmirs but we don’t stay there long as Rose graduates and moves to Court with Lissa and the rest of the gang. We only travel a bit outside the Court throughout the rest of the book which might seem a little boring compared to the last books trip across Russia but it actually wasn’t. I found it still as fast-paced and exciting and I wasn’t ever bored.

Here’s the bad part, the bit where Rose and Lissa broke Victor out of prison bothered me for a few reasons. One, Rose completely used both Eddie and Mikhail for her own advantage and their disadvantage, risking both their lives and their careers. Two, why didn’t she try to find Victors brother herself first instead of breaking Victor out of a high security prison just so he could call him up and say ‘Hey Bro, it’s your criminal brother here wanna meet up?’. Three, three teenagers are able to break a man out of what is supposedly the toughest maximum security prison in their world. Pushing it just a little I think.

So the main romantic storyline of Rose and Dimitri takes an unexpected turn with Dimitri being restored to his previous glory. I didn’t like the way he became towards Rose but I suppose it was never going to be easy. The person I really feel sorry for is Adrian who is just an awkward third wheel, poor pet. I’m kind of torn myself between the two men, I used to much prefer Dimitri over Adrian but now I’m leaning a little more towards Adrian. Also, I don’t get the whole drinking blood thing. It’s bad but it’s not bad but it is really is basically how I understand it.

Anyway I’m really looking forward to the last book in the series and I think I’ll miss the characters when I’m finished with it. I’m interested to see who, if anyone, Rose ends up with and how the rest of the storylines play out.

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