Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer #2
Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR
First published: October 23rd, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Pages: 527

Goodreads Summary:
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?

Previous review(s): The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

When I read the last word of The Evolution of Mara Dyer I couldn't really think about much but "What the f***ing hell?!" I'm always a tiny bit scared of sequels to books I really loved and if you feel similar, don't be scared of this book - it's just as amazing as the first installment and will leave you speechless and wanting more... immediately.

More detailed:

After falling love with the first installment of this trilogy I have been eagerly awaiting the release of The Evolution of Mara Dyer and of course ditched my reading schedule to read it as soon as possible. But now I almost regret not waiting, because I'm seriously wondering how I'm supposed to survive the wait for the third book of this über-awesome series.

One of my favorite parts is still Noah Shaw, of course. In the beginning I was scared that The Evolution of Mara Dyer might suffer from a typical second-book-problem by not including the love interest as much as I'd like it to, but luckily I soon realized that Noah isn't that easy to get rid of. And while he's quite a broken character, I just love witnessing scenes with him.

Mara is still the unreliable narrator we got to fall in love with in the first book and it's still fascinating to see the world from her perspective. During certain scenes in The Evolution of Mara Dyer - especially toward the ending - I just wanted to hug the poor girl and tell her that she'll eventually get her happy ending. My only problem? I'm not really sure she will and if Michelle Hodkin decides to break our hearts, this is one of the few series I'd actually still love nonetheless.

Just like it's predecessor, The Evolution of Mara Dyer is incredibly hard to put down. Apart from the beautiful style of writing, the über-exciting plotline and the intriguing characters, it's Michelle Hodkin's way of always ending her chapters with little cliffhangers that made me continue reading even when I should have been sleeping or learning.

All in all, I fell in love with this amazing series all over again. I'm already craving the third book more than it's healthy for me and I can't wait to delve back into Mara Dyer's creepy world full of mysteries and secrets that I'm dying to get answers to. If you haven't read this series yet, I strongly recommend you to change that as soon as possible - this is a must-read!

Do you love this series as much as I do? Or, if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Carina

Fictional Distractions of the Week #50

Welcome to Fictional Distractions of the Week. It is inspired by Book Journey's It's Monday! What are you reading? and Fiktshun's My Reading Pile and it will show you what I'm planning to read during the next week.

The books I plan to read this week:

At first, I'm going to finish Allegiance by Cayla Kluver, which is the second book in the Legacy trilogy. So far I'm liking it quite a bit and can't wait to finish it, so I can read the third book soon as well. 

After that I'm going to get to read one of my most anticipated reads for 2012 - The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. Ever since I've read the first book, I've been dying to get my hands on a copy of its sequel and now I'm fighting with the urge to ditch Allegiance since this pretty book arrived on Saturday.

And my third read (which I kind of doubt I will get to) will be Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill, which just sounds like one of the most amazing contemporary reads I can imagine. I really hope it'll live up to my expectations, because they are pretty high.

What are your Fictional Distractions of the Week?

 

New Distractions #15

Last week, I received a copy of The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin and it's pure torture to not ditch my current read and start reading this one immediately. Will definitely start reading this once I'm finished with Allegiance, because I just need to know what will happen after the mean ending of the first installment.

Which books did you get last week?

Carina

Distractive Obsessions #10

Distractive Obsessions are books that are going to be released very soon and that I'm dying to read - books that I know I'm going to be obsessed with until I'll finally hold them in my hands and read them.

This week's pick is THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin.

It's going to be published on October 23rd, 2012 by HarperTeen.
ISBN: 9781442421790 | pre-order: The Book Depository / Amazon US / Amazon UK / B&N

Goodreads Summary:

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?

It's been a long time since I've featured a Distractive Obsession, but I just didn't have enough time to obsess over upcoming releases (and actually bought only very few books in the past weeks and months). But now I'm totally crazy about the upcoming release of The Evolution of Mara Dyer which has to be just über-awesome, because it's going to be released on my birthday! 

