Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Published: October 23rd 2012
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past. She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head. They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next? 

I am speechless.  A good speechless I think. I have so many questions. Huh? What? Why? How? Where? When? Who? I don’t think I can wrap my head around everything that happened right this very moment, because so many things happened and I need time to figure out what exactly happened and how I feel about it.

“Everyone is a little crazy. The only difference between us and them is that they hide it better.”

The Evolution of Mara Dyer is even more twisted than the first book. I found myself tiptoeing around every incidence, because since we know Mara isn’t a reliable source of information nor are her thoughts unbiased, I didn’t know if any of it was real or not. It was so hard to trust Mara and her actions. I also became to doubt Noah and his sanity. Oh, and those help me help me help me writings were creepy. So was practically everything else in this book. I know, I’m a baby when it comes to this, because I’m afraid of everything, but it was freaky: the birds, the cats, that doll – yuck.

Okay, so you know that surprise which was at the very end on that video? I had a feeling that one was bad news, but I didn't know how it all fits into this enormous puzzle. I’m glad that some of my questions were answered, but when they did, the more questions I had. This book seemed to have a Pretty Little Liars syndrome. Oh, by the way, if I may ask, who else was freaked out by Phoebe? She was a nutcase. As for predictability, I am used to having theories, but I didn’t have that many with this book and it was surprisingly awesome to be clueless.

I didn’t necessarily love this book, but I really, really enjoyed it and it was a nice distraction from my uncooperative PC which was basically driving me nuts for two days and still does. I want my questions answered and that mind-fuckery solved. Why is the third book so far away? I need it bad. This wait is going to be painful. All I can say based on that ending is: “you get ‘em, Tiger!”

I love the trailers for this series! They're so pretty and for a change the actors aren't that bad actually. + the music in this one? Mmmmmm!!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Meet the Author

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Teaser Tuesday #31

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

To participate you:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) * Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers

The still body of a gray cat lay inches from where I'd been standing, its flesh torn open, its fur streaked with red. My feet were soaked in blood.

Seriously? I'm so uncomfortable by all these animal killings. And those birds? Yuck! Unfortunately I don't think it's the end of it and there will be more for sure. I hope I can bare through it, because the story is really, really good.

~ p. 70 of The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Published: September 27th 2011
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | TBD

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

“How awesome is that cover? How great sounds that description? How many great reviews are there in total? O_O” – these were the thoughts that went through my head when I first heard about this book. I knew I wanted to read it, but somehow I didn’t pick it up. I’ve been reading these extremely emotional books lately and I needed something dark, thrilling and mysterious. This is not a story you should read in silence, alone and in a dark room with only a reading light on. I did and it was pretty spooky at times. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it!

“Thinking something does not make it true. Wanting something does not make it real.” 

The first few chapters were okay – intriguing, completely compelling and mysterious. Then.. I just couldn’t get into it. The chemistry between Noah and Mara felt random and off, the things happening were like out of a low-budget horror movie (which I loathe, by the way.. Okay, I don’t watch that many horror movies. More like none since I have a very livid imagination and hate having nightmares or jumping up every time I see a creepy shadow somewhere. But I used to.. And these things were what you call a classic horror movie layout.). Suddenly, out of nowhere, it got interesting and I grew extremely anxious to know what happens next. After devouring page after page I found myself reading the very last one and thinking "what the effing eff just happened???"

If you’ve read any of my reviews, then you know that I tend to dislike it when books are predictable. I guess it’s kind of a curse of reading so much: you tend to know things beforehand. What I loved about this particular book is that that I couldn’t figure out most of the plot twists until right before they took place if even that. Also, I doubted if they were really true, because Mara isn't that reliable source of information. Some of the scenes were pretty gruesome, but then there were parts where my heart rate picked up (all credit goes to Noah). Umm.. Maybe that romance part took over a bit too much. At some point I almost forgot that there was that asylum mystery to solve and these freakish accidents and deaths etc, but in the end it all worked out great (in the sense that it got pretty creepy again).

As for the characters, I’m intrigued by Jude. I may be weird for it, but I want to know more about him and why he did what he did in that asylum. Moreover, I’m a fan of Daniel. He makes me want to have a big brother! Oh, and Joseph – gosh, that boy is so freaking adorable! Noah and Mara were also great and I enjoyed that Mara didn’t give into him that soon. She stood on her ground and I give her props for that! Oh, and that twist with Noah? Yeah, that was pretty awesome. Moreover, how could I not mention Jamie – the perfect friend to spice up this dark story of Mara's.

“Asscrown," I muttered under my breath as I headed to my next class. I wasn't proud of swearing at a complete stranger, no. but he started it.
Noah matched my pace. "Don't you mean 'assclown'?" He looked amused.
"No," I said, louder this time. "I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses," I said, as though I was reading from a dictionary of modern profanity.
"I guess you nailed me then.”

In the end, it was a decent piece of work and I’m excited to explore what Ms. Hodkin has created for the sequel. I’m kind of mad at myself for not having read this book any sooner. Yeah, I can easily see why some people hate some of the cheesy horror movie elements, some can’t stand the romance part etc, but I found that everything that took place in this novel neutralized the whole outcome and I’d recommend to at least check this series out. You may end up surprisingly liking it. I did.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Meet the Author

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IMM/StS #7

These are the books I got throughout the past two weeks. Leave me a comment if you've read any of these and tell me whether or not you liked it so I know which books to pick up next. Also, make sure to leave your StS/IMM links in the comments so I can visit you back. Thanks!

 Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) by Laini Taylor *this book is probably the most beautiful book I have ever seen. Like EVER. And it's a real beast! It's huge and I can't wait to start devouring it soon:)*

Deity (Covenant #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Soul Screamers Volume 2 by Rachel Vincent

Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton (you can read my review here)

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater in Estonian *I have already read all of the three book in this series, but it was in harcback and for ~8$ so I felt like I needed to get that since I really love love love that trilogy and I first read them when I borrowed them from a library, so yeah.. I think you can get my point, ha* (you can read my review here)

What did you get this week? Leave your links below and I'll check out your goodies :)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren and Stacking the Shelves is a weekly event hosted @ Tynga's Reviews.