Review: Snow & Caramel: A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller, by Jay Kerk

 

Title: Snow & Caramel: A Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller

Author: Jay Kerk

Format: ebook

Source: NetGalley

From NetGalley: "We stood against the big humans: the oppressors, the opponents, the enemies, the hated.

These were all names I had learned for them, and yet were they the right names? Experience screamed yes, logic screamed no, and I grappled with morality as I grappled with slavery, unable to tell what made a man and what made a monster. Where did we fit, we oppressed? 

Snow – white ice made in freezing clouds atop the world. I am Snow, and the world we live in has no place for snow, no place for me or my kind, save in labor and death. The radiation of the sun burns up the land and the bigger humans that stalk this Earth have claimed it for their own. They care nothing for us smaller folk. 

Caramel – soft, silky, sweet. Little Caramel, the sweetest of sisters. I would not allow the world to burn her as it burned her namesake. I would keep her safe and golden if it cost me everything. She was the only beauty left in life. 

In our reality, with force and a few coins, you had power of life and death over a creature of equal awareness and thought. How had it world come to this? How could any of us, especially those so small as we were, create cracks in which to sow the seeds of change? I did not know the answers, but when I stared across parched land, I knew that the cracks must be found, the seeds sown, or the world could never heal."

My Opinion: This story touched me on a visceral level because it dealt with oppression and discrimination, slavery and cruelty, but also hope and love, compassion and strength. It is set in a dystopian future where the "big humans" are able to buy and sell the smaller race of "humanoids." It throws the cruelty of the owners right in your face as they have complete control over this sweet brother and sister, and it shows how this cruelty is taught to the next generation. But it also shows the strength that Snow, as the older brother taking care of his young sister, has, and how he, in turn, is passing that on to her. 

I thought the writing was superb. I was drawn in immediately and became invested in the story from the get go. The characters were well written and the plot moved along at a very good pace. My only complaint is that the story was too brief, being a novella. I would love to read more.

I highly recommend this story to all lovers of dystopian, horror stories that deal with uncomfortable subject matter in a way that is extremely well written and moving. I look forward to reading other works by this talented author.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Paradise Girl: A gripping psychological drama, by Phill Featherstone

Title: Paradise Girl: A gripping psychological drama
Author: Phill Featherstone
Format: ebook
Source: BookSirens

From Goodreads: "A fatal virus ravages Kerryl's community, wiping out her friends and family.

Left on her own, it isn't long before she starts to lose her grip on reality. She's convinced that she, too, will soon fall prey to the infection, and decides to record in a diary what she thinks will be her last days.

She imagines a reader, and calls him Adam. As the empty days pass, Adam becomes increasingly real to her until his presence dominates her life and she becomes emotionally obsessed by him. She is elated when she receives what she thinks is an invitation from him to a date at a local beauty spot, and sets out across the moor to meet Adam, and her fate.

'The truth is blurred in this captivating psychological thriller, which saves its final surprise until a twist at the very end.'

Paradise Girl has received 'Chill With a Book' Readers' and Book of the Month Awards, an Indie BRAG Medallion, and is a finalist in the Wishing Shelf 2018 Awards."

My Opinion: I will admit to feeling a bit of trepidation when I read the synopsis of this book because I wasn't sure if a book told in diary form, from the viewpoint of a completely isolated teenage girl (who may or may not be the only survivor from her neck of the woods (Yorkshire, England) following the outbreak of a devastating and deadly virus), would be able to hold my interest, but boy was I wrong to worry!! I enjoyed the story so much it took me by surprise.  "A gripping psychological drama" is the perfect description of this book. The writing was amazing, the world building enticing enough to make me want to jump on a plane immediately and visit the moors of Yorkshire, and the pacing perfect. Not to be sexist, but I was very, very surprised that an adult man could get into the mind of a teenage girl with such accuracy, but he certainly nailed it.

This story grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go until the very last page, and actually stayed with me long after that. The word that comes to mind when I think about it now is "haunting."

In summary, I highly recommend this book to YA fans of dystopian fiction and truly gripping psychological drama. I'm giving it a very enthusiastic 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from BookSirens in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain #1), by Kellie Sheridan

Title: Mortality (The Hitchhiker Strain #1)
Author: Kellie Sheridan
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: After surviving a deadly plague outbreak, sixteen-year-old Savannah thought she had lived through the very worst of human history. There was no way to know that the miracle vaccine would put everyone at risk for a fate worse than un-death. 

