Welcome to our third annual FORTNIGHT OF FRIGHT event!
October 17th – October 31st, 2013
Two years ago, Alyssa (Books Take You Places) and I really bonded over our mutual love of Halloween and came up with the idea for A FORTNIGHT OF FRIGHT: a two-week long event celebrating everything Halloween and horror-related! We decided to bring it back again for the third annual Fortnight of Fright event, this time along with Amy (Tripping Over Books), so this event is brought to you by all of the gals from On the Same Page!
Today, Sajda from Across the Words is reviewing THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER! Check out her review below!
Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin
Publishing Info: October 23, 2012 by
Simon & Schuster
Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: See Sajda's Review!
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’m super excited to be reviewing The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin for Fortnight of Fright. This was one of those books that seriously crept me out when I first read it and so, I think it’s absolutely perfect as a Halloween read. If you have not read the first book in this series, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, this review may contain a few spoilers – consider yourself forewarned!
The Evolution of Mara Dyer is an incredibly gripping and captivating sequel. The first book ends with a crazy plot twist and we find out that Jude is not actually dead. We also discover that crazy supernatural things are happening to both Mara and Noah. In this second book, Mara basically continues to lose her mind. She really wants to lead a life as a normal girl but given her deadly powers and hallucinations, it’s difficult for her to mask what’s actually happening to her. Also, she finds it very hard to trust anyone and to get people to believe her story. I truly felt terrible for Mara; she undergoes so many struggles and everyone pretty much doubts her sanity.
The one person that Mara can count on is the immensely electrifying and swoon-worthy Noah Shaw. I absolutely love Noah as a character and I was so glad to see more of him in this sequel. He becomes an even more complex and mysterious character, which I thought just added to his attractiveness. The relationship between Mara and Noah definitely intensifies in this book but their love for each other is also tested after numerous challenges arise.
Michelle Hodkin is quite spectacular at creating very chilling and haunting scenes. She includes some terrifying moments involving stalkers, creepy dolls, and psycho asylum patients. Despite the frightening nature of the book, Hodkin is also pretty great at offering much-needed comic relief (I love the banter between Jaime and Mara – they’re so witty together).
In this second book, we receive some answers but are also left with a ton of questions. Everything is incredibly mysterious and you’ll be left trying to figure out what could possibly be behind all of the disturbing occurrences Mara has to face. This book ends with a massive cliff-hanger; I’m so happy that I didn’t get around to reading it until this month because I have no idea how people lived with that ending for over two years! The ending is incredibly surprising and will pretty much leave you in agony.
If you haven’t read this book yet, you’re in luck because the third and last book in this series, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, is coming out on November 4 so there isn’t too long to wait! I was actually able to snag a copy of the third book early and just read it last week; it is absolutely chilling and I physically shuddered while reading some parts. If you’re looking for a mind-blowing and haunting paranormal series, this is definitely one that you will want to read!
Thanks, Sajda! I can’t wait to read this series. I’ve heard so many good things about it and I’m going in as blind as possible! Now I just need to pick these books up!
