Gradually making my way through this series *cough* at last *cough*

I have the last book ready and raring to go, so hopefully I’ll be finished soon (it’s just a matter of how long it’ll take me to pick up that one now)

But that’s not what we’re here for today. 

Let’s talk about The Evolution of Mara Dyer!

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster UK

Series Status: The 2nd book in the Mara Dyer trilogy

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Psychological

Number of Pages:  527

(Found on back cover and Goodreads)

Mara Dyer knows she isn’t crazy. She knows that she can kill with her mind, and that Noah can heal with his. Mara also knows that somehow, Jude is not a hallucination. He is alive.

Unfortunately, convincing her family and doctors that she’s not unstable and doesn’t need to be hospitalised isn’t easy. The only person who actually believes her is Noah. But being with Noah is dangerous and Mara is in constant fear that she might hurt him. She needs to learn how to control her power, and fast. Together, Mara and Noah must try and figure out exactly how Jude survived when the asylum collapsed, and how he knows so much about her strange ability…before anyone else ends up dead.

I just…WHAT?!?

I can’t quite process what happened.

But let’s rewind a bit first.

Starting this book, it didn’t take me long to be sucked back in by the addictiveness. It was just as gripping as the first, with the battle between psychological and paranormal fighting its way across the pages. I could instantly remember why I loved the first book so much.

But, admittedly, I started seeing problems. Not many, and not the sort that ruined my enjoyment…but problems all the same. 

I’m pretty sure that in the first book, I fangirled over Noah Shaw big time. But now? Well, I do still like him as a character, but something bothered me. Nearly every single time he’s mentioned, there’s always some little comment about how “perfect” he is. A not-so-subtle remark about how blue his eyes are, or how perfectly messy his hair would be. Every character fawned over him. Which annoyed me greatly, because the “perfect boy” trope has tired me out for a long time now.

Especially since now, I think Noah is flawed in many ways. He never shared his own thoughts. Or he’d just vanish. And the amount of times he’d hide behind the cocky/arrogant persona? UGH.

Still, he’s not all bad. I liked him. I just wasn’t obsessed with him like I was at first.

And my only other problem? It…started to get a little repetitive. For about half the book, the same sort of events would happen, only with a change to the details. But it slowed the book down dramatically for me, and I couldn’t help but hope some plot-based progress would come along soon.

But again, it didn’t really take away my enjoyment for the book. Sure, it seemed a bit slower, but it was just as addictive with all its mysteriousness and intrigue.

And once the answers started to reveal themselves? WOAH DID IT GET INTENSE.

I swear, the last 100-150 pages of this book were just pure adrenalin. I just…everything went from a slow, trudging process to BOOM everything’s going down. I didn’t stop reading the book until I’d actually finished it. I hadn’t realised how quickly I read those last few pages. It went from “ohhh…maybe this is struggling through ‘second book syndrome’…” to “OH MY GOD WHAT? NO! THIS IS INCREDIBLE.”

I still can’t get over it.

So much action. So many answers. And yet so many more, new questions.

I really didn’t expect the story to turn out the way it did. Not sure why, because now I look back, it feels like all the signs were pointing in that direction. But I don’t know? It just didn’t show itself to me until the very last moment, and I’m glad it didn’t because it Blew. Me. Away. 

Also, CLIFFHANGER ALERT. Wow am I glad I have the next book ready and raring to go. Once my mind has finally wrapped it’s head around those events, I can dive straight in and get my answers.

While I had some issues with this book that would throw me out of the story slightly, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was so addictive, and the paranormal vs psychological side to the story would be destined to grip me (sometimes I can’t help but love an unreliable narrator). And with how intense the last hundred-or-so pages were, I’m am SO excited to jump into the final book!

Rated 4/5 stars!

Amazon

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Share your thoughts!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

If you haven’t, do you plan to? Have you read the 1st book?

Did you enjoy the last book in the series?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

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Snapchat username: “frolic_fiction”