Now, two very different kinds of infected walk the Earth, intent on nothing but feeding and destroying what little remains of civilization. When the inoculated are bitten, infection means watching on in silent horror as self-control disappears and the idea of feasting on loved ones becomes increasingly hard to ignore. 

Starving and forced to live inside of the abandoned high school, all Savannah wants is the chance to fight back. When a strange boy arrives with a plan to set everything right, she gets her chance. Meeting Cole changes everything. Mere survival will never be enough.

My Opinion: I love a good zombie book, and this story didn't let me down. There was lots of action, lots of zombie ass kicking, and some sweet YA romance thrown in for good measure. The characters were well developed, the plot moved along at a pretty good clip, and the world building was phenomenal, in that it portrayed a very bleak and deserted world full of violence and general mayhem, with just enough hope sprinkled in to keep you going.

There are two main stories told here - Savannah's, along with her friends, and Zarah and Liam's. They all inhabit the same world, but their experiences are completely different, and it is these differences that shape the characters and drive the separate storylines. I would love to say that I have a favorite, but I kept switching back and forth and finally gave up trying to choose and just enjoyed them both!

In summary, I really, really enjoyed this story, and give it 5/5 stars :)

Review: Sneak (Swipe #2), by Evan Angler

Title: Sneak (Swipe #2)
Author: Evan Angler
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "When Logan Langly backed out of getting the Mark and went on the run, no one thought he could survive on his own. Without the Mark, you can't buy food, go to the doctor, or use a tablet--you aren't even a citizen.

But when he discovers that his sister is being held in a mysterious hidden prison named Acheron, Logan risks everything to travel through an underground network of the Markless to rescue her.

Logan arrives only to find that Acheron holds more secrets than anyone could have guessed and that all his careful planning is worthless against a government that will do anything to gain absolute control.

It seems there is only one place to turn. But can a banned book with whisper-thin pages and warnings about the real meaning of the Mark really hold the Answer?"

My Opinion: I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't think this book (the dreaded second book in a series) would be able to live up to the first one (Swipe), but not only did it live up to it, I honestly think it surpassed it! We got to know the individual characters a lot better as they traveled in groups to Beacon to find a prison that nobody talks about or even knows about (Archeron) and free Logan's sister, Lily. Along the way they meet up with hardship and danger, but not even this will shake them from their goal. They become a family who trust each other and who have each other's backs, even if they don't agree with some of the actions taken by their "leaders", Peck and Logan. Logan is betrayed by one of his own, but this just strengthens his resolve to find his sister. 

Along the way to Beacon, the groups meet up with people who help them get where they are going, and who offer them food and rest when it is most needed. Some of these people are Marked and some are Markless, but they all agree that something has to change in their Union's leadership. They have a secret network that helps the Markless find their way to safety called the River, and they call themselves "fishers of man," which anyone who has read the Bible will recognize as the words of Jesus himself.  It is in essence set up like the Underground Railroad, which I thought was incorporated into the story very well. They call the path the "Unmarked River" and the kids have to look for certain symbols carved into trees and such along the way so they don't get lost and end up in the desert with no food or water. They also have to be very careful to look for any symbol that means the place they are heading is a trap set to catch the Markless, not help them, but they don't always see it, which results in chaos and occasionally violence, but even this does not stop them. 

There is no religion allowed in their time but Logan is given a (banned) book by a Markless and really enjoys reading the stories in it. Only after his group meets up with the rest of the Dust and they find a huge Markless community that has an underground church in it does he find out that the book he was given was the Bible and the stories in it are true. Yes, this is Christian fiction, but I don't feel like Mr. Angler beats us over the head with it; he weaves the religion seamlessly into the story line and brings it up only when it furthers the story. To a Christian such as myself, this book is a lot more mainstream than straight up Christian fiction, but that is only my opinion. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed how religion was used to stir the pot so to speak, and not just added willy nilly so that it could be called "Christian fiction!"

I was also happy with the ending and felt like it set the scene for the beginning of the third book perfectly, and I really don't say that very often! All in all, I felt like this was an excellent second book in what has so far been a very interesting and unique look at Revelations and the Mark of the Beast, showing how anybody who thought independently was ostracized from society and had to try to make it on their own, which was nearly impossible unless you joined a group of Markless to have your back. I thought the world building was excellent and the explanations for how the Earth got to the point that it was were believable and well written. The descriptions were spot on and made me very thirsty when the kids were traveling in the heat with no water! There was definite character growth in this book, which is really what a second book should have - the world building was done in the first book, so I expect the characters in the second book to be at the forefront so we can get to know them and relate to them, and even feel like we are suffering alongside them. 

