The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer – Review

I have wanted to read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer for SIX years, people. Before I found Goodreads, before book blogging, before I owned a smartphone, and gasp…even before I knew what the letters TBR stood for. This length of time feels like an eternity in the book world. But alas, I have finally crossed this one off my never-ending list of “to-reads”.

Mara Dyer wakes up in a hospital room unsure of the events that landed her there. As information is revealed to about the tragic events, Mara’s world begins to crumble. She is left with a mystery to unravel, hallucinations, and a brand new life to navigate. Enter Noah Shaw, the British playboy of all high school girl’s dreams…except for Mara. As Noah makes himself a regular presence in her life, she learns her circumstances may not be as crazy as she feared.

I had a great time reading about Mara, but I wish I would have read this when I was a younger, less experienced reader. I think I would have enjoyed it immensely more. For me, this story had an eerily similar feel to Twilight (with the movie Push thrown into the mix). I can’t pinpoint exactly what made me form this opinion, but the thought stuck with me throughout. Like most everyone, I was on the Twilight bandwagon. I still have fond memories of the books and have re-read them more than any of the other novels I own. However, I feel like we’ve grown and moved past the Twilight-era, making this novel feel slightly out of date in 2017. Clearly, I can see why this series was all the rage half a decade ago.

I really enjoyed the suspense and mystery Michelle Hodkin conveyed with the plotline. I loved wondering what was going to happen, and I felt like this one could have gone in many directions. The unpredictably kept the book glued to my hands. However, the ending was slightly lackluster in my opinion. After such a build-up, I expected a bigger bang for my buck. This may be due to the author setting the story up for multiple books in the series, so this opinion is likely to change as I continue with future novels.

As a whole, I feel conflicted about The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I enjoyed the reading experience, I liked Mara, I loved the unpredictability. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite feel the connection between Mara and Noah I was hoping for and the ending fell short of my expectations. In any case, I’m eager to read The Evolution of Mara Dyer! I hope my library will be calling soon to let me know it is ready for me to pick up.

I should note, I have always felt it is unfair to rate individual books in a series. I’d rather rate the whole than the part because I don’t have the full story yet and my opinions are subject to change. With that said, if I was made to choose a rating I would give this book 3.5 stars, rounding to 4.

Purchase on Amazon!