The Evolution of Mara Dyer Review

91YuaCtgoILI think the title really set the tone of the book.

Mara Dyer has woken up in a psychiatric hospital after blacking out at the police station. She is adamant that she did indeed see Jude and he wasn’t a hallucination, but no one other than Noah believes her. How did Jude survive the asylum collapsing and why has he resurfaced now?

This was a rollercoaster ride from the beginning to the end. The pace was slow at the start but there was a gradual build up as the story continued. There was a sense of urgency and fear woven throughout the plot and desperation to find the answers to various questions surrounding Mara’s mental health.

Mara I feel did evolve a lot from the first book. She is more self aware and even afraid of herself and what she could potentially do to those around her. I like that she is trying so hard to fight through and overcome her condition and figure out what is happening even though she is terrified.

Noah again I really enjoyed. He also showed a different side of himself than what we originally seen. He is more open and unreserved and shows more emotion as he digs deeper into the connection of his and Mara’s powers. I just find him to be so engaging and captivating and I feel as if there is so much more to his story than what we’ve been given so far.

The introduction of the new characters in the outpatient clinic I felt added an extra layer of unpredictability to the story. I love that Jamie made a reappearance and I was happy that Mara had a friend that she could lean on whilst she was being evaluated at every turn. Someone who is normal and could still somewhat relate to what she is going through at the moment.

I really could not predict what was going to happen in this book and it really took a turn that I did not see coming. The last hundred or so pages was very thrilling and suspenseful and it really kept me turning the pages. I like the paranormal twist to this series and how it is not just solely focused on Mara. It has become a lot broader and expanded the plot to a point where anything can happen.

With that being said I do feel like this book was longer than what it could have been. I feel like for a good third of the book it is just centered on Mara agonising and overanalysing every situation. It could definitely have been condensed and still wouldn’t have lost any of the major points of the plot.

There are still so many questions that haven’t been answered and I am eagerly anticipating picking up the third book in this series ASAP!

⭐️4/5 stars Entertaining, thrilling & suspenseful!! 

Always and Forever Lara Jean Review

9781534406674Ok Kavinsky has finally won me over.

I’m not going to go too in depth with this review as it is the concluding novel to a series, but I did have some feels after completing this book.

Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky have been dating now for nearly a year and their lives have settled into this cute little bubble of happiness. However, the future looms over them with some difficult choices that they are eventually going to have to make.

I thought Jenny Han perfectly captured the mood. The real life realities and decisions that Lara Jean and Peter have to make could definitely relate to a lot of people. You could feel the emotion and the hesitation and doubt start to creep into their lives and it didn’t feel contrived in any way.

I was very proud of Peter in this book. I started to see a more three-dimensional side to him and I like that he showed different, more genuine feelings. I think in the first two books he felt a little too good to be true and I couldn’t really imagine their kind of relationship in real life. But the miscommunication and the misconceptions was heartfelt and true and it was really endearing. He didn’t give up on Lara Jean and the fact that he wants to fight for their relationship solidified his position in my eyes.

I love that Lara Jean distracts herself with baking and scrapbooking, she is such a unique female protagonist and I like that she isn’t cookie cutter (lol). She maintains her identity throughout her relationship with Peter and she is doesn’t try to conform in any way.

Everything came together so wonderfully. I was honestly soo entertained; I didn’t know what was going to happen next. There were some very real familial issues being dealt with throughout the story in both Peter and Lara Jean’s lives that added a layer of complexity to the plot. I really enjoyed this series, Lara Jean especially grew a lot and became a lot less naïve and a lot more forthright, which I loved.

⭐️4/5 stars I really liked it!

Skyward

img_2867bhsnThis book has been on my radar since it came out late last year. It seems that all the reviews I’ve seen for this book has been super positive so that has me intrigued. From what I gather its a kind of sci-fi/fantasy story and I haven’t really read any sci-fi for a while now so I am very keen to get started. The premise of the book sounds very promising and as I just finished Oathbringer last month I am yearning for more of Brandon Sanderson’s writing. His world building and magical elements are always so epic and original, I am very eagerly anticipating this read. I really hope it lives up to the hype!

Happy Reading📚

5 Books/Series I want to Reread in 2019

The first series I want to reread this year is The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. If you follow my blog you would know I am currently in the middle of a reread of this series. I have LOVED my experience so far and I will update you of my progress later on this month.

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The second series I would like to reread is the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I read King of Scars earlier this month and that really got me back into the Grishaverse so if I can I would really like pick these up!

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Since I’m rereading the Grisha Trilogy it’s only fair that I pick up the Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo and give that a read too. One of my all-time favourite series out there, I was super impressed by this duology and it’s been nearly 3 years since I’ve read these books so I am very overdue.

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The fourth book I would like to read again is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. This is solely in preparation for the second book of the series that comes out on the 5th of March. This book was so hyped that I read it too quickly and didn’t retain enough of the plot or developed a connection to the characters, so I kind of want to take my time and give it another read before I pick up Children of Virtue and Vengeance.

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The last book I’m hoping to reread this year is Vicious by V.E. Schwab. Similar to Children of Blood and Bone I do want to get around to reading Vengeful this year but since it’s been around 2 ½ years since I read Vicious I do want to pick it up again and get reacquainted with the storyline.

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Statistics for January

I’ve never done this before but I thought it would be interesting at the end of every month to calculate all of the stats that I accumulated whilst reading, then at the end of the year I can compile all my stats and see how I went! Even though its a little way into Februay now I still wanted to post my January stats!

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