Welcome to the MOSL Book Challenge
In all honesty, I will probably read every book that Taylor Jenkins Reid ever writes because I am still so in love with Maybe in Another Life. However, I feel like I've set myself up for disappointment because no book will probably ever top it.
However, I truly did enjoy One True Loves, as it was an emotional story about love and a refreshing discussion what "true love" really is. This book made me smile, it made me cry, it touched my heart, it made me analyze my entire life and all the choices I've made; meaning, it was another fantastic novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
331 pages
Requiem is the third and final installment in the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. I read this book in about 3 days, and I was left wholly unsatisfied. It's a disturbing trend for books and stories that are stretched into a trilogy when the author doesn't really have that trilogy mapped out well enough.
Lauren Oliver's excellent writing is the only thing that holds this novel together, but the character development and overall story is somewhat forced/contrived. The chapters are split between Lena and Hana's points of view. While it's nice to get a glimpse of what's been happening in Portland while Lena's been away, I truly hate the trend of switching points of view in novels. It's jarring and confusing. Also, love triangles are the worst plot-lines of all time.
The end of the novel is disappointing, as it leaves everything open and unresolved. While it's perfectly okay to not have a revolutionary novel wrapped up in a nice, pretty bow, I certainly needed more of a conclusion and closure than what Requiem provides. To become invested in Lena's character for 3 novels, only to have no idea what happens to her afterward...it's a complete and total letdown.
391 pages
Pandemonium is the sequel to Delirium, and it divides the chapters between "Then" and "Now." The "Then" chapters are flashbacks to Lena's dire situation at the end of Delirium and the "Now" is Lena's present day. The time difference is a little confusing at first, but eventually it makes for tense drama in both the past and present.
Even though Pandemonium doesn't quite live up to the beauty of Delirium, I still thoroughly enjoyed Lauren Oliver's writing as well as Lena's journey of change and self-discovery. I won't write too much more, because that would spoil many things, but I liked the new characters introduced in this book!
Lauren Oliver's writing continues to blow me away; it's so good that you wish you could go back in time and read her books again for the first time.
375 pages
Summary: "Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, she falls in love."
Lauren Oliver's first book, Before I Fall, was an absolute gem, and I could not wait to dive into her next book, Delirium. Delirium is the first book in a trilogy. If you weren't familiar with Oliver's writing, you might be tempted to think this is just another run-of-the-mill dystopic YA novel. However, Oliver's writing is incredibly beautiful, haunting and poignant (without being over-the-top). The world that Oliver creates isn't too different from our own, and Lena is just as spirited and flawed as Sam was in Before I Fall. I loved every second of it, and while it was a bit predictable, I can't wait to see what happens next.
441 pages
