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mirandacasteel's review against another edition
3.0
Good story but the ending was terribly lacking...
yerawizard_kristen's review against another edition
2.0
What a disappointment. I hate when authors crap out at the end of a series and that's exactly what happened with Requiem. Too bad, though... could have been great.
jgurniak's review against another edition
3.0
The first book in this series is the strongest by far, but I still enjoyed finishing the rest.
calistacyq's review against another edition
3.0
With a very underwhelming ending, Requiem by Lauren Oliver concludes the trilogy with a story about both Lena and Hana living their new lives and the parts they play in the resistance.
Summary: Lena Haloway is now part of the resistance. She also struggles to pick between Alex, who turns out to be alive, and Julian, her new beau. Meanwhile, in Portland, Hana Tate struggles with her loveless marriage to the new mayor who seems to be a psycho with a questionable past.
Tropes/Genres:
• dystopian
• science fiction
• romance (not really)
• love triangle
• set in Portland, Maine
Review: Everything that could've gone well with this book didn't happen. Lena and Alex? Nope. Lena and Julian? Nope. Lena and her mother? Nope. Lena and Hana? Nope. The author just failed to properly dive into the characters' relationships. It was so touch-and-go, and that's honestly kind of lame. The writing, again, failed to evoke emotion. It fell flat. The author built everything up, only to leave readers hanging with an abrupt open ending that didn't even make sense.
Having an open ending is a technique that clearly the author hasn't mastered. Look, there's nothing wrong with having an open ending when it's done right and appropriately. However, this story didn't suit having an open ending. I get that the author wanted readers to come up with their own ending, but it simply wasn't written well. Instead, the ending just felt so underwhelming. It sucked, basically. There was so much happening, and then the story just ended during all the action. I'm like, what? It doesn't feel strategic. It just felt like the author couldn't think of an ending and decided to leave it to readers' imagination. It basically wasn't even an ending.
This story alternates between the perspectives of Lena and Hana, with Lena taking the odd chapters and Hana taking the even chapters. Readers follow Lena through the Wilds as she faces trouble with the regulators and Hana through her life in Portland as she struggles with her new life with a disturbing fiancé. I thought that this book really suited this style because it's a great way for readers to look at what's happening on both sides. However, there wasn't that much going on in Lena's POV, and the failed attempt at a love triangle was tragic.
Even though the ending was poorly executed, I thought that the bulk of the book's content was fine. I preferred Hana's perspective to Lena's because she was more interesting. Lena's character just fell flat in this book. She was, at least, interesting in the first two books; now she's so bland and forgettable. Hana, on the other hand, was very interesting. I liked reading how differently she sees the world now that she's been cured. It was also cool to read about her experiences with Fred Hargrove, the new mayor, and how wrong everything felt to her.
In a way, one can say that the author handled Hana's POV way better than Lena's POV, considering that the botched open ending was mostly about Lena and what happened with the resistance. The author portrayed Hana and Fred's messed-up relationship very well. I was honestly horrified and scared for Hana. But Lena? The author failed her character. There was so much to explore regarding Lena, but the author just tossed her aside.
Anyway, I wasn't particularly impressed with this book, and the ending kind of sealed the 3-star for me (it was previously a 4-star), but if you enjoyed the first two books, then it doesn't hurt to spend a few more hours completing the trilogy. It was fun and interesting, but I just didn't find the characters from Lena's POV interesting; only Hana's POV.
Overall, the series isn't very put-together. It's not bad, but it's not good either. It had an interesting concept and certainly had potential. The author just didn't pull it off as well as this book could've been.
Summary: Lena Haloway is now part of the resistance. She also struggles to pick between Alex, who turns out to be alive, and Julian, her new beau. Meanwhile, in Portland, Hana Tate struggles with her loveless marriage to the new mayor who seems to be a psycho with a questionable past.
Tropes/Genres:
• dystopian
• science fiction
• romance (not really)
• love triangle
• set in Portland, Maine
Review: Everything that could've gone well with this book didn't happen. Lena and Alex? Nope. Lena and Julian? Nope. Lena and her mother? Nope. Lena and Hana? Nope. The author just failed to properly dive into the characters' relationships. It was so touch-and-go, and that's honestly kind of lame. The writing, again, failed to evoke emotion. It fell flat. The author built everything up, only to leave readers hanging with an abrupt open ending that didn't even make sense.
Having an open ending is a technique that clearly the author hasn't mastered. Look, there's nothing wrong with having an open ending when it's done right and appropriately. However, this story didn't suit having an open ending. I get that the author wanted readers to come up with their own ending, but it simply wasn't written well. Instead, the ending just felt so underwhelming. It sucked, basically. There was so much happening, and then the story just ended during all the action. I'm like, what? It doesn't feel strategic. It just felt like the author couldn't think of an ending and decided to leave it to readers' imagination. It basically wasn't even an ending.
This story alternates between the perspectives of Lena and Hana, with Lena taking the odd chapters and Hana taking the even chapters. Readers follow Lena through the Wilds as she faces trouble with the regulators and Hana through her life in Portland as she struggles with her new life with a disturbing fiancé. I thought that this book really suited this style because it's a great way for readers to look at what's happening on both sides. However, there wasn't that much going on in Lena's POV, and the failed attempt at a love triangle was tragic.
Even though the ending was poorly executed, I thought that the bulk of the book's content was fine. I preferred Hana's perspective to Lena's because she was more interesting. Lena's character just fell flat in this book. She was, at least, interesting in the first two books; now she's so bland and forgettable. Hana, on the other hand, was very interesting. I liked reading how differently she sees the world now that she's been cured. It was also cool to read about her experiences with Fred Hargrove, the new mayor, and how wrong everything felt to her.
In a way, one can say that the author handled Hana's POV way better than Lena's POV, considering that the botched open ending was mostly about Lena and what happened with the resistance. The author portrayed Hana and Fred's messed-up relationship very well. I was honestly horrified and scared for Hana. But Lena? The author failed her character. There was so much to explore regarding Lena, but the author just tossed her aside.
Anyway, I wasn't particularly impressed with this book, and the ending kind of sealed the 3-star for me (it was previously a 4-star), but if you enjoyed the first two books, then it doesn't hurt to spend a few more hours completing the trilogy. It was fun and interesting, but I just didn't find the characters from Lena's POV interesting; only Hana's POV.
Overall, the series isn't very put-together. It's not bad, but it's not good either. It had an interesting concept and certainly had potential. The author just didn't pull it off as well as this book could've been.
sarkamatty's review against another edition
4.0
Nevím, co mě to najednou popadlo, ale po asi dvou letech, co mám tuhle knížku rozečtenou, jsem se na ni dnes vrhla a dočetla ji. A byla to velmi příjemně strávená hodinka, nevím, proč jsem to tak odkládala. Každopádně bylo fajn si zase připomenout jeden starý známý dystopický svět. :)
nathalyalvarez's review against another edition
3.0
Ni siquiera se por donde empezar a quejarme de este libro.
Cuando leí Delirium estaba impresionada por la historia, ya cuando lo re-leí fue algo como "¿esto fue lo mismo que leí la primera vez?" Lena me pareció estúpida, débil e indecisa, pero todavía me enamore de Alex como la primera vez. Asimismo cuando leí Pandemonium, me encontré con otra Lena, un personaje mas fuerte y mas determinada. Y no solo eso sino también otros personajes como Raven y Julian, quienes me cautivaron desde el principio.
Honestamente pensé que Lauren estaba mejorando como escritora con las historias porque se nota las diferencias entre Delirium y Pandemonium, y sin duda Pandemonium tiene una trama mucho mas interesante que Delirium.
Entonces tenia estas grandes expectativas sobre Requiem.
Requiem destruyo el gran concepto que tenia sobre la trilogía Delirium. Todo ese suspenso e intriga que me creo Pandemonium fue reducido hasta ser nada mientras leía cada capitulo.
Primero que todo, el mal desarrollado triangulo amoroso. Lena volviendo ser la del primer libro. No, eso estuvo mal. Ella estaba pensando solo en Alex, mientras estaba todavía con Julian. Y no entiendo porque. Ella peleaba con Alex y después iba a dormir con Julian, eso es como una gran falta de respeto.
Por otra parte esta Hana, la ex mejor amiga de Lena, los capítulos narrados por ella fueron aburrido y fácilmente me distraía mientras los leía. No llevaban a ninguna parte y sin ellos el libro fuera sido mejor. Como lo esperaba, la cura no funciono en ella. Y debo decir, que todo lo que paso con Fred se lo merecía por lo que le hizo a Lena.
Pero mi mayor queja sobre este libro es el final. Fue pésimo en tantos sentidos. No solo terrible sino que también inconcluso. La única forma en que este libro podría haber mejorado era el final. Le hace falta un buen epilogo.
Lauren Oliver realmente me ha decepcionado.
cobycoyle's review against another edition
3.0
I am upset that this is only a trilogy and there's not another book in the series besides the little novellas with it.
I am feel awful for Julian even though I'm "team Alex."
I am angry at Lena for even telling Julian she loved him in the first place.
This was a good read, and I felt myself being excited reading over different parts. But it does feel unfinished to me, unlike the Divergent trilogy and The Hunger Games trilogy felt at the end.
I am feel awful for Julian even though I'm "team Alex."
I am angry at Lena for even telling Julian she loved him in the first place.
This was a good read, and I felt myself being excited reading over different parts. But it does feel unfinished to me, unlike the Divergent trilogy and The Hunger Games trilogy felt at the end.
reading_by_hanna's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0