I am dying to get my greedy little hands on a copy of this book, especially after the very nice cliffhanger of book #1. If you are not obsessing over this book like I am, I can only think of one good explanation - you haven't read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. And if that's true, you need to change that as soon as possible ( = pick up a copy right now) and then get a little bit crazy with me while waiting for its sequel.

Which book are you obsessing over at the moment?

Waiting on Wednesday #56

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Expected publication: October 23rd, 2012
Pages: 272

Goodreads Summary:
Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear.

Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next.

There are various reasons why The Evolution of Mara Dyer will be absolutely awesome:

1. It's the sequel to the awesome The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.
2. It's going to be released on my birthday.
3. They managed to make the sequel's cover just as gorgeous as the first one.
4. IT'S THE SEQUEL TO THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER!!! 

I'm done being crazy... for now. The only thing that makes me a tiny bit sad is that with 272 pages it won't be nearly as long as the first book. I'll have to try to read it slow even though I know that I'll want to devour it.

What are you waiting for this Wednesday?
Carina

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
First published: September 27th, 2011
Source: Bought
Pages: 452

Goodreads Summary:
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.

My Rating: 5.0 / 5

First thoughts:

I remember reading a lot of positive reviews about this novel and at a certain point it seemed like everyone loved it. It's almost impossible to find a negative review of this and therefore I was, of course, skeptical whether it could live up to this hype. But it did. And it was even better than everyone said. This is a unique and wonderfully written story and I couldn't get enough of it.

More detailed:

There are a few books everyone seems to love and all the hype makes it almost impossible to resist the urge to buy it. But so much hype can leave you disappointed - but this didn't happen with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It is a unique story that is impossible to put down and that made me love it more with every page I turned.

It's hard to find reasons to tell you why exactly I loved this novel so much. Michelle Hodkin simply managed to combine every important aspect a good Young Adult novel needs to have: a unique storyline, likeable and somehow mysterious main characters, a very interesting (read: hot) male love interest, a beautiful style of writing and a cliffhanger that sent shivers down my spine.

Mara Dyer is a protagonist like no other. She's experiencing awful and scary things and is constantly confused about what happens to her. And I shared her confusion. I love it when a book is written in a way that keeps the reader guessing as well and doesn't give them too many clues to figure out the mystery before the main character does. And even though her secret problem seems somehow revealed, there are still many questions left that I'd like to be answered.

Before I read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer I had already heard of Noah Shaw, of course. If you haven't read at least one review of someone raving about his awesomeness, I'm sure you've been living under a rock. And again, Michelle Hodkin made it possible that another hype didn't leave me disappointed. While he is emboying the perfect bad boy cliché on the hand, he is an amazing guy and truly cares for Mara on the other hand. Despite her life being crazy, she has a lot of luck having met him.

All in all, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a fantastic story that will leave you wanting more. The cliffhanger at the end is both, amazing and torturous and I can't wait for the second novel to be released. And even without the cliffhanger I would have wanted to read more about Mara Dyer, because Michelle Hodkin created a scary and creepy but wonderful world that I love to be sucked into. Don't be scared by the hype and give this book a chance. You won't regret it!

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Have you read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? What did you think about it?
Carina

Teaser Tuesday #26: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

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My teaser:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - p. 120

His voice was barely above a whisper. He took another step, so close that I felt the warm aura of his chest. He looked down at me, all sincere and open and I wanted and didn't want and I had to say something.

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Carina

In My Mailbox #24

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives bloggers the chance to appreciate the books they got last week and to meet new people.

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The book I bought this week:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The books I got for review this week:

Destined* by Jessie Harrell

Carrier of the Mark** by Leigh Fallon

* from Jessie Harrell, thank you!

** from HarperCollins UK, thank you!

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Oh, I love the books I got this week. At the moment I'm reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and I really like it so far. Seems like everyone's right about this book - it's amazing. And I'm incredibly excited for Destined; my review will be part of the Destined blog tour. And of course, I can't wait to start Carrier of the Mark since I've heard really good things about this one as well! :)

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Carina

This week's reviews:

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Sign Language by Amy Ackler