First-Impression Friday: Delirium

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. 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.

Title: I like the title Delirium. From the little I know about the story, apparently love is referred to as the delirium, so it fits nicely as well as being intriguing.

Cover: I know a lot of people really like this cover, but I can’t stand it. The idea of having the picture underneath is interesting, but it just ends up looking a little strange. I don’t like the picture of the girl by itself, and it’s really hard to see her through the letters. This was an interesting idea for a cover, but I don’t think it worked that well.

Pitch: This pitch is a little heavy on world building, but it really showcases the conflict of the book. Everyone thinks love is a disease which has to be cured. The MC agrees with them, until she falls in love herself. This is a great concept, and even though I don’t like romance, I can’t wait to read it.

First Sentence: It has been sixty-four years since the President and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure.

Like the pitch, this is chilling and intriguing. There’s the idea of love as a disease, and then the idea that scientists can somehow cure love. While this sentence is completely telling and doesn’t jump into the action, it’s still attention grabbing.

First Chapter: Like the first sentence, this chapter is almost exclusively telling. This annoyed me a bit, since it’s much better to get right to the action, but I must say it was all good backstory. I love how the MC has completely bought into the lies of her society. It’s always much more interesting when the MC believes that something is right, and then has to have her mind changed. That way the story centers around her inner struggle, rather than around a war.

Overall: Aside from the fact that I hate the cover, I’m really looking forward to this book. While it’ll probably be a romance, the dystopia aspect of it really intrigues me, and so far the writing is excellent. I can’t wait to start reading.