Hello all! Hope you're all enjoying the summer! I'm currently on holiday in a huge castle in the South of France and enjoying relaxing, playing games, and of course reading a lot! Today's post is a review of a dreamy summer romance that's perfect for your holiday TBRs! Title: A Sky Painted Gold Author: Laura Wood Series: n/a Pages: 356 Publisher: Scholastic Date of Publication: 5th July, 2018 Source: Publisher for review* Synopsis from Goodreads: Growing up in her sleepy Cornish village dreaming of being a writer, sixteen-year-old Lou has always wondered about the grand Cardew house which has stood empty for years. And when the owners arrive for the summer - a handsome, dashing brother and sister - Lou is quite swept off her feet and into a world of moonlit cocktail parties and glamour beyond her wildest dreams. But, as she grows closer to the Cardews, is she abandoning her own ambitions... And is there something darker lurkin...
Title: RequiemAuthor: Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium, #3
Pages: 391
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Date of Publication: 21st March 2013
Source: Publisher for review*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever...
Series: Delirium, #3
Pages: 391
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Date of Publication: 21st March 2013
Source: Publisher for review*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Battling against a society in which love has been declared a disease, Lena now finds herself at the centre of a fierce revolution. But the Wilds are no longer the haven they once were as the government seeks to stamp out the rebels. And Lena's emotions are in turmoil following the dramatic return of someone she thought was lost forever...
My Thoughts:
Hmm. Um. Ahh... I kind of don't know what to say about this one. I'm conflicted! I loved this series so much when I read the first two books - they were my favourites for quite a long while. And I really enjoyed this one too, but there were things wrong, and I hate to say it about this series because I have so much love for Lauren Oliver, but I'll be honest - it definitely wasn't my favourite of the series and I was kind of disappointed... Let me explain!
It was really good and in most ways it really lived up to my expectations. I absolutely loved that it was told in dual narrative - one chapter from Lena's POV, and then one from Hana's, etc. I actually preferred reading Hana's point of view to Lena's, because I found Hana trying to come to terms with marrying a man she didn't want to and trying not to have the feelings that she was having much more interesting than Lena trying to decide between Alex and Julian and occasionally hunting or collecting water or whatever she was doing while camping in the Wilds (although saying that, there was a pretty badass exciting bit involving Lena and a bear, but you'll have to read it to find out what that was). Anyway. The dual narrative in this book was a lot better than the 'Then' and 'Now' from Pandemonium. A lot less confusing!
And as always, Lauren Oliver's writing was awesome. Despite not really having a clue what was going on seeing as I read Pandemonium so long ago, it was so easy to read and I quickly got caught up in the story. Whenever I had nothing to do, I would pull it out and read a couple pages, or maybe a chapter, even if I only had a few minutes to spare. It perhaps started a little slowly, but once I'd got about half way I was flying through the pages, and then I read the last 130 pages in one sitting, almost. It gets pretty exciting, that's for sure! A lot happens, and it builds up, and it's really good reading. I don't want to spoil what happens, but yeah. It's good.
And then it ends. It kind of just finishes, in the middle of the action. I'm still confused as to whether this definitely is the last book in the series... Because it really feels like Lauren Oliver has left it on another one of those evil cliffhangers that she's annoyingly good at! I just don't get it. There was no closure, nothing to indicate which side won or even which boy she chooses! One of the things I was most looking forward to about this one was finally finding out which boy she would choose - Alex or Julian. I couldn't decide which one I liked better, so I needed to know, obviously... And I'm disappointed that I honestly don't know! EURGH it is so frustrating! If someone could explain, that'd be lovely. I guess Lauren wanted to leave it open and positively, but still... So yeah. Sorry for the completely mixed feelings here!
THE VERDICT: If you're a fan of the first two books you should definitely read Requiem. Mostly, it's really good, and has everything you would expect from the awesome first two books. Just be wary of the ending, and when you've read it, please tell me how you feel so it's not just me that feels like it didn't finish properly!
Also, I just read my Pandemonium review and this book has completely changed my opinion on quite a lot of things, it would seem! Gosh, this series is so confusing. Let me know what you thought in the comments, but please keep it spoiler free! If you wanna talk about something specific, please feel free to tweet me (@CheezyfeetBooks) instead (DMs though, please, to avoid spoilers!)
*Huge thanks to Hodder for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the novel.
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