I don’t tend to read horror, and this story is part paranormal, part romance