Book Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
Release Date: 23rd October 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 
Format: Paperback 
Pages: 527
Rating: 5.0/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2013 OTS, 2013 ODY and 2013 BSR

Summary from Amazon:

"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."

Review:
OH. MY GOD. These books. I just. I can't. Words cannot explain how awesome this series is. And, astoundingly, Michelle Hodkin has managed to write a sequel that is better than the first instalment. And for anyone who has read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, you'll know that that is a BIG statement. 

Okay, so if you've read the first book (which you really should if you haven't), you know that it ends with a massive cliffhanger. Book 2 takes this cliffhanger and runs with the idea whole heartedly. Everything in this novel centres around this cliffhanger. All your questions about this won't be answered (some will, but more questions arise), and that just adds to the intensity of this novel.

Along with the intensity (which really, never stops), we get a lot of character development. We learn that Mara, our unreliable narrator, is not as crazy as we might have thought (she's still a bit crazy though, don't make the mistake of assuming that she's completely normal; she isn't), we get a bit of insight into Noah and his history (the story of how he discovered his power is just heartbreaking stuff), and Jamie is back! Honestly, he was one of my favourite characters in the first novel, and I was worried we wouldn't see much more of him. But, oh, I couldn't have been more wrong. Along with this, we get some new and interesting characters who (I assume) are going to play a big role in the 3rd instalment. And Phoebe. One of my favourite characters just because she is so damn creepy. 

And then that ending. If you thought the cliffhanger in the 1st novel was big, wait until you read the final chapters of this novel. Just as you thought it couldn't get any more crazy and twisted, it does. I honestly can't recommend this series enough.