In summary, I am giving this book a very enthusiastic 5 stars! I can definitely recommend this series to fans of YA, dystopian worlds, and Christian fiction. 

Review: Crimson Rising (Skyship Academy #2), by Nick James

Title: Crimson Rising (Skyship Academy #2)
Author: Nick James
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Our best-selling sci-fi series continues

Following their dramatic showdown in Seattle, Jesse Fisher and Cassius Stevenson find their world’s been turned inside out. The faculty at Skyship Academy is keeping Jesse a prisoner in his own home, fearful of his influence over Pearls. And Cassius, once a loyal Pearlhound for the Unified Party, has been pushed into hiding, fearful of his government's retaliation.

When Jesse smuggles a mysterious red Pearl onboard the Academy, he sets loose a destructive chain of events, which lead him to a reunion with Cassius and a confrontation with Theo -- a bloodthirsty Pearlhound with a dangerous secret. 
But a larger threat looms in the stars. An enemy is gathering, with plans to exterminate the entire human race. And Jesse and Cassius might just be the lynch pins that trigger mankind's destruction."

My Opinion: My opinion is very simple: I loved it!! What an awesome installment in what is becoming one of my favorite series! This book blends action, suspense, and science fiction perfectly!

In the Pearl Wars, we're introduced to a post-apocalyptic/dystopian society where sources of energy, or Pearls, are desperately needed, so when one comes down from space, the race is on to see who will find it first. Enter Jesse and Cassius, one working for the Skyship Academy and the other working for the Unified Party, who find out that they are brothers. We also find out that they are aliens, which really intrigued me. Now they are both trying to learn how to use their powers (Cassius burns from the inside and has a bad habit of catching rooms on fire without meaning to, and Jesse can open Pearls, which comes in handy in this destitute world where they are in such demand). They are both also on the run and separated from each other, so they each have their own exciting adventures in the book before they come together for what turns out to be a big showdown. 

I often find that sequels to books that I absolutely fall in love with aren't as good as the first, but that's not the case here. The writing was just as exciting, and the twists and turns that the story takes kept me on the edge of my seat! The characters, good and bad, are all well written, and the pacing is perfect. I honestly can't say who I like better, Jesse or Cassius, since I go back and forth all through the book, but I think that makes it all the more exciting! 

In summary, I absolutely loved this installment in the Skyship Academy series and recommend it to fans of action packed YA sci-fi stories. I'm giving it a very enthusiastic 5 stars :D

I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: Branded (Sinners #1), by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

Title: Branded (Sinners #1)
Authors: Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best. 
Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home. 

Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain. 

Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.

The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me. 
I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter. 
My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story."

My Opinion: This was a very powerful book! I just have to say that right off because you need to be prepared for violence and the worst that people can do when you read it. In the society of Branded, anyone can be accused of one of the seven deadly sins, and if they are accused then they are sent to The Hole and branded without ever having a trial or being able to speak in their own defense. The Hole is a prison that is nothing better than a slum that the prisoners are forced to live and work in, with guards everywhere who would just as easily shoot you as look at you. The guards are sadistic animals for the most part, although there are a few good ones, one of which is Cole, the guard assigned to Lexi when she is falsely accused of the sin of Lust and is branded with a blue ring around her neck (the color that lets everyone know what her sin was) and thrown in the Hole. 

This book moved very fast at times, and then at other times I felt the narrative bogged it down. I felt that the threat of death over both Lexi and Cole if they ever got close would have caused them to fight their feelings a bit more, but once you get past the slower parts, the book picks up again at an almost break neck pace, hurtling the reader to the conclusion.

Overall I enjoyed Branded and was able to deal with the violence because it wasn't gratuitous - it simply let the reader in on what it was like in The Hole, the "realness" of it is what kept me reading even when I was uncomfortable with it. 

I look forward to reading the next installment and recommend it to readers who don't shy away from violence in a messy dystopian world. I give this book 4 stars :D

I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review: The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1), by Megan Crewe

Title: The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1)
Author: Megan Crewe
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in. 

And then you're dead.

When sixteen-year-old Kaelyn lets her best friend leave for school without saying goodbye, she never dreams that she might not see him again. But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her small island community, infecting young and old alike. As the dead pile up, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for the island’s dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn't?
Poignant and dizzying, The Way We Fall is the heart-wrenching story of one girl's bravery and unbeatable spirit as she challenges not just her fears, but her sense of what makes life worth living."

