This might be slightly spoiler-y...I have so many problems with this book. Okay, so I just finished it like twenty minutes ago and I'm reeling so please bear with me. This may get harsh or ranty or I may just break down and cry...I don't even know.That right there is the crux of the problem. I do not know.Oliver has proven with the first two books in the series that she loves a big cliffhanger of an ending and I'm not opposed to those. Honestly, in a series of books a cliffhanger is what keeps you interested. But this is the END. I want it all wrapped up in a pretty pretty package. Preferably with a big shiny bow. And a name tag screaming TEAM ADAM WINS!Did I get that? Uh, no. What I received as a gift from Ms. Oliver was a whole lot of WTF? Oliver left so much open ended that I wanted to pull hair out. That is saying a lot...I don't have much hair to begin with and I'm quite fond of what I do have.I'm fairly sure I can see where she was trying to go with it and in some ways it is a quite beautiful statement. Mayhaps, I don't like beautiful profound statements to end my book obsessions. Give me a little to fuel my imagination, sure ~ but give me enough closure as well.All right Ali ~ enough about the ending.The story. Requiem is told in dual POV, Lena and Hana both narrate. I found Hana's first several chapters boring. I almost wanted to skim them. Not good. Though I understand the need for them and about half way through the book I wasn't so annoyed with them.However, by that point I was getting more annoyed with Lena's chapters. There wasn't enough action or love. Let's face it, these books are about love and freedom and the struggle to be able to chose both. Right? So where is all this love we are fighting for? It wasn't in Requiem. Sure, there is some but it wasn't a fulfilling amount for me. It was more depressing than anything. Lena still loves Alex, Alex doesn't love Lena, Lena loves Julian, Julian loves Lena, Coral loves Alex, Alex loves Lena, Lena might love Alex; it was like a damn tennis match with too many players. But no one ever shows they love anyone else, it's all just random thought and speculation. Okay, Julian does show it, props to Julian. And the lack of action I mentioned? Yeah, think Lord of The Rings...walk, talk a little, walk some more, eat, walking again. Bored now.I won't even get started on Dear Old Bee. Ircked me the hell out. I mean...what? I don't want to give anything away for the folks who haven't read the series, so I'll leave it at that.I watched a video, just now, of Oliver defending her open ended ending. She explains that she liked to leave it up to the imagination of the reader. Or some such thing. I understand what she's saying, I do. I am all for tickling the imagination, but I am not a writer. Pretty sure I 'hired' her for that job when I bought the book. It just feels like a cop out, to me.On the positive side, the writing is still beautiful, the idea is still beautiful. Many fans of the series are going to love it just as much as the first two. I'm just not one of them...I'm one of those cranky old people that just didn't "get it".
