Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington  was a fabulous debut mystery novel. Olivia Bloom is a new student at Wickham Hall. She's there on an art scholarship, but she already feels out of place. She accidentally befriends a boy who claims to see ghosts, and somehow, the hottest boy in school seems to like her. Of course that's all going to change when she dies. Talkington strikes the perfect balance between dark fantasy and grim reality. She also manages to capture the voices of more than one character in first person. It's hard to do multiple characters in first person and make them seem unique, but Talkington nails it. The only part of the story I didn't particularly enjoy was the romance. It obviously took a back seat to the mysterious part of the plot which I appreciated, but it made the romance seem like it was under developed. I didn't believe in the relationship. Over all, I'd recommend this to fans of ghost stories and murder mysteries.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin was just as mind-bending and interesting as the first book in the series. I'm going to be real honest here and admit that I basically read this one in two sittings. If I hadn't had to go celebrate the Fourth of July, I definitely would have finished it in one. I'm still reeling a little from finishing this book. To be fair, I devoured both books in three days, so I think I deserve a little WTFing right now. This sequel took so many unexpected turns from the original book that I have no idea what's happening or what's going to happen, but in a good way? Like the first thing I did when I finished it was to text my friend who had pushed it on me in the first place (heyyyyyy Melissa!). I can't wait for The Retribution of Mara Dyer to hopefully clear some things up for me in the future (November!!). As it is, I can feel I'm going to spend a lot of time thinking about this one. Fans of the first one should reall...

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is a whirlwind ride of a horror novel. I read it in about three hours, but let me warn you, you might start to feel a little bit crazy yourself if you take this route.  Mara Dyer is the main character of Hodkin's novel, and the novel begins with Mara losing her best friend, her boyfriend and her boyfriend's sister in a bizarre accident where a building collapses on them. Mara is the only person to escape, and she does so relatively unscathed.  Emotionally, however, Mara's a mess. She has symptoms of PTSD--hallucinations, losing track of time, and other effects. Her family decides it might be best to move away from their home town and start over. So that's how Mara Dyer ends up at Croyden Academy in Miami, Florida.  Honestly, I have no idea what to say about this book. It was really good--as evidenced by the fact that I devoured it. But I can also see how some people might not like it. It has a very horror-...