My Opinion:  I wasn't sure I was going to like this book when I found out it was told in the form of journal entries, but I was very pleasantly surprised! The girl telling the story is a 16 year old named Kaelyn who is writing to her estranged best friend, Leo, telling him all about the troubles on their island.  People are getting sick and acting crazy as an unidentified virus spreads from person to person, eventually killing most of the townspeople. The islanders turn to the Canadian government for help but instead of salvation they find themselves quarantined. As supplies start to run out, Kaelyn and some of the other young adults who have survived thus far team together to help out in whatever way they can.

When the story starts, Kaelyn is a very shy girl who is more comfortable burying her head in the sand than confronting problems head on, but she decides that she doesn't want to be this way anymore, and in order to change she needs to put herself out there and risk getting hurt. Talk about character growth! We see Kaelyn evolve from a scared little girl to a more confident young woman over the course of her story.  She even manages to find romance during this awful time, with the scrumptious Gav, and enters into a tenuous friendship with Tessa, who she considers a rival for Leo's affection. 

I am so in awe of Megan Crewe's writing! Like I mentioned above, I wasn't sure how the story being told just from Kaelyn's POV in letters to Leo would come across, but in Ms. Crewe's capable hands I loved it, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, The Lives We Lost. I'm giving this book a very enthusiastic 5 stars and recommend it to fans of post-apoc/dystopian, YA, survival stories :D

Review: Dearly, Beloved (Gone With the Respiration #2), by Lia Habel

Title: Dearly, Beloved (Gone With the Respiration #2)
Author: Lia Habel
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Can the living coexist with the living dead? 

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling."

My Opinion: Dearly, Departed was one of my favorite books from last year so I was really psyched to get approved by NetGalley for Dearly, Beloved, and I wasn't disappointed. D,B picks up a few months after where we left off at the end of D,D, with the zombies now out in the open and everyone trying to find a way to live together. Well, not quite everyone - there's still a lot of anti-zombie prejudice going on, even though the zombies who are trying to find a way to live in the real world are for the most part high functioning and have retained most of their intelligence from before they were turned. In other words, they're not the ones who will chase you down and eat your brains for fun! Unfortunately, these same high functioning zombies are being kidnapped off the streets by a mysterious group of bird mask wearing humans for God only knows what reason. There is also a new strain of the Laz that the vaccine doesn't protect against, so all told, there's a lot going on in New Victoria! 

This book, like the last, is told through multiple POVs, with some new ones mixed in with the old. There are six POVs altogether, belonging to Nora, Bram, Pamela, Michael, Vespertine, and Laura - perhaps my favorite new character! Laura is a zombie who tries to deal with the fact that her body is dead and decaying by planting flowers directly into her skin, so that they grow and blossom all over her body! The way that she manages to find something beautiful in the midst of all of the violence and death that surrounds her is very endearing.

Although I enjoyed this installment in the Gone with the Respiration series, I didn't feel that it was as good as Dearly, Departed was, and I think that's because there was just too much going on, which is strange because I also felt that the book started off rather slow and took a while to gain momentum. That being said, I thought the story flowed rather well once it took off. I really enjoyed the continuation of the love story between Nora and Bram, and I thought having Pam deal with PTSD following everything that happened to her in the first book was a great addition to the story. It showed a strength in her that I hope will continue to grow in the next book. 

All told, I'm giving Dearly, Beloved 4 stars and I'm really looking forward to reading book 3 when it comes out to see what fresh hell the amazing Ms. Habel has in store for one of my favorite couples :D

Review: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2), by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads: "Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike."

My Opinion: This book has reinforced what I thought after reading The Immortal Rules, and that is that Julie Kagawa is a Goddess!! I didn't think she could impress me any more than she already has, but she did! In The Eternity Cure we get to know Allie a lot better than we did before, especially since she's traveling by herself at the start of it, trying to find and rescue her maker, Kanin. We get to delve into her psyche, which is such an interesting place to go! Allie is not a black and white character but that's what makes reading about her so awesome. And speaking of awesome - Eternity has something no other book has, and that's Allie's blood brother, Jackal! I swear, I could read about Jackal from now til the end of time and never get bored with him! Yes, he's evil and selfish and just plain incorrigible, but in The Eternity Cure, we get to see a side to him that we haven't before - his loyalty to the maker that he hates with a passion, and his sister, Allie. I think Allie is the only one who could bring this out in him. They have such a complicated and emotional relationship, and it's a joy to read. Besides that, Jackal is just plain hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud at some of his comments and antics, which was a nice break from the desolation and violence of the world in which the Blood of Eden series is set. This second book is even more bleak with the introduction of the new strain of the Red Lung virus which is killing off humans and vampires alike. The personal relationships and the search for the cause of this new strain and a possible cure are woven together flawlessly so you don't feel like one aspect supersedes the other in importance. 

Speaking of personal relationships, I enjoyed Zeke so much more in this book because he has really grown up and come into his own since his father's death. He has had to toughen up and become harder to protect the people he loves, and this makes it much easier to relate to him. He is still fighting his attraction to Allie but the magnetic draw between the two of them is hard for him to ignore.

I felt like we got to know all of the major players so much better in this installment of the series, and that's what makes Julie Kagawa's books so great to read - you find yourself drawn into this absolutely foreign world and you don't want to leave when you've finished the book! Because the books are so well written, you fly through them, and The Eternity Cure is no exception. 

I'm giving this book a very enthusiastic 5 stars and recommend it to all lovers of young adult post-apoc/dystopian stories, vampire tales, and Julie Kagawa!! I can't wait to read the next book and will be first in line when it comes out :D

Review: Pandemonium (Delirium #2), by Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Source: Borrowed from library
Format: ebook

From Goodreads: "So what was your name before?" I say, and she freezes, her back to me. "Before you came to the Wilds, I mean."

For a moment she stands there.

Then she turns around.

"You might as well get used to it now," she says with quite intensity.

"Everything you were, the life you had, the people you knew... dust."

She shakes her head and says, a little more firmly, "There is no before. There is only now, and what comes next."

After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive the "cure" - an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love - but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. Although she is bereft without the boy she loves, her struggles seem to be leading her toward a new love."

My Opinion: I just finished this book and all I can think is: Holy freaking cliffhanger, Batman!!! I kid you not! I haven't been this excited to start the third book in a trilogy in a long time because I HAVE to find out what happens next! I'll try to calm down a little bit and give you my thoughts on this most awesome book. 

Lena has made it over the fence and into the Wilds, but unfortunately Alex didn't, and now Lena has to try to find her own way in an unknown and terrifying new world. Near death, she is found by a homesteader, Raven, one of a group of people who live and work together just to survive. There she begins to slowly rebuild her life and find a new purpose. 

The chapters switch off between "then" (when she first got to the Wilds and the months following) and "now" (approximately six months after that). Both time periods are interesting and the "then" chapters help us to understand how the "now" chapters came about.

When you're reading a really good book, a story that you enter completely while reading it, and things are going well for the characters, you just know something bad has to happen to them to shake things up. You feel the dread building up inside of you, knowing it will happen but hoping it doesn't, but at the same time anticipation is building because you know when it does it will catapult the story into whole new exciting places, so that when it does happens you just have to cry out loud "Oh my God!" THAT's the moment when you know if the author is a good one or a great one. If you can't turn the pages fast enough at that point to find out where the story is taking you now, then it's a great author, and I can unequivocally state that Lauren Oliver is definitely one of the best!! 

If you can't tell yet, I devoured this story in less than 24 hours because I didn't care what was going on around me (yeah, I have to apologize to my kids who kept annoyingly requesting things like food and drink, only to be told "Just 5 more minutes!" Of course, they are kind of used to that by now since this happens a lot with me when I find a really good book :D) and would give it 10 stars if I could! I highly recommend it to lovers of dystopian stories since this is one of the best I've read to date. Since I can't give it 10 stars, I give it a very, very enthusiastic 5 stars!! Now, I have to go bug everyone I know for a copy of Requiem so I can read it right away :D

Quickie review: Delirium (Delirium #1), by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Format: ebook
Source: Borrowed from library

From Goodreads: "Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.
I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.
I want to get it over with.
It’s hard to be patient.
It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.
Still, I worry.
They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.
The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t."

My Opinion: I just finished this book and now I finally know what all of the hoopla surrounding this series was all about!! It was So. Bloody. Good!! Lena was fascinating to watch as she grew into herself and learned to really think for herself, and Alex was every girl's dream boyfriend! Awesome!! Now I have to beg, borrow and/or steal to get my hands on a copy of the next book ASAP! 

I give Delirium a very enthusiastic 5 stars :D