Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

"I couldn't put this book down, it was too trippy."

 

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: March 1st 2012
Page Number: 452

Rating: 4.25/5

 

Summary:

 

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger. She wakes from a coma in hospital with no memory of how she got there or of the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her best friends and her boyfriend, yet left her mysteriously unharmed. The doctors suggest that starting over in a new city, a new school, would be good for her and just to let the memories gradually come back on their own.

But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and when she suddenly begins to see other people’s deaths right before they happen, Mara wonders whether she’s going crazy! And if dealing with all this wasn’t enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen can’t seem to leave her alone… but as her life unravels around her, Mara can’t help but wonder if Noah has another agenda altogether…  

 

Review:

 

I've had The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Evolution of Mara Dyer for the longest time but never got around to reading them because I weren't sure if they'd be my cup of tea, but if anything, they're my perfect match. It's dark, creepy and if you love American Horror Story then you will one hundred percent enjoy this.

 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer starts off with a little note to us readers from Mara Dyer, herself. And right from that I was entered this crazy story and just couldn't leave. I think it'd be a freaky thing if I said that I feel Michelle Hodkin really understood me as a person, but it's totally true. Mara Dyer is not a character like any other, but she's actually one of my most liked characters because I can relate to her on so much stuff. 

 

What I loved so much about this crazy-ass book is that it's not like any of paranormal book I've read before. It's like you're not actually yourself when you're reading it because Mara Dyer isn't a sane narrator. She's crazy. Some of the scenes made me think, WHAT. THE. HELL! because it was that darn weird. It's also so intelligently written that I could picture it all in my head, it'd make a brilliant TV show or Movie.

 

One of my favourite scenes in the book would have to be the rice-turning-into-maggots scene. It was shit bat crazy, but it also made sense. Everything from Mara's POV makes sense even though it shouldn't.

 

Santeria plays a huge role in the book as well, especially as we go into book two. Santeria is a Afro-Caribbean religion based on Yoruba beliefs. And like most religions it has both good and bad sides. In fact in the late 19th century, early 20th century it was mostly known as a sacrificial religion, specifically in Brazil. People were coming down with diseases and converted to the religion in hopes of being cured. They'd sacrifice something important to them. Sometimes it was a chicken tongue, a snippet of their hair, loose teeth and in one case a woman chopped off her own thumb. They never got cured. (This was all information via myself. I love history.)

 

I just love this book so much, I'm currently reading The Evolution of Mara Dyer. My review of that should be up by next Friday. Hopefully. Despite myself loving this book there were also a few small problems. The beginning was quite slow and I couldn't really get into it until after 120 pages. I also found the writing to become a little iffy three quarters of the way through. But other than that everything was great.

 

Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Title: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: August 5th 2014
Page Number: 323

Summary:

An unforgettable love story that breaks all the rules.

When Tate Collins finds airline pilot Miles Archer passed out in front of her apartment door, it is definitely not love at first sight. In fact, they wouldn't even consider themselves friends. But what they do have is an undeniable mutual attraction.

He doesn't want love and she doesn't have time for a relationship, but their chemistry cannot be ignored. Once their desires are out in the open, they realise they have the perfect set-up, as long as Tate can stick to two rules - never ask about the past and don't expect a future.

Tate convinces herself she's ok with it, but soon realises that it's harder than she thought. Will she be able to say no to her sexy pilot when he lives just next door?

Review:

 

"Colleen Hoover is a sneaky woman. Without you knowing, she rips your heart out, bit by bit until you realise it's not there. Just beautiful." Bookbitchreviews

I've only read one other book by Colleen Hoover and that was Maybe Someday. That's story blew me away and instantly lodged itself in my heart, both the book and the characters. But just when I thought Colleen couldn't get any better she brought this book along. I captured my attention, took me on a journey of broken hearts and love and without myself knowing, ripped my heart out. There is no doubt that this is one of the best books of 2014.

The one thing that Colleen does so well is create characters that are not only realistic, but also characters that you grow to love. It's a very rare and special talent and one that should never be wasted and you can tell that these aren't just Colleen creations. They're like her adopted children. Only fictional.

Both Tate and Miles are great characters and from chapter one you are attracted to Miles because of his drunkenly behaviour. "I'm so sorry, Rachael." Who is Rachael? Why is he crying? and that made me want to read more and more and more and more.

I felt like I was drowning while reading this book.

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We all know that Miles has this secret and seeing his story from Six years before, was probably the best thing that could've happened in the book. I loved seeing his back life, while he was so recluse to Tate and it made you understand his actions. I have to say that what happened, I did not predict. I had two situations in my head that I thought was going to happen, but it wasn't any of them, it shocked me. My heart had died.

 

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The epilogue was the tear jerker for me. I shed a few little tears, but the whole story wrapped up beautifully and it made me realise that love is both beautiful and ugly. We should never take it for granted.

 

5/5 STARS!