Review: Delirium by Lauren Osborn

From the Back Cover:

"Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. But things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

My Thoughts:

Lena tries really hard to fit in, but she's always been a little bit different on the inside, and that scares her. Lena can't wait to undergo the cure, the procedure that will ensure she is never able to love. She saw what the deliria did to her mother and sister, and she's not taking any chances. But on the day of her Evaluation, a group of protesters from the Wilds breaks in and sends the building into chaos. Lena meets a boy named Alex, and nothing will ever be the same.

I could not put this book down. I literally devoured it. I thought the concept was very original. Good characters, well-written, fast-paced; a super exciting final sequence of events...but I hated the ending. Not so much because it sucked, but because I wasn't prepared for it. It was so abrupt it left me feeling cheated after I'd latched onto the story so strongly. Now that I've read what other people are saying about it, I've learned that there's a sequel in the works, so now it makes more sense and I feel a little better.

I've seen some comparisons to the recently released Matched, but Delirium lacks the eloquence and poignancy of Matched. For me anyway. But, my complaints about the ending aside, I'm a sucker for a love story, and this story is pretty good. It's really thought-provoking, and a little scary as the Consortium makes a pretty good argument about love being the source of all conflict. You can see how someone who has never known the joy of love would think eliminating it would be a good idea. I look forward to the continuation of this story.

Rating:  4 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.