Steel Lily

Title: Steel Lily (The Periodic series)
Author: Megan Curd
Kindle edition

AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.
She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Three: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.
Or so she thinks.
That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Three. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued.
But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.
…Which means digging deeper.
When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, it may make her wonder if she was better off being a government tool than searching for freedom.
Some secrets are better left concealed, but humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.

I received this Advance Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review. As a bookworm, I keep my reviews honest and sincere.

Steel Lily is perhaps the best steampunk-dystopian novel I have ever read. Once again, the author Megan Curd blew me away with her creative and imaginative mind. Not only did she take me to the future, she showed me a whole new world that reeked with greed, betrayal, lies and love.

The story had a futuristic setting (2077 I think) and the events that happened therein were from the aftermath of World War III. The war had caused the Earth to crumple, radiation damaged the atmosphere, caused people to use oxygen masks in order to breathe. We meet Avery Pike, one of the Elementalists who had the ability to manipulate steam that powered the Dome they were living in. She was the reason the people were able to breathe clean air and experience better days. She was the best among the three steam producers and because of that, most people abused or took advantage of her.

She was surprised one day, when she was being followed by an influential man who soon promised her of a better dome, cleaner air, the opportunity to enhance and wield her power and the chance to see her long-lost parents. Although doubtful at first, she consulted her friend Alice about this possibility and soon after, they discovered what it was really about. This was made possible when their savior Jaxon showed up during a Polatzi chase and took them to the mysterious dome.

Cameras everywhere. Holograms covering the ugly truth. A group of other talented people persuaded and gathered for a secret mission.

Such is the situation Avery found herself in. She knew that everything she was offered was too good to be true. It is up to her and Jaxon and their small group of friends to discover the truth and do something right.

I loved Avery! She was, right from the start, a strong, determined and capable heroine. Fierce and loyal, everything you would want in a bestfriend. Jaxon? Ohh, the dreadlocks were to die for! My first time to read something about the main male character having dreads and could still look gorgeous even though he was so annoying and obnoxious. He and Avery were like magnets, exact opposites but definitely attracted to each other. Honestly, my cheeks hurt whenever I read scenes that included both of them. Ha! The other characters were also lovable. I liked Sari a lot. And Legs too!

I enjoyed this book a great deal! I simply cannot compare Steel Lily to anything else because this Megan Curd masterpiece is unique and original. The steampunk-dystopian combo kept me entertained from start to finish. Megan Curd is a talented author who knows her world extremely well; her creative style and uniqueness shone from every page. She had become the Master of Twists and Surprises, a talent I have always admired in Sidney Sheldon and Phillip Pullman (The Golden Compass).

To sum this up, I tell you, this is one book that you must own. I highly recommend this to all steampunk fans, dystopian lovers, YA and even New adults. Basically recommended to everyone! Go put this on your TBR List an get the book when it will be released!

Here's a cocktail toast with 5stars ***** for mega author, Megan Curd and her excellent book! Clearly, Steel Lily is the next book sensation!

Pandemonium

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium Series # 2)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Published February 2012
Hardcover 329 pages

I’m pushing aside
the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana
and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Well, well, well... Let me just say this: Pandemonium perhaps has one of the best cliffhanger ending among the trilogies I have read.. Ever!

The second book from the Delirium series, Pandemonium is once again narrated by Lena, but she is now changed: she's now an Invalid. She was able to go over the fence and meet the people from the other side and everything else becomes different in her perspective.

Lena becomes a stronger person after learning about Alex's misfortune, with the aid of new-found friends, Raven & Co. She gets to live the life of an Invalid, moving from one homestead to another. And soon, as the title suggests, a wild uproar and unrestrained disorder happened, bringing her closer to Julien - a new male interest who represents those who want America to be rid of Deliria. In a snap, pandemonium happens.

And then I died when I read the ending... OMG!! Seriously! How could Lauren Oliver do this? How, oh how and Why, oh why?? 2013 is still so far away! I have to read the next book Requiem immediately!

Delirium & Hana

Title: Delirium (Delirium # 1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Dystopian
Published February 2011
Hardcover 480 pages

Summary from goodreads.com

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that one love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. 

Lena Holway 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.

A girl named Lena lives in a society where LOVE has been considered a disease and everyone has to go through a special treatment on their eighteenth birthday to be cured of the illness. She and her bestfriend Hana are having the time of their lives, following what the others are telling them to do and not-to-do. Little did Lena know that her friend escapes at night in order to attend parties or listen to music that was not approved by their state.

During their initial evaluation, something peculiar happened in the lab. Then she met Alex, the boy who would make her fall in love and ignore everything else that she had believed in. Together they created a world full of emotion and delirium. Lena's life was never the same again.

I thought Hunger Games was the best dystopian novel I have ever read.. Apparently, Lauren Oliver's Delirium takes the second spot on my Best Dystopian list. I honestly couldn't bring myself to stop scanning the pages after knowing about this dreaded disease - Amor Deliria Nervosa. (wow, that's quite a mouthful!)  And as crazy as it is, people condemn those who fall and fell in love because it is dreaded and can lead to your demise.

OMG... If falling in love causes death, I've died a million times already!!

Delirium takes my breath away. With every scene.. with every spectacle.. Every page was as intense as the previous page, keeping me on my seat. I applaud Lauren Oliver for creating a world that felt so real and surreal. SHe's a brilliant writer and a fantastic storyteller. I'm glad I have read your book, Lauren :)

THEY SAY that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believe them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

---- Lena

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Title: Hana (Delirium book 1.5)

Author: Lauren Oliver
Published December 2011
Ebook 144 pages

In the world of Delirium, love is a disease. And like all eighteen-year-olds, Lena and Hana must take the cure. 

At the start of their last summer of freedom, they were the closest of friends. Until Hana made a decision that tore them apart... In Delirium, we heard from Lena. Now, Hana gets to tell her side of the story. And nothing is what we first thought. 

Hana is a powerful, moving and beautifully told original eBook short story, with a shocking twist that will leave you with your heart in your mouth.

To sum this one up; here's what I have to say:


Hana is the One who told the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   about _ _ _ _  and _ _ _ _!! 
How could you?! How could you?!



Here are the symptoms of Deliria:

“Symptoms of Amor Deliria Nervosa
PHASE ONE:
-preoccupation; difficulty focusing
-dry mouth
-perspiration, sweaty palms
-fits of dizziness and disorientation
-reduced mental awareness; racing thoughts; impaired reasoning skills
PHASE TWO:
-periods of euphoria; hysterical laughter and heightened energy
-periods of despair; lethargy
-changes in appetite; rapid weight loss or weight gain
-fixation; loss of other interests
-compromised reasoning skills; distortion of reality
-disruption of sleep patterns; insomnia or constant fatigue
-obsessive thoughts and actions
-paranoia; insecurity
PHASE THREE (CRITICAL):
-difficulty breathing
-pain in the chest, throat or stomach
-complete breakdown of rational faculties; erratic behavior; violent thoughts and fantasies; hallucinations and delusions
PHASE FOUR (FATAL):
-emotional or physical paralysis (partial or total)
-death