Series Title: Mara Dyer
Book Titles:
Author: Michelle Hodkin
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously.
There is.
She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.
Why I read it: I had heard about the first book a while back when it first came out, and I was intrigued, but it was never a priority. This year, when I started this blog and started really following the booktube community, I started seeing the series again. Then, the third book was released this November and all pre-ordered copies were signed! So in July, I pre-ordered my copy and ordered the first two books. Then I marathoned the entire series when Retribution arrived at my house!
Thoughts: I seriously LOVED this trilogy. I have heard a lot of people had issues with the third book, and I can understand their reservations, but I had none of the same problems. I ran through the three books in about a week, and they're not small books. But that's how good they were.
The characters are fantastic. Mara is an unreliable narrator, as even she doesn't know what's going on around her, but she has a good heart, and I was constantly rooting for her throughout the series. Noah Shaw is the perfect bad boy with a heart of gold and I totally fell in love with him. Like seriously, Noah Shaw has jumped near the top of my book boyfriends list. But I also love Jamie Roth! Jamie is Mara's first friend at her new school, and he stole my heart. I was thrilled when he continued to be a main character in the trilogy.
Mara's family is also present throughout the series, which is a welcome surprise in a YA world where most of the families are unimportant to the story. Mara's parents want nothing but for Mara to be better, and her brothers are always on her side, which was a wonderful addition to the story.
As far as Mara and Noah are concerned, their romance is very realistic to me. There is an instant attraction, but a slow-build to anything real, and I loved every delicious second.
Michelle Hodkin's writing is perfectly suited to this kind of story. The way she describes Mara's hallucinations make you feel paranoid and crazy right along with Mara. It's a very visceral experience. I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to learn more.
The setting was great, too. Being a Florida native, I know firsthand what it feels like to be in Florida, and Hodkin paints that picture perfectly, as well.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this series. I'd heard it was a thrilling, mess-with-your-mind adventure, and it totally was. But it certainly has some elements that I wasn't expecting, which made the series even more un-put-down-able to me. It had everything I love in a series: mystery, thrills, great characters and a fantastic romance.
I seriously adored this series. If you love a palpable romance between two leads, a mystery that you're racing to solve, and unreliable narrators, I would highly recommend you check out this trilogy!
Individual ratings:
Unbecoming: 5/5 stars
Evolution: 5/5 stars
Retribution: 5/5 stars
Rating overall: 5/5 stars
Tell me: have YOU read the Mara Dyer series yet? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments below!
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