chloe_jensenn's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sophie_hboff's review against another edition
3.0
It started off so good.
There was an believable setting; there was beautiful characters; there was stunning metaphors embedded in every sentence. I wanted to find out what happened so badly.
Then... It just seemed to get... Dull.
Boring.
I'm sorry.
I couldn't read the book for more than 5 minutes before I got bored. I was not interested in what happened to Lena because, to tell the truth, the world was suddenly not so believable anymore. I kept on wondering... How did Alex fake his procedure and get away with it for so long? How were they able to get to the Wilds so easily? It was simply ludicrous and I lost interest at that point.
The ending however. Ugh, I almost screamed my head off. It was perfect, but it was so saddening...
I don't think I'm going to read the rest of this trilogy, but I'm still glad I read the first book because it was an interesting idea, and writing was beautiful. There were just some holes in the plot and it didn't flow in the middle towards the end.
There was an believable setting; there was beautiful characters; there was stunning metaphors embedded in every sentence. I wanted to find out what happened so badly.
Then... It just seemed to get... Dull.
Boring.
I'm sorry.
I couldn't read the book for more than 5 minutes before I got bored. I was not interested in what happened to Lena because, to tell the truth, the world was suddenly not so believable anymore. I kept on wondering... How did Alex fake his procedure and get away with it for so long? How were they able to get to the Wilds so easily? It was simply ludicrous and I lost interest at that point.
The ending however. Ugh, I almost screamed my head off. It was perfect, but it was so saddening...
I don't think I'm going to read the rest of this trilogy, but I'm still glad I read the first book because it was an interesting idea, and writing was beautiful. There were just some holes in the plot and it didn't flow in the middle towards the end.
frances_payne's review against another edition
3.0
I'm probably giving this book three stars mainly for the concept. It's an idea that I thought could be really interesting and really well done, but ultimately I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to.
I thought this could be a really good dystopian comment on the devastation that can come with love, but without other origin stories for the discovery of 'amor deliria nervosa', this was probably far too optimistic for a book primarily focused on a typically young-adulty naive 17-year-old. I found the story to be too focused on the effects of labelling love a disease (and the typical against-all-odds whirlwhild relationship that comes with this) than on the reasons for it being this way, which I'd have found more interesting. It didn't feel right for a story to go that far with a whole society's indiscriminate stupefying fear of love without making a huge effort to explain how it could get to that stage.
The dystopian side felt a little over the top and without explanation that could have made it believable. It goes beyond credibly being able to identify with real life feelings of love being like a disease and transcends instead into this idea that love being a disease is entirely a propaganda model and with no evident motive. I could honestly go on for pages explaining how I feel about this and how much potential this book missed out on, but essentially, I feel like the author just used this concept to create a new environment for the same tired love story.
It had its moments, but what I was hoping for this story fell flat for me.
I thought this could be a really good dystopian comment on the devastation that can come with love, but without other origin stories for the discovery of 'amor deliria nervosa', this was probably far too optimistic for a book primarily focused on a typically young-adulty naive 17-year-old. I found the story to be too focused on the effects of labelling love a disease (and the typical against-all-odds whirlwhild relationship that comes with this) than on the reasons for it being this way, which I'd have found more interesting. It didn't feel right for a story to go that far with a whole society's indiscriminate stupefying fear of love without making a huge effort to explain how it could get to that stage.
The dystopian side felt a little over the top and without explanation that could have made it believable. It goes beyond credibly being able to identify with real life feelings of love being like a disease and transcends instead into this idea that love being a disease is entirely a propaganda model and with no evident motive. I could honestly go on for pages explaining how I feel about this and how much potential this book missed out on, but essentially, I feel like the author just used this concept to create a new environment for the same tired love story.
It had its moments, but what I was hoping for this story fell flat for me.
mkeleni's review against another edition
5.0
The amount of angst this ending gives me is so freaking bad. This is literally a book about the worst world ever a world with out love. But I can’t lie it’s pulls on me. You just, you have to read it.
elisabeth_li's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
maisieden's review against another edition
3.0
2.5/3 stars
I disliked Lena's Character and found her dull to read until the last third of the book.This is because until then she seemed to have no mind of her own - this probably is meant to be a writing technique to illustrate their society's mindset etc. However i found this an extremely dull narration. After the first two thirds, I loved delirium as it got a lot more interesting to read, Lena was less narrow minded and became a more interesting character - her personality was developed well. My favourite characters was Hana and Gracie. I loved the final third (but also hated the ending - for obvious reasons). It was enticing even though very upsetting at the end.
Even though most of the book was dull; I loved the last third of the book. This is similar to divergent - with the use of a test, oppression of wrong doings etc - but the writing styles are very different. I probably would recommend it as it may only be me finding Lena's character dull to read.
I disliked Lena's Character and found her dull to read until the last third of the book.This is because until then she seemed to have no mind of her own - this probably is meant to be a writing technique to illustrate their society's mindset etc. However i found this an extremely dull narration. After the first two thirds, I loved delirium as it got a lot more interesting to read, Lena was less narrow minded and became a more interesting character - her personality was developed well. My favourite characters was Hana and Gracie. I loved the final third (but also hated the ending - for obvious reasons). It was enticing even though very upsetting at the end.
Even though most of the book was dull; I loved the last third of the book. This is similar to divergent - with the use of a test, oppression of wrong doings etc - but the writing styles are very different. I probably would recommend it as it may only be me finding Lena's character dull to read.
thebookwormsfeast's review against another edition
4.0
Love has been branded a disease - around your 18th birthday you undertake The Cure to remove desire and love from your life. Anyone thought to be 'infected' or a sympathiser is hunted down and either cured, thrown in the crypts and left to rot, or executed.
It's interesting to see how this new religion and misinformation about what love is is sewn throughout society. The propaganda and rewriting of history makes you think about how much our history has probably changed in places - after all, history is written by the victors.
I'm looking forward to reading more of this series - the ending is powerful but also heart-wrenching.
It's interesting to see how this new religion and misinformation about what love is is sewn throughout society. The propaganda and rewriting of history makes you think about how much our history has probably changed in places - after all, history is written by the victors.
I'm looking forward to reading more of this series - the ending is powerful but also heart-wrenching.
booksbecreads's review against another edition
3.0
An easy read, but I think I've read too many similar books in a row and they are all starting to sound the same, hence I also found this extremely predictable.
palliem's review against another edition
3.0
I admit I'm getting a little sick of the teen-dystopian-future-forbidden-love thing, but looking past this, Oliver's book is a good representative of its genre, and I definitely think some of my (female) students will enjoy it.
missyansell's review against another edition
4.0
I love you. Remember. They cannot take it
In a world where love is a crime, people will undergo a surgery where they will no longer love, hate or really have any passion. Lena will be 18 in a few months and will finally get the procedure done. But then she meets Alex, a cured boy. But is he really cured? Lena fights her feelings for him at first but then she can't stop herself. She has the disease. Getting the cure was something she always wanted, but now she's not really sure about anything in her world, except for her love for Alex.
I actually really liked this book. It did have some slow parts, but i liked seeing how the society really was. I listened to this book this time, and i liked the narrator. The readers all know that the cure is wrong, but it was interesting to see Lena learn what love really is, and how society is lying to them. I look forward to reading the second book!
You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes
In a world where love is a crime, people will undergo a surgery where they will no longer love, hate or really have any passion. Lena will be 18 in a few months and will finally get the procedure done. But then she meets Alex, a cured boy. But is he really cured? Lena fights her feelings for him at first but then she can't stop herself. She has the disease. Getting the cure was something she always wanted, but now she's not really sure about anything in her world, except for her love for Alex.
I actually really liked this book. It did have some slow parts, but i liked seeing how the society really was. I listened to this book this time, and i liked the narrator. The readers all know that the cure is wrong, but it was interesting to see Lena learn what love really is, and how society is lying to them. I look forward to reading the second book!
You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes