SPOILER ALERT
These reviews are for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Delirium and Pandemonium, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.
But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.
An interesting look into Lena's mother's past and time in the Crypts. Written in the same style as book 2, it worked well to compare the beginning of the Cure to her current imprisonment. I would have liked to have seen/known more about that beginning time, but understand that Annabel's story wasn't as entangled with the specifics as would be informative. It was more about her continuous struggle for freedom than a full recap or story of her life. I did find the revelation of who Thomas was a great nod to continuity, since Lena wasn't able to see him to connect the dots. Anyway, on to the next novella.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.
But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.
Still not what I was hoping for from these novellas. I was hoping for an update from after the first book, leading into the second or third, especially with Hana who wasn't even mentioned in Pandemonium, but suddenly pops up as a narrator in Requiem. But instead her story focuses on that last summer she spent with Lena in Delirium. While it is interesting to see things from her perspective, especially since she was the one who started Lena on underground stuff, I still would have preferred knowing what happened leading up to/after her cure. I don't know, maybe Requiem will explain that, but considering the time difference, I would have thought a novella would have worked better?
The only other thing is, I get the feeling that ending implied a lot against Hana. I remember having some suspicion in Delirium, with her emphatic apologies, but I think this novella seals it.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As a teenager, Raven made the split-second decision to flee across the border to the Wilds, compelled to save an abandoned newborn—a baby girl left for dead and already blue from the cold. When she and the baby are taken in by a band of rebels, Raven finds herself an outsider within a tight-knit group. The only other newcomer is an untrustworthy boy known as the Thief until he finally earns himself a new name: Tack.
Now she and Tack are inseparable, committed to each other, the fledgling rebellion, and a future together. But as they both take center stage in the fight, Raven must decide whether the dangers of the revolution are worth risking her dreams of a peaceful life with Tack.
As her story hurtles back and forth between past and present, Raven transforms from a scared girl newly arrived in the Wilds to the tough leader who helps Lena save former Deliria-Free poster boy Julian Fineman from a death sentence. Whatever the original mission may have been, Raven abides by a conviction that she believes to her core: You always return for the people you love.
Since Raven was an extremely tight-lipped character, especially when it came to her past, I really appreciated learning more about her. But where the other novellas focused on one narrative (except Annabel's which had two, but both were in the relative past), Raven's wove its story through two timelines, one based at the end of Pandemonium, one when Raven first entered the Wilds. This way, we not only got to learn more about her and her past, but also got snippets of what is to come with her (and Tack). Definitely would recommend to anyone who has finished Pandemonium about to start Requiem.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Alex sacrificed himself to save Lena, he thought he was committing himself to certain death, but what he got was almost worse. Imprisoned and tortured by the guards, his mind forces him to relive a past he would rather forget. But in the dark he grows stronger. Both hopeful and terrified, he fights to find his way back to her and the love he still clings to.
I honestly don't understand the numbering for this novella. I would have placed it after Pandemonium so that the surprise of Alex being alive plays out better, like how I read it. But whatever, I guess.
Not as enlightening as Annabel's novella was. Mostly it's telling us how Alex escaped and still held out hope to find and be with Lena again - but it doesn't explain his bitchy attitude at the end of book 2/beginning of book 3. We don't see him when he finds out about her exploits, we can only assume (for the moment) that he feels bitter. But honestly, he said he died, he was shot in the chest, and Lena saw it so what was she supposed to believe? Bah - I guess I was just looking for more of his reaction to finding Lena, and less of what we already knew happened (aka his imprisonment and his escape).
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
These reviews are for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Delirium and Pandemonium, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.
But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.
An interesting look into Lena's mother's past and time in the Crypts. Written in the same style as book 2, it worked well to compare the beginning of the Cure to her current imprisonment. I would have liked to have seen/known more about that beginning time, but understand that Annabel's story wasn't as entangled with the specifics as would be informative. It was more about her continuous struggle for freedom than a full recap or story of her life. I did find the revelation of who Thomas was a great nod to continuity, since Lena wasn't able to see him to connect the dots. Anyway, on to the next novella.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.
But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.
Still not what I was hoping for from these novellas. I was hoping for an update from after the first book, leading into the second or third, especially with Hana who wasn't even mentioned in Pandemonium, but suddenly pops up as a narrator in Requiem. But instead her story focuses on that last summer she spent with Lena in Delirium. While it is interesting to see things from her perspective, especially since she was the one who started Lena on underground stuff, I still would have preferred knowing what happened leading up to/after her cure. I don't know, maybe Requiem will explain that, but considering the time difference, I would have thought a novella would have worked better?
The only other thing is, I get the feeling that ending implied a lot against Hana. I remember having some suspicion in Delirium, with her emphatic apologies, but I think this novella seals it.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As a teenager, Raven made the split-second decision to flee across the border to the Wilds, compelled to save an abandoned newborn—a baby girl left for dead and already blue from the cold. When she and the baby are taken in by a band of rebels, Raven finds herself an outsider within a tight-knit group. The only other newcomer is an untrustworthy boy known as the Thief until he finally earns himself a new name: Tack.
Now she and Tack are inseparable, committed to each other, the fledgling rebellion, and a future together. But as they both take center stage in the fight, Raven must decide whether the dangers of the revolution are worth risking her dreams of a peaceful life with Tack.
As her story hurtles back and forth between past and present, Raven transforms from a scared girl newly arrived in the Wilds to the tough leader who helps Lena save former Deliria-Free poster boy Julian Fineman from a death sentence. Whatever the original mission may have been, Raven abides by a conviction that she believes to her core: You always return for the people you love.
Since Raven was an extremely tight-lipped character, especially when it came to her past, I really appreciated learning more about her. But where the other novellas focused on one narrative (except Annabel's which had two, but both were in the relative past), Raven's wove its story through two timelines, one based at the end of Pandemonium, one when Raven first entered the Wilds. This way, we not only got to learn more about her and her past, but also got snippets of what is to come with her (and Tack). Definitely would recommend to anyone who has finished Pandemonium about to start Requiem.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Alex sacrificed himself to save Lena, he thought he was committing himself to certain death, but what he got was almost worse. Imprisoned and tortured by the guards, his mind forces him to relive a past he would rather forget. But in the dark he grows stronger. Both hopeful and terrified, he fights to find his way back to her and the love he still clings to.
I honestly don't understand the numbering for this novella. I would have placed it after Pandemonium so that the surprise of Alex being alive plays out better, like how I read it. But whatever, I guess.
Not as enlightening as Annabel's novella was. Mostly it's telling us how Alex escaped and still held out hope to find and be with Lena again - but it doesn't explain his bitchy attitude at the end of book 2/beginning of book 3. We don't see him when he finds out about her exploits, we can only assume (for the moment) that he feels bitter. But honestly, he said he died, he was shot in the chest, and Lena saw it so what was she supposed to believe? Bah - I guess I was just looking for more of his reaction to finding Lena, and less of what we already knew happened (aka his imprisonment and his escape).
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
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