Allegiant by Veronica Roth

WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS!!!!!

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Rating: 3/5 Stars

I started this book off with four stars but after thinking about it for a while, I changed it to three, even though it absolutely kills me. I don’t think I can ever write a proper review for this book. I finished this over 2 weeks ago and I still don’t know what to write, so this “review” is just going to be one big rant and I’m sorry.

First of all, the Divergent series is one of my favorites of all time but this book is definitely my least favorite out of the three. The other two books, Divergent and Insurgent, took me no longer than two or three days to finish and this took me over a week. I’m not sure if it was because mentally I didn’t want to finish it or if it was just really boring and not as exciting. I also felt like it was very rushed and that Veronica Roth just wanted to get it done with.

The beginning started out really slow and I was a little confused since they didn’t start off where Insurgent left off. I honestly did not get into the storyline till towards the end. A lot of irrelevant events happened and it had a different vibe from the other two books and I did not like it. I wanted a lot from this book, considering it is the last in the series, but one thing I really wanted but didn’t get was more Peter. Even though he was an absolute horrible person in Divergent, he redeemed himself for me in Insurgent and I started to love him. I wanted Tris and him to become friends or for Peter to admit that he had a crush on her. BUT HE WAS HARDLY IN. None of their friends were in it as much either and that pissed me off. I wanted more Christina too, and Uriah was in it for like 5 seconds than died. How was that even fair?

Caleb is a special snowflake and gets his own little paragraph. Even though he was not there for Tris in Insurgent and basically led her to her death, for some reason I still had a soft spot for Caleb. I knew from the minute Tris suggested that Caleb go into the room, I knew she would go instead. My heart broke a little when he let her go. I don't think he will ever recover from that but a part of me still wishes that Caleb been the big brother he should have been and went instead.

I loved the romance. I saw a lot of negative things about both Tris and Tobias and how they were both annoying in this book but I didn’t mind the fighting, even though it was frustrating at the time. The fighting made it seem more realistic and I loved seeing them get through the rough parts together. With all the fighting,  you see that they truly love each other and can get through anything.

The ending is what the hype of this book is about. I honestly saw something like this coming, especially since they did the deed, but I still cried. A LOT. I did not agree with the ending but I respect it. It was a bold move to end it that way because Veronica knew she would most likely get hate for it and it was not like every other Dystopian novel where the main characters get together in the end. It was nice to switch it up even though it killed a part of my soul.

I wanted to love this book with all my heart but it just didn’t happen for me. This book wasn’t her best but I will still read anything Veronica Roth writes. Divergent will forever be one of my favorite series, even with that heart-breaking ending.

Destroy Me

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished reading: October 20, 2013

Destroy Me is a novella told in Warner’s POV right after he was shot in Shatter Me. In the first book, most people didn’t like Warner but there was always something about him that I liked for some reason. You can tell he always thought he was doing right thing and actually cared for Juliette in his own sadistic way. After reading this, you see that he really does love her, more than anything else.

This book gives you a glimpse into Warner’s head and will probably make you fall in love with him. Everything you thought about him will change because there is so much more to him than he lets on. Warner’s “obsession” with Juliette runs very deep and in this novella you get to see why. You get to see his relationship with his brutal father and the reasons why he is the way he is.

There is nothing more frustrating than a love triangle, especially since Adam is perfect, sweet and everything you want in a man. This novella will definitely make you think twice about whom you ship with Juliette. Overall, this book will change the way you look at Warner and will even make you feel bad for him. It is an amazing follow up to Shatter Me.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Rating: 4/5 stars.
Finished reading: October 10, 2013.

This is my first review on this blog. Hopefully it's decent and I don't sound like I have no idea what i'm talking about..

     The Evolution of Mara Dyer is the sequel in the “Mara Dyer” series. Michelle Hodkin is very talented; her writing is both beautiful and haunting. The book mainly picks up right where the first book leaves off and Mara Dyer is in an psychiatric unit. But is she really crazy? Did she really see her dead ex-boyfriend Jude? Mara no longer goes to Croyden but is put into a Horizons Outpatient Program and goes there 5 times a week. Throughout the book, Mara notices that things in her house are either going missing or appearing somewhere else. Mara is even having blackouts, flashbacks, sleepwalking, forgetting things, etc. We find out more about her grandmother and find out that her and Mara might have something in common. There are surprising plot twists, a scary stalking ex-boyfriend, and intense moments that will keep you on your toes. The book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves readers in a state of shock.
     I was very hesitant about starting this book; even though I thought the first book was good, I still found it so creepy that I got a bad vibe with it. I didn’t want to go through all those crazy emotions again and I knew that the sequel was going to be even creepier. I wasn’t expecting a lot out of this book but this was surprisingly really great and it would keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. This book was MUCH creepier than the first one, as I predicted; at times this book was so scary I had to stop reading and wait till it was daylight outside. One thing that actually scared me the most, aside from Jude, was the fact that people thought Mara was crazy but no one, except Noah, would believe her. The thought of that happening to anybody is horrifying. I love how Mara didn't give up even though she was so fragile on the inside and that her own family didn’t trust her with anything.
     The romance in this book is incredible. “If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one” SWOON. Noah Shaw is an absolute babe in this book. In the first book, Noah is just a rich guy, who is cocky and sleeps with a lot of girls and out of nowhere he and Mara are in love. In this sequel, you see their relationship grow and he is totally dedicated to Mara. No matter what Mara said/did, he was by her side through all of it. You see that he actually really cares about her.
     I have a love/hate relationship with her family. I loved how her family, especially her mom, cares about Mara. It is very realistic; in other books, parents seem to disappear most of the time. But at the same time, it annoyed me so much how no one in her family would believe her and would watch her, just waiting for her to say something that would consider her “crazy”. The only people in her family that didn’t bother me were her brothers. I absolutely love Daniel, every girl wants a brother like him, and Joseph is so innocent and adorable when he is with Noah.
     Overall, this book gets a little confusing and complex at times but in the end it is great and worth the read. The only downside is that both books gave me so much anxiety, this book especially. Reading this book during midterm week at school was a bad idea. My emotions were everywhere! The wait for the next book is torture and I am defiantly going to start reading it the day it comes out.

Clare xx