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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Hmmm. The writing was okay in this book, but the story is what I don't like. Why take away love? Better take away the bad emotions like hatred or anger... No? xD I think that would be much better, but hey... that's just my opinion. xD
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Received this book from the fabulous Lyndsey Lore, at her blog Strangemore. Thanks, Lyndsey, for this wonderful giveaway and opportunity!
Oliver's prose is gorgeous. GORGEOUS.
Yeah. Like that.
Delirium is a beautiful story with a motley, interesting crew of characters. The plot throws you around, and some things that happen are just SO not expected.
Be prepared to love.
Oliver's prose is gorgeous. GORGEOUS.
Yeah. Like that.
Delirium is a beautiful story with a motley, interesting crew of characters. The plot throws you around, and some things that happen are just SO not expected.
Be prepared to love.
I sooooo want to go into Barnes & Noble and ask if I can just buy the book jacket. I need the new one! When I get PANDEMONIUM someday they can't not match!
Or maybe I'll just buy the new one . . . *ponders*
Or maybe I'll just buy the new one . . . *ponders*
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
⭐ 3.5/5
Lauren Oliver's Delirium presents a hauntingly beautiful world where love is considered a disease, carefully controlled and removed by the government. The premise is brilliant—imagine a society where Amor Deliria Nervosa is classified as a sickness, and where people undergo a procedure to “cure” them of their ability to love. However, while the world-building and writing are poetic, immersive, and thought-provoking, the slow pacing, overly descriptive narrative, and lack of action hold the book back. The final fifty pages save it from being a complete letdown, delivering an emotional gut punch that makes you want to pick up the sequel, even if the journey there wasn’t the smoothest.
📖 What to Expect:
✔️ Dystopian society where love is illegal
✔️ Slow burn, forbidden romance
✔️ Beautiful prose & poetic writing
✔️ Lots of internal monologues & world-building
✔️ A heartbreaking, cliffhanger ending
💡 What I Loved:
✨ A Brilliant Concept
- The idea that love is a disease (Amor Deliria Nervosa) and that people are forced to undergo a procedure to remove it? Genius.
- The government propaganda, The Book of Shhh, and the altered nursery rhymes & history books added depth to the world-building in a chilling, believable way.
📖 The Writing Is Stunningly Poetic
- Lauren Oliver’s prose is lyrical, immersive, and emotional.
- Even if the plot drags, her writing makes you feel everything—from the suffocating oppression of the society to the raw intensity of first love.
- Favorite quote: “Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things, just sit still and let the world exist in front of you—sometimes I swear that just for a second time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt. Just for a second. And if you somehow found a way to live in that second, then you would live forever.”
🔥 The Last 50 Pages—OMG.
- If the first 75% of the book was too slow, the last 25% makes up for it.
- The tension finally explodes, and the ending? Brutal. Emotional. A punch to the gut.
- That cliffhanger left me in PAIN.
💔 A Society That’s Too Close to Reality
While exaggerated, the themes of control, suppression of emotions, and erasing human connection hit hard.- The idea that indifference—not hate—is the opposite of love was a powerful message.
😬 What I Didn’t Love:
⏳ SLOW Pacing & Over-Description
- We get pages and pages of Lena describing streets, smells, and bicycles, but very little actual plot.
- It felt dragged out to fill a trilogy, when it easily could’ve been one book.
- Too much internal monologue, not enough action or rebellion.
🧍♀️ Lena Was… Kind of Bland
- I get that she’s supposed to be a product of her society—timid, rule-following, emotionally stunted.
- But she spends a lot of time whining or repeating herself (we GET IT, you’re 5'2", you don’t have to remind us 10 times).
- She doesn’t really do anything until the final act.
💔 The Romance—Pretty, but Too Safe
- Alex is great. He’s mysterious, rebellious, and charming (though sometimes too perfect).
- But their relationship felt rushed—one second Lena believes love is dangerous, and the next she’s willing to risk her life for Alex?
- I needed more buildup, more conflict between her beliefs and her feelings.
🚨 Unexplored Aspects of the World
- How did society get to this point? Why did people willingly accept the cure?
- Who is The Resistance? How do they operate?
- Why is The Cure only available at 18? (You’d think they’d want to get rid of love way earlier…)
📌 Favorite Quotes:
📖 “Love: a single word, a wispy thing, a word no bigger or longer than an edge of grass. And yet it still manages to haunt and consume us.”
📖 “I love you. Remember. They cannot take it.” (💔 Instant pain.)
📖 “The most dangerous sicknesses are those that make us believe we are well.”
🤔 Final Thoughts: A Mixed Bag, but an Intriguing Start
Would I recommend it? If you love slow, poetic dystopian books, then yes.
Would I reread it? Probably not—the writing is gorgeous, but the pacing was painful.
Will I continue the series? Yes, because the ending got me.
Delirium is a beautifully written book with an incredible concept, but it suffers from slow pacing, a lack of action, and underdeveloped world-building. The final act delivers emotional punches, and the cliffhanger will leave you desperate for the next book. While not a perfect dystopian, it raises interesting questions about love, control, and human emotion—making it worth a read if you have the patience for a slow burn. 💙