This review was first posted on Music, Books and TeaI seem to have a love/hate relationship with most books that are second in a series. I generally love the storyline yet hate the ending that the authors give us! Unfortunately, Pandemonium did exactly this to me, but it went no where near the dreaded 'second-book syndrome' that so many others fall prey to. I found Pandemonium to be an excellent continuation of Delirium, and made me all the more eager to read the final book in the series, Requiem!I know most people didn't like the now and then style that Lauren Oliver employed in Pandemonium, but I really enjoyed the way it was written. I loved Lauren Oliver's writing style in Delirium, and I loved it even more in Pandemonium. She was clever to not give too much away in each chapter, which I really appreciated. I loved the link between the 'Now' and 'Then' chapters, and watching how certain events had a knock on effect with something else.Lena definitely grew as a character in this book, it was interesting to see the comparison between the then and now chapters, and watching her grow into a stronger, more well-rounded girl. It would have been so easy for her to just give up, especially she wanted to, yet Raven refused for that to happen. Raven and all the other outsiders were very interesting characters. It was sad to see how they had all been hardened by their lives, and how much they had to rely on defectors on the inside to get food and medical supplies. I found myself flying through the chapters just to make sure that they were all safe.I liked Julian's character as we really got to see inside him, and learn who he really was, which was something I never felt we got to do with Alex. And I think that's why I liked him more than Alex. I liked how he and Lena saved each other at various points throughout the book, and how he slowly became to see that not all 'invalids' were the same, and that maybe he had just been brought up on a lie. I didn't find Lena's feelings towards Julian particularly surprising, especially as Lena has pushed aside every memory of her past life.It should not be legal for a book to end like Pandemonium did. Seriously. If we weren't already anticipating Requiem enough, Lauren Oliver ends Pandemonium with such a bang that it makes the wait for Requiem even more excrutiating!
