Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium (Delirium #2)
by Lauren Oliver 

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame. 
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

"Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you - sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever." 

A lot of series I read, the second book in the series is never as good as the first one. But in this case, I like Pandemonium so much more.

The second book in the Delirium series, Pandemonium, I found a lot different from the first book. It almost come across as a different book, just with the same main character, Lena. I didn't really like Lena in the first book, and I found she was still pretty annoying in this one as well. Just not as much. I did find a lot of growth with her character from the first book. Which I liked. She wasn't as naive as I found her in the first book.

After starting Pandemonium, something I found I didn't like was that the chapters skip from past to present. I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, so going into this book I did find myself hesitate to continue reading. But I was far to curious about what was going to happen and what was going on to stop.

The romance *sigh* ( not the good kind of sigh). I am a huge Alex fan. Alex is what saved the first book for me. So for him not being in this book sucked. But I got over that and just continued reading. But then we meet Julian. First let me say what I did like about it. In the first book it was Alex that taught Lena that love was okay. And in this book Lena did the same for Julian, as Alex did for her. I really liked how that linked to the first book, otherwise it would have seemed liked two different books. But moving on, Alex, great male character, so for Lena to (what seemed like automatically) move on to Julian, was disappointing. It made it seem like what Alex and Lena had in the first book wasn't that "real". Now I may be a little, just a little biased when it comes to Alex, but I didn't like Julian at all. I would have rather there be no romance in this book. Okay, the romance wasn't THAT bad, but like I said I might be biased. ;)

The ending, at least for me, was no surprise. Nonetheless, I still found myself chanting "Yes,yes,yes". The ending made me very happy, but still annoyed because I have to wait for the third book.

The writing, just like the first book, was beautifully written. I did really like Pandemonium more than Delirium. And the fact that this one was better for me than the first one, makes me think the third one will be even better. If you wasn't a huge fan of Delirium, I would recommend still reading this book, because it really did seem like a different book.

Rating 3/5

Waiting on Wednesday #14: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless
by Colleen Hoover
Release Date: December 31st 2012

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder: A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

I was a huge fan of  Colleen Hoover's other two books, Slammed and Point of Retreat, so I'm really looking forward to reading another book by this author.

Top Ten Tuesday #5: Books I wouldn't mind santa bringing me

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

TOP 10 BOOKS I WISH SANTA WOULD BRING ME

(These are all books I have read, but don't own.)

 My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Auracle by Gina Rosati
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
You Against Me by Jenny Downham
Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
Venom by Fiona Paul
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
The Selection by Kiera Cass
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the The Book Lover's Giveaway Hop is hosted by: I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Chapter by Chapter.

December 4th to 10th





For this giveaway I will be choosing TWO winners. First pick will win a book up to $15 from Book Depository and second place will win a book up to $10 from Book Depository.  INT as long as Book Depository ships free to your country. Check here. Good luck and Happy Holidays!

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UGG Boots Classic Short Pre/Grd (Black) - Kids' UGG Boots- 13.0 M (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Hover by Melissa West

Author links: Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

Melissa lives in a tiny suburb of Atlanta, GA with her husband and daughter. She pretends to like yoga, actually likes shoes, and could not live without coffee. Her writing heroes include greats like Jane Austen and Madeleine L'Engle.
She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.S. in Graphic Communication, both from Clemson University. Yeah, her blood runs orange.

Hover (The Taking #2) by Melissa West 

Release Date: August 6th 2013

Enter to win a signed paperback copy of Melissa's first book, Gravity. 

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December 2 - 8, 2012 Book Releases

My top pick:

The Friday Society
by Adrienne Kress
Release Date: December 6th 2012

An action-packed tale of gowns, guys, guns –and the heroines who use them all
Set in turn of the century London, The Friday Society follows the stories of three very intelligent and talented young women, all of whom are assistants to powerful men: Cora, lab assistant; Michiko, Japanese fight assistant; and Nellie, magician's assistant. The three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.
It's up to these three, in their own charming but bold way, to solve the murder–and the crimes they believe may be connected to it–without calling too much attention to themselves.
Set in the past but with a modern irreverent flare, this Steampunk whodunit introduces three unforgettable and very ladylike–well, relatively ladylike–heroines poised for more dangerous adventures.

The Almost Truth by Eileen Cook

Poison (Legacy #2) by Molly Cochran

Shiver by Karen Robards

Never Let You Go by Emma Carlson Berne 

The Farm (The Farm #1) by Emily McKay

Burned (Pretty Little Liars #12) by Sara Shepard

Radiant (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

Stacking the Shelves: #8

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which we feature all the book goodness that we received, borrowed or purchased during the previous week.

Won from Jess @ www.bookgeeksrule.blogspot.com