Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic 
by Lauren Oliver
Released |March 4th 2014 by HarperCollins|
Edition |eARC|
Source |Edelweiss|
Add to Goodreads

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.
Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Panic was a fast paced read for me and I at times I enjoyed the story. So I'll start with the pros. I was intrigued with the idea behind the book. I was interested in finding out what games would be played and how they'd go about doing it and that's what kept me wanting to know more as I was reading. The games were dangerous, but they also kept me intrigued because I wanted to what would happen next and if any of the characters would drop out of them. The book was also action packed. There was always something going on with one of the characters, whether it was apart of the games or their personal lives. Each of the characters had their own issues that they were working through and that was pretty interesting as well.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem
(Delirium, #3)
by Lauren Oliver 
Released |March 5th 2013 by HarperCollins Children's Books|
Edition |Audio|
Add to Goodreads

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

I had mixed feelings about this final book in the Delirium series. I was kind of expecting a lot more of this without really know that I was. As a whole this book was okay and as a whole this series was just okay too. In this final installment, Lena reverted back to being an annoyance for me. She was the definition of WHINY. And listening to the audio book and having the narrator mimic the whining was annoying as hell, but also kind of cool since she sounded just like I imagined she would. The thing that got me with this book was that I enjoyed Hanna's parts more than I enjoyed Lena's parts. I liked being inside of Hanna's head because I found her to be an interesting character and also seeing the things that she was going through. But what really made me dislike this book was the Lena, Alex, and Julian thing. I don't even want to get started because if I did, I would reveal spoilers. Overall, I was kind of disappointed in this trilogy. That's just me being honest. Would I recommend it? Maybe.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium
(Delirium, #2)
by Lauren Oliver
Released |February 28th 2012 by HarperTeen |
Edition |Audio|
Add to Goodreads

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.

I've kind of been on the fence about what to rate this. I enjoyed it, but it took me awhile to fully get into the story. I've been really wanting to read it and have had the paperback on my shelf for awhile, but new I wouldn't be able to read it anytime soon, so I decided to get the audio from my library. I really like the world that Lauren Oliver has created for us with the whole idea of love being a disease. It makes things so intriguing, but I did have quite a few problems with the book that kept me from enjoying them.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium
(Delirium, #1)
by Lauren Oliver
Released |February 1st 2011 by HarperTeen|
Edition |Paperback|

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

I don't know how to feel about this book. I liked it, but I didn't. I liked the whole concept with the way the book twisted everything we believe in about love into something so evil and infectious and wrong. But then there was also things that I like about it that kept me flipping the pages!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 2nd 2012 by HarperCollins
Edition: Ebook

Synopsis:

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? 

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. 

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My Thoughts:
This book really got me thinking. It had me so deep in thought that I tuned out the environment around me 30 minutes straight. When the book first started off, I was wondering if this was going to be about once of those 'mean girls', the kind of girl who is conceited and doesn't care about the people around her. But my wondering mind quick changed from that perspective. This book had a lot of morals in it and it was something I really appreciated.

To me this book was about seeing the person you were before and making a change for the better. No matter how late it is, things can always change.

I love and hated Samantha's character. I really enjoyed seeing how she evolved as a character and learned so many things about herself that she didn't see before. Those seven days to relive her and try to change the past made her open her eyes to so many different things that went on around her. But sometimes her attitude really bothered me. Like most people, I didn't like girls like that when I was around her age and I still don't really like people with that kind of attitude.

The whole thing with Juliet really opened my eyes to what others may be feeling or going through. You just never know what may be going on in someone's life. It was really sad to read about.

I really recommend this book! It was amazing and I did tear up a bit. Please check this book out. It's really an amazing story. I tried so hard to make this review spoiler free.

reread