Author had some guts stringing things out as long as she did, and it's pretty impressive how much she did manage to tie off in by the end. Unfortunately, stringing the mysteries along so long felt like it built expectations up higher than any grand reveal could meet. I liked this story better when it was unrealistic teen wish-fulfillment, and while I can appreciate the complexity of the resolution on an intellectual level, the entertainment value did drop somewhat. Still, a great debut trilogy; looking forward to more from this author!

Wish-fulfillment teens falling in love... plus thriller-paced paranormal/psychological horror and supernatural powers. An incredibly quick, fun read.

Review later.

This went much better than the previous entry, The Evolution though it wasn't as good as The Unbecoming. However, that is possibly down to The Unbecoming's creepy horror and suspense that couldn't be sustained when we learned more.

The Unbecoming brought mystery, intrigue, and what felt like something different. The Evolution was a drag where characters ignored the obvious and the story became tortuously formulaic. The Retribution had some great elements again from the beginning and ended in a standard foreseeable clean way. It had the best and the worst elements from the first two installments, which landed it right in the middle: 3 stars. Enjoyable to a point, but I was relieved it was over.

Content Warning: Attempted Rape/Murder, Gruesome Horror Violence

The Good

The horror and suspense came back in the beginning
Enjoyed Mara, Jamie, and Sophie's road trip adventure
Finally the story went somewhere, we got answers and resolutions.
Ending: Quick & Clean. Perhaps too much so but I'm glad it's over TBH
Liked seeing Noah's perspective

The Bad & The Other

I don't feel right cheering on such a destructive couple. We've got plenty of those around cough Are they going to stay together? That's clear but it's not heartwarming or sweet
The Puppeteer Reveal: Obvious and Not Shocking
Obvious and clunky character swap
Mr. Mystery Magic Black Man's (description only used to point out the trope and keep from spoiling his name) explanation on why he freaked out over Mara in the first book isn't enough for me, it doesn't work.

The Retribution does bring back the psychological thriller aspects and gruesome horror. And I fucking loved it. I was hooked again from the beginning and it kept getting better. For awhile.
I enjoyed Mara, Jamie, and Sophie's traveling adventures. They were focused on figuring out the mystery and have a good dynamic going on. It was interesting and they were finally (and literally) going somewhere with the story.

However, as soon as they reach their destination, Sophie is no longer useful, and she's tossed aside. I'm sorry, she leaves over moral outrage that makes sense but isn't likable. Given how everything else is drawn out, it's quick and felt more like character swapping. Someone else did just join the crew right before hand…I understand why she didn't fit in the story anymore, but it made me sad and it wasn't gracefully written. It was obvious and forced.

The final plot twist I was coming from a mile away. It could only be xe, there wasn't any other option or possibility. I was surprised however that revenge wasn't brought up as a possible motive of theirs, not even a passing remark. Not that I think that was main reasoning or anything. However, it was my first thought and felt like the characters were missing something again by not bringing it up.

The ending is solid and nicely wrapped up. Perhaps a bit too nicely since they don't face consequences. There has to be something more coming at them, or at least Mara. But honestly, it's not like I really want it to be dragged out again so it's a wash.

I'm glad it's over and it wasn't bad in the end but it's hard to say I'm satisfied. I had such high hopes after The Unbecoming so anything less stings of disappointment. The Retribution takes away the pain, but doesn't stop the jab.

As much as The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer had me by the seat of my pants, The Evolution of Mara Dyer had me flailing and bailing. Where's The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was tolerably saturated with Mara's and Noah's mutual obsession, romance dominated and subdued The Evolution of Mara Dyer. Mara made The Unbecoming  but undoes in all Evolution.

I don't care if that was the point. With 100 pages left, I was seriously frustrated and kicking myself for not quitting already. I would've bailed had the action not finally ramped up into climaxing. Then I was stuck with another cliffhanger.

I was resolved to only start the final book, The Retribution, because I came this far. If it didn't pay off, I was abandoning ship early. From 4.5 stars to almost DNF, how pathetic.



It started off great but then turned into this revolving door gag. We learn some basic shit in the very beginning, then instead of following the first book's path of horrific, spine tingling tension, it floundered. It stuck to issues we knew the answer to: the stalker and Mara's mentality, then ran those into the ground and kept digging.

And came up on the other side: emo romance drama over whether the happy couple can kiss without paranormal consequences. Of all the questions to linger on... Not only did I not enjoy dawdling over high school insta-love but the answer was fucking obvious! Common sense. Okay, I know it's "ewww" to think about adults being romantic with each other when you're that age, especially those related to you, but god-fucking-damn. It's not like she wasn't digging into the past already or anything...

Noah does get better in this book, and Mara gets worse. Again, if that was the point, it succeed but the execution was torture. I wanted to shake her and scream over several things. Like the previously mentioned Mr. Fake Name they were trying to hunt down, only this wasn't a blind-spot but a sinkhole.

Mara's treatment of Phoebe and dismissal of her boyfriend is my main sticking point. She became a dumbass hypocrite. Didn't even bother to find anything out about Phoebe before piling on the stereotypical "she's nutso" shit, following the other teens lead, including Jamie's.

I was so psyched about how The Unbecoming handled mental health issues from a teen's POV and it turned nasty. I don't expect her to be a saint or buddy-buddy but some fucking introspection and thought would be nice. If she'd noticed that sooner, we'd get somewhere before the climax thus cutting most of the sagging padding and making the whole damn thing a lot more enjoyable.

It's possible for all that to be worthwhile and forgiven, if there was resolution and character progression. But it's a cliffhanger and Mara moves sideways instead of connecting the dots. Disappointing, to say the least. I expected better from her. Of course, this all sets up for The Retribution of Mara Dyer but it has its work cut out. The Evolution was so long and so bad I was resolved to throw in the towel early if it didn't pan out quick.

What did it do well? Well...Yay for Jamie.

Bottomline:

2.5 stars: For the beginning, the plot twist and for somehow keeping me reading. If only it wasn't so pointlessly drawn out and shat on everything that came before it.