Annabel by Lauren Oliver - Novella Review

Publisher's summary: Lena's mother, Annabel, has always been a mystery—a ghost in Lena's past. Until now.

Discover her secrets in Lauren Oliver's brilliant original digital story set in the world of New York Times bestsellers Delirium and Pandemonium.

Lena Halloway's mother, Annabel, supposedly committed suicide when Lena was only six years old. That's the lie that Lena grew up believing, but the truth is very different. As a rebellious teenager, Annabel ran away from home and straight into the man she knew she was destined to marry. The world was different then—the regulations not as stringent, the cure only a decade old. Fast forward to the present, and Annabel is consigned to a dirty prison cell, where she nurtures her hope of escape and scratches one word over and over into the walls: Love.

But Annabel, like Lena, is a fighter. Through chapters that alternate between her past and present, Annabel reveals the story behind her failed cures, her marriage, the births of her children, her imprisonment, and, ultimately, her daring escape.

My take: I don't know if it was all that necessary for me to read Annabel's story, other than it allowed me to enjoy a little more of the Delirium world.

In this Novella, Annabel's story is told in the same way that Pandemonium was written, with the chapters alternating back and forth between "Then" and "Now." The "Then" chapters followed Annabel along in her past when she fell in love, and they described what it was like for her in a world where a law was passed that required everyone to get the cure. The "Now" chapters followed Annabel during her very last days of being in prison. So that is why this story was so interesting.

There was only one thing that I struggled with while reading Annabel's story and that was the affection she showed toward her daughters. It was very clear throughout the story that she had love and affection toward Lena, but (at first) I got the feeling that she didn't even like her oldest daughter Rachel. I kept thinking that it was weird that she had negative feelings toward Rachel before her daughter even got the cure. But then I realized that maybe Annabel actually loved and admired Rachel exactly because of her stubborn character traits...at least I hope that's the case.




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Hana by Lauren Oliver - Novella Review

Publisher’s summary: The summer before they're supposed to be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana begin to drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music and parties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience the forbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—and even her first kiss.

But on the surface, Hana must be a model of perfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, and glimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once they marry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperately misses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and is simultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

In this digital story that will appeal to fans of Delirium and welcome new admirers to its world, readers will come to understand scenes from Delirium through Hana's perspective. Hana is a touching and revealing look at a life-changing and tumultuous summer.

My take: Now I get it! I now totally understand why people don't like Hana after reading her story and understand why they didn't care for her POV in Requiem.

Even though I’m baffled by how horribly awful Hanna became by the end of the Novella, I still felt a little bit sorry for her while reading her story. I came to realize that the only love she really ever experienced was with Lena, and I think that is why the ending is so horrible. We already know what Hanna did from Delirium but you never quite understand her motives. And I still wanted to believe she had a proper motive. I'm actually quite glad that I waited to read this story until after I finished all three books in the series.



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Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Spencer Hill Press Summary:  For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals—pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards… and that she'll never be prepared for that duty.

According to her mother, that’s a good thing.

But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return—the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death… because she's being hunted by the very creatures she'd once trained to kill.

The daimons have found her.



My Take: Woo! Hoo! I found a new fave and I only read the Prequel! OMG…this book had my blood pumping, I think I should have my blood pressure checked! And then bam, you leave me at that? AND now I have to sit here and wait to see if I can get an ARC to fulfill my fix! To make it even worse, if I don’t get an ARC, I have to wait until September for the release date?

This series is going to seriously ROCK! Alexandra (also goes by Alex and Lexie…I love that BTW), is the type of heroine I absolutely love in a series. She isn’t afraid to run but if she is caught up in a split second moment, the fighter in her comes out.

I’m going to call her Lexie because I like that name. Anyways, Lexie is a Half-Blood (Demi-God). Half-Bloods are trained at a young age to protect Pure-Bloods from daimons, the freaky, scary lookin’ creatures!

Lexie and her mother have been on the run for the last 3 years, taking her away from the only life she has ever known to live in the real world.

My prediction is that Lexie isn’t just a Half-Blood, there is something special about her and that is why her mom has had her in hiding for so long. I guess we will have to see! PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME WAIT!!!

Here is a quote that I love:

“When I didn’t answer, he shook me, and that was it. My bitch switch was flipped and, well, my sense of self-preservation went right out the window.”

Buy on Amazon:
Daimon: A Prequel to Half-Blood (Covenant) Kindle Edition
Daimon: The Prequel to Half-Blood (Paperback Edition)