Evil Eva Reviews... Pandemonium

EvilEva reviews ...... Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  

WARNING!

This is the SEQUEL to DELIRIUM!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Dissecting The Cover:

Um, I don't get this cover at all. I mean, I get that it matches the second Delirium cover (which also didn't make any sense.) (I'm also a little peeved because even though it does match the second cover, it totally does not match the first cover which is the copy that I own. So now my Delirium series won't look cohesive on my bookshelf. I'm being  punished for buying this book BEFORE it got out-of-control popular! I call shenanigans, Harper Collins!)
Anyway, I guess the foliage is supposed to represent the Wilds? Although there was never a point (nor would there ever be a point) when Lena would be frolicking among the flowers. It makes me wonder if whoever is responsible for these covers has even read the book between them.

Let's Review:

Lena made it over the fence and into the Wilds. Alex wasn't so lucky. Now Lena will have to learn to survive without him. Luckily she meets a girl named Raven who saves her from near-death and introduces her to a whole homestead of people like her and Alex.
People that don't believe love is a disease. People that believe you should have a choice. People against the Deliria-Free America organization. People with a plan to overthrow them.
After what happened to Alex, Lena is determined to join the fight.
With the help of her new found friends, Lena heads back to the city to put their plan into action.
But an incident with Julian Fineman, the son of the DFA's leader, could ruin it all. Or it could completely change everything.

Here's What I Think:

You may recall that I abso-fucking-lutely LOVED Delirium. Also that I've been stalking Lauren Oliver (in my mind only, of course) since reading Before I Fall. So obviously I was completely stoked when Pandemonium, the much anticipated sequel to Delirium, FINALLY came out.
And, of course, Lauren Oliver being the unbelievable author that she is, didn't disappoint this time around either.
Pandemonium starts off with Lena at some school in the present which is really the not-so-distant future because, if you'll remember correctly, last we left Lena she was headed for the Wilds NOT algebra class. The book ping-pongs from chapter to chapter, starting with this future "now," followed by "then" which chronicles Lena's time in the Wilds. It sounds confusing, I know, but give it a few chapters and I promise you'll sink into the story.
Even though this is the sequel to Delirium, it couldn't be more different. Where as the first book was more about falling in love, Pandemonium is more about survival. And while Lena was gutsy in Delirium, this time around she's downright badass. Cos, as it turns out, surviving in the Wilds is tough business, y'all. Especially when you've been sheltered your entire life.
So Lena has to harden herself and toughen up not only to make it through the day to day challenges of her new life but also so she can be ready to seek revenge against the people that took Alex away from her.
While we're on the subject of Alex--- and here's a bit of a SPOILER ALERT and also a mini rant for those that have read Delirium and thus feel my pain--- I CANNOT believe that Lauren Oliver would make us fall so completely butt-crazy in love with Alex only to let him be captured and possibly killed in the sequel! Yes, I know that's how Delirium ended, so I shouldn't be shocked that that's how Pandemonium starts, but I'm an optimist. All those many months anxiously awaiting the release of Pandemonium, my mind turned over the hundreds of thousands of scenarios in which Alex could have escaped, could still be alive, could have made it over the fence and reunited with Lena. But no. He's just gone. AWOL.
Lena thinks about him, sure, but then there's that Julian Fineman fella and that whole "trying to save their lives" thing that occupies her mind a little more. So it was kinda hard for me as an Alex fangirl and a Lena/Alex shipper, to suddenly be Alex-less and having this new guy thrust upon me that I'm supposed to be all swoony over now. But Alex is irreplaceable, y'all. I can't just jump on the Julian train simply because it's currently pulling into the station and my boy Alex is nowhere to be found. I'm completely loyal to my fictitious peeps that way. And crazy. I'm also crazy. ;)
Anyhoodle, other than the Alex withdrawal, Pandemonium is yet another fine feather in Lauren Oliver's awesome-writer cap.
And, my God!, with that ending!, it makes me even more excited for the final book! I can't even begin to imagine how it's all gonna end. But I can't wait to read it!

Swoony Times:

Since swoonypants Alex from Delirium is MIA in Pandemonium (is he dead!? is he imprisoned?! we don't know!) Lena needs a new guy to take her mind off her guilt/grief/sadness/Alex obsession.
Enter Julian Fineman, son of Thomas Fineman, the founder of the Deliria-Free-America organization. And while Julian does sound like a dreamboat being all blue-eyed and blond-haired, and while he does show amazing strength under pressure, and while he does seem to genuinely care about Lena, he's just not Alex. Lena may have been able to move on but I just can't. For me, it's as simple as that. Team Alex 4ever!

Bonus Shizz:

Dystopia!
Dystopias are really hot right now. Sequels to dystopias? Even hotter.
And Pandemonium totally delivers. There's action, adventure, romance, drama. Everything you could possibly want in a futuristic world-gone-to-hell thriller!

Survival Of The Fittest!
The Wilds is a brutal place. You've got to know your shizz in order to survive. Lena's lucky enough to meet people right off the bat that are willing to show her the ropes.
Being a crafty MacGyver-type my damn self, I'm always interested to read about people finding inventive ways to do normal things they can no longer do normally. Plus there's the added bonus of totally preparedness for when that whole zombie apocalypse happens. Y'all come on over. I've got backup generators! :)
(P.S. sorry to tell anyone that hasn't read Lauren Oliver's series yet, but there are no zombies in it. Just an evil corporation that hates love.)

Cliffhanger!
Some people don't care for cliffhangers but I love 'em. And Pandemonium has one hell of a cliffhanger. Obviously I can't (and won't) say more but let me just tell ya--- You. Will. Be. SHOCKED!

If You Liked That, Try This:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Divergent by Veronica Roth.

The Scale Of Judgment Says:

...... 5!
This is Lauren Oliver. Blowing my mind. Yet again.

The TBR Back Burner Challenge: Round 11 Reviews

I've gotten somewhat behind in the many series that I'm involved in. So this month will be dedicated to catching up with the girls from Private and The Lying Game.

Warning!

These reviews are of books that are in a series!

Spoilers ahead!

If you haven't read the first books, you may want to stop here!

EvilEva reviews...... The Lying Game: Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard.

 
The games are back. And the stakes are higher than ever. 
Someone murdered Sutton Mercer, and it's up to her long-lost twin sister, Emma to figure out who. But the deeper Emma digs the more suspects she uncovers. And the more danger she finds herself in. 
Because Sutton's killer is still out there and whoever it is knows Emma's little secret. Now Emma must play along or she could be next.

It's been awhile since I read the first book in The Lying Game series so I admit that my memory of Emma, Sutton and Co. is a little hazy. Made hazier still by the fact that I watched the TV series which is nothing like the book. So when starting Never Have I Ever I was very confused because I didn't know if I was remembering what happened in the book or what happened in the show.
So my advice to you would be to skip the show because a) it's not very good and 2) it'll fuck with your memory of the book.
Speaking of the book, let's, well, speak of the book.
Never Have I Ever continues the mystery of who offed Sutton Mercer. Emma, Sutton's long-lost sister, is forced to be Sutton, to pretend that Sutton is still alive and well. But Emma's also trying to piece together who her sister was so that she can figure out what happened to her and who would want her dead.
Unfortch for Emma, it seems that Sutton's amassed a large following of haters, some of which are her own friends. So the suspect list is a very long one.
Luckily Emma has Ethan, the only person in Tucson that knows her true identity.
Emma and Ethan get their Nancy Drew on and while they clear some names, they're still no closer to any resolution. Sutton did a lot of shitty things. She pissed off a lot of people. But who was angry enough to kill her and blackmail her sister? We still don't know.
But there are a few reveals this time around.
We find out the cause of the Twitter Twins beef with Sutton. We get a few flashbacks to Sutton's past. We discover Madeline's dark secret. And we have new suspects that weren't even considered before.
Plus the swoony times between Emma and Ethan are upped for our reading pleasure. Never has a game of Marco Polo been rife with such sexual tension!
The mystery is unraveling slowly but steadily. The Lying Game seems to be going the way of its older sister, Pretty Little Liars. Meaning if you want a problem-solved-by-the-final-page book you're barking up the wrong tree with this series. But if you're like me and don't mind the twists and turns and cliffhangers being spread out through several books, then I would advise that you catch up with The Lying Game. Cos nobody does a fun, soapy, drama-filled whodunit quite like Sara Shepard!

The Scale of Judgment says...... 4.

EvilEva reviews...... Private: Vengeance by Kate Brian.

A lot has happened to Reed Brennan in the past two years. But this year she'd like to put the past behind her. Reed wants to enjoy the present and look forward to the future.
Because life is short. So Reed is ready to do something big.
She wants to rebuild Billings!
She has the money and draws up the plans and soon enough Billings is on its way to being restored to its former glory. 
But someone wants to stop the process of revamping Billings---permanently. And they'll go to dangerous lengths to make sure Reed doesn't get what she wants.

This is the final book in the Private series. And while I'm sad to see it go, I do think it's time. There are only so many times that a person can narrowly escape murder by various individuals before it gets a little ridick. 
That being said, surprise surprise, someone's trying to kill Reed- AGAIN! This is book 14 and I'm surprised that Reed still has any friends at this point. I think I'd be like "no offense, girl, you're great and all but I'd kinda like to make it to senior year so... see ya." And then you'd see a me-shaped hole in her dormroom door.
Anyway, Reed is still public enemy number one for Eatson's resident psychotics. She's still super obsessed with Billings. And she's a little emotional because most of her friends, including that hot toddy Josh, will be graduating this year. But mostly she's just obsessed with Billings. This is something that's always bugged me about Reed. Her lack of interest for anything not Billings related. 
I mean, it's like she would choose this inanimate nothing over everything else in her life. To me it seems like she prefers the idea of this legendary sisterhood over the actual sisters of said sisterhood. 
Because really Reed hardly ever hangs out with any of the girls. She's always off doing some sort of Billings bullshit. It makes me think that even after Reed graduates she'll never leave Billings. She'll be the Mrs. Rochester of Easton.
So that can be frustrating to read. Especially when you know that Reed's super fine boyfriend, Josh is being left unattended and uncared for. If it were me I'd say fuck Billings and I'd go rock Josh's world in the Art Cemetery. But that's just me. 
Anyway, as a final book, Vengeance, took the Private series out with a "meh." It could've been better. There were a few parts that seemed rushed and some parts that just seemed thrown in.
I hate saying that because I really liked this series. The first books, I was so totes all in. 
Then there was that stranded on a deserted island thing. And that whole "hey we're descended from witches" thing. And after awhile I just got tired of jumping that shark, knowwhati'msayin'? 
So I was a little disappointed that this is how it all ends. I wish the series could've gone out with a bang. But--- meh. 

The Scale of Judgment says...... 3.

EvilEva reviews... Catching Fire

EvilEva reviews...... Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.  

The Hunger Games Trilogy.

Warning! Spoilers!

Warning. This is the sequel to The Hunger Games. There will be spoilers. If you haven't read the first book STOP HERE!

After winning the Hunger Games by publicly defying the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have started their new lives in District 12. Living in the Victor's Village, having plenty of food and money, being safe. Or so the Capitol would like them to think. But Katniss knows that she is not safe, that she will never be safe. Her fears are confirmed when President Snow himself shows up at her home. Katniss and Peeta's defiance could cause an uprising, something that P. Snow is not down with. He doesn't believe the whole tragic star crossed lovers bit, at least not on Katniss' end. So while she and Peeta tour the other Districts she is to play up the romance, convince people that it was not defiance but true love. But Katniss is sick of the Capitol and their games and secretly longs for an uprising. President Snow, however, has ways of making sure Katniss will comply. Like having Gale killed. So with Gale's life hanging in the balance, Katniss and Peeta embark on their Victory Tour.
Things don't quite go as planned. There are rumblings of a rebellion. When Katniss and Peeta return to District 12 they find a new, harsher Peacekeeper, the Hob has been destroyed and the fence separating District 12 from the woods has been activated. As if that's not bad enough, they find out that they will now be forced to participate in the Quarter Quell.
The Quarter Quell happens, appropriately, every 25 years between Hunger Games. Always with a twist, this year former victors compete in an island/jungle arena covered with many hidden dangers as well as force fields that'll fry your ass if you're not careful. The rules are the same though. Survive at all costs.

Unlike the first book, Katniss finds herself with a whole host of allies this time around. But can she really trust them? This is the question that plagues her throughout the book. 
Her newfound "friends" and former winners of the HG include, Finnick, the athletic, attractive, adored wonderboy; Johanna, the hard-shelled gladiator girl; Beetee, the techno whiz; Wiress, Beetee's slightly off often brilliant District counterpart; and Mags, the hard to understand yet selfless elder of the bunch. But who can she count on and who is she willing to kill to ensure that her plan, of Peeta winning and taking on the Capitol with his beautiful mind and insightful words, will come to fruition. 

This book, very much like the first, is so gut wrenching. I swear, with every page I read, Suzanne Collins just impresses me more and more. She has such an incredible way of making you care for these characters so deeply. I want Katniss to live. I want her to really fall in love with Peeta (Yep. I'm Team Peeta, y'all!) I want her to marry him and have adorable little baker babies. And I want those babies to grow up in a safe, Capitol-free world. And I want Gale and Prim and Katniss' mother to be ok. And Haymitch too! And I want him to lay off the sauce. And good Lord I hope Cinna is alright! See, this is why Suzanne Collins' books are so friggin fantastic! Long after the book is closed, long after the story is over, you're still thinking and worrying and yes, obsessing about these characters. Even right now as I'm sitting here writing this review I keep sliding glances over at my nightstand where Mockingjay is patiently waiting for me. 
Catching Fire was a wild ride from start to finish. And Holy God, what a finish!!! What a crazy, unexpected, awesome ending! Ok, I HAVE to go read Mockingjay now. I can't stand the suspense any longer!

The Scale of Judgment says...... 5!