Komal Mikaelson

Initial reaction After Completion




More like 2.5*. I am rounding it off to 3* because of the absolutely gorgeous covers.
That wasn't stupid at all

Throughout the book, there were two emotions warring: creepiness and annoyance. I was equally torn between the two and couldn't make up my mind as to what I really felt. Upto 60% of the book, that is. After that as you can perceive from my rating, annoyance won, hands down.

Random trivia (Jessie, for ya)
I did NOT like the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. And what is with the title anyway? What has 'Unbecoming' got to do with anything in the book?
Um, anyway, it was easily predictable. Cliched. Hackneyed. Overrated. Twilight-ish romance.
The one twist was the addition of supernatural element at the verrryyy end of the book, which felt like a lazy attempt at redeeming it, but couln't quite manage. And it irritated me no end. But as bad as it was, it still managed to pique my curiosity over what would happen next. Marginally. Or maybe that was the cover.
Whatever.

Now, getting to the second installment.

Starting with the good part,
The Creepiness

That wouldn't necessarily sound like something that would make a good part but, believe me you, it was.
The book picks right after the first one ended and we find Mara in a facility after her father's shooting. She is prattling about Jude being alive, but no one believes her, pinning that to hallucinations due to PSTD. Subsequently, she is released when she shows signs of improvement.
And that is when, it starts getting weird. The actually-seeing-dead-Jude stuff that I had bought earlier, now started to seem a figment of her imagination. I mean, the girl is suffering from severe PSTD which has delusions as valid symptoms, so what's to tell if she wasn't hallucinating all that stuff? She starts sleep walking, losing time and acting like honest-to-God mentally, unstable kid.

We, atleast I, did not know what to believe.
Or who to believe.
What was real and what wasn't.
Because there were some really, really creepy elements.

And, I guess that was what Hodkin was rooting for. And she succeeded partially.
So, that part constituted the riveting, mind fuckery side of the book.


Now the bad part,
Annoyance

The Plot/The Suspense

Haywire. Chaotic. Messy.
This is the second book and I still don't what the fuck is happening. I mean, a good suspense is healthy for everyone, but not long, drawn-out, far-fetched drama. There is only so much deflection and evasiveness we could handle before it starts getting on our nerves. It was like we were running around in damn circles. It gets exhausting, y'know. We need some answers, for heaven's sake. At some, point I started wondering if I was missing something. I mean like, I was reading some situations twice to get what the hell was happening.
Infuriating!

The Flashbacks
What the fuck? What happened in India? Hugely annoying and senseless, whatsoever.
Every time one would come up, I'll be like: Not again. I understand that the third book will be the all-enlightening one, but this is too much. One explanation, one clue, as to what is happening, was that too much to ask?

Noah Shaw
Yes, I am aware that many girls are absolutely gaga over the boy. And no, I'm not.
There something really off about that boy. On the side, he seems a xerox of our great Edward Cullen.
-Don't tell the girl anything and make all the decisions on her part as she is too stupid to handle stuff on her own.
-Show any and everything revolves around money.
-Blame yourself for everything that happens to her because that's oh-so-romantic.
-Speak like you are 110 years old.
Atleast that was valid one for Edward because he was 110. But Noah? What was his fucking excuse?
And on the other hand he played the arrogant, assholian, bad boy who is actually very noble. Oh, and the broken past, of course.
Very annoying.
Oh, and Noah:

Keep that in mind.

The Romance


HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD. DON'T SCROLL IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK.

The Plot Holes
Or the questions that better be answered in #3 or I'm kicking someone

-Jude's Powers
I din't quite understand that part. He has the power to draw the life out of people to sustain himself? Really? So, how come when he supposedly died, he lost the 2 hands? Did they grow back or something? Wierd.
-Grandma is immortal?
-Dr. Kells was following them in the asylum, at the day of the incident, right? So, does she have powers too? If not, how on earth did she survive the collapse?
-If their abilities are acquired, how come Mara's parents are clueless about the whole thing? Wouldn't they know if someone took their daughter, did something to her genes maybe and returned to them?
-What was the point of letting Jude in and torture Mara at the end? Wouldn't Dr. Kells be disappointed if something happened to her lab rats?
-The people with powers can't be killed? They are immortals too?
-What's up with Jude's parents? They never lived there? Are they ghosts?

And now, the silliest, most ridiculous part of the book

*drumrolls*

The Ending
WHAT THE FUCK? I know it is supposed to be heart breaking and devastating for us, and I guess it is for some Noah fangirls, but it was far-fetched. And stupid.
Of all the people who could have died, it was Noah? With all his healing powers, he died? Are we supposed to be dumb here?
Really, people.
And another massive cliffhanger. Hodkins could have easily wrapped up the book in this installment. But no, it was dragged out to the third one.
*sighs*
And, yes, I'm gonna read it.

Oh, and the last line of the book:


AWESOMESAUCE!

Random cover interpretation
As I mentioned above, the covers are absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful and haunting. I luurrvvveed them. And I can't resist, I have need to talk about them.
Starting with,
#1 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer


Okay, I feel like this represents the initial situation when Mara discovered her powers and Noah is trying to protect her and their forever love bla bla bla.

#2 The Evolution of Mara Dyer


This one is pretty obvious. It feels like drifting away of Noah and Mara. Or probably, Noah dying and Mara trying to save him.

#3 The Retribution of Mara Dyer


Feels like Noah will somehow keep his promise to Noah and protect her. And he is obviously alive. Duh.
And also, how things are somewhat stable now in Mara's life as she reaches the ground. And of course, Happily Ever After for Noah and Mara.

Tell me what you think about my interpretation. Does your differ?