Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

A humorous romance with a paranormal twist, dealing with PTSD and anxiety, with a pretty cover but an okay story.

Rating: 6/10

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Favorite Quotes:

“’Thanks. Seriously, you must have better things to do with your life than waste it on the hopeless?’

‘I’ve already learned Parseltongue. What else is there?’

'Elvish.’

”

Summary:

Mara Dyer believes life can’t get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

Review:

In all honesty, I expected more from a book that I’ve seen people raving about on tumblr. Maybe I should have known, since I’ve never been a huge romance reader. But the cover and the buzz drew me in, and I decided to by this book. I am mildly disappointed.

Perhaps my biggest issue with the novel was the romance – in particular, Noah Shaw. Mara may have gotten over her hatred, but I did not. The moment he said, “you’re not like other girls,” it was a big no from me. There was nothing incredible about him, except for the typical “hot, mysterious edgy.” At least there weren’t any unnecessary love triangles. 

Maybe I’m being too harsh. I did love Mara’s relationship with her older brother Daniel, and her best friend, Jamie. I appreciated how the book dealt with issues such as PTSD and anxiety and panic attacks. There were also several reverences to pop culture, which I think a lot of fiction leaves out. 

I also found the plot a bit confusing at times, (spoiler) especially when her younger brother is kidnapped. That just seemed flat and unrealistic (end spoiler). And their wasn’t much climax at the end, it was too sudden and  disconnected. The very ending, and plot twist, wasn’t too intriguing either. Perhaps that’s just me. 

I may give the next two books a try, but I won’t be buying them. We’ll see if the library has them in stock.

Next on my shelf: 

Rose Under Fire / Elizabeth Wein