Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Title: Requiem
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 5, 2013
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Requiem was one of the most highly anticipated books for me this year. With the way Pandemonium ended, I was left in a fit of YES THANK GOD and OMG WHAT. So when I got my hands on an ARC of Requiem, I 1) freaked out and did an ecstatic, happy Elaine dance and 2) avoided people so I could devour it.

Let me tell you now: if you were left ridden with anxiety at the end of Pandemonium, Lauren Oliver spends most of Requiem playing with your heartstrings and making you feel even more anxious. I was a mess; worried that my heart was going to be torn out of my chest. I wanted to set the book down to stall the inevitability of it and yet I HAD TO KNOW.

Warning: the following WILL have spoilers for Delirium and Pandemonium. I won’t spoil Requiem for you but I will say that I was left with mixed emotions. I wanted more scenes between Alex and Lena. I LOVED Delirium because of the beautiful way their story unraveled. I fell for them and cried a lot of tears with how Delirium ended. And then I was freaking out throughout Pandemonium because Julian was introduced. I liked his character but I had bull-headed faith that Alex was still alive. And when he did return he was angry, hurt, and different. I really wanted, needed, scenes between him and Lena that would help me cope with my heart being stomped on throughout the trilogy. End spoiler.

There were also quite a few questions left unanswered for me. I wanted to know how the story would end for certain characters and if the big action at the finale would change Lena’s world. There were no definite endings with Requiem. You had a hint of what direction some of the story lines would go but all you're really left with is hope. 

The writing was gorgeous. How could it not be with Lauren Oliver writing it? The turns of phrases and descriptions were beautiful and accurate and spot-on with the feel of the characters and the world. I could read anything written by her.

But as much as I loved the writing, I felt as though there was something missing. There was action and character development and great world building, but I missed the romance and slow burn from Delirium. It was action-packed like Pandemonium but it felt more like the third book in a longer series than an ending to a trilogy. And yet all the first love and romance of Delirium would have been somewhat out of place in Requiem because the characters have changed and grown. Their world, which is in the midst of a revolution, and the willing giving up of love  doesn't make for a setting of a "And they all lived happily ever after" ending as much as I wanted it to. I was left, like Lena, both hopeful and in anticipation of what's to come. 

With all that said, I really enjoyed Requiem. I felt the characters stayed true to how they had grown and developed throughout the trilogy. I was in love with the writing and the world-building. And for all intents and purposes, I even liked the ending. I just didn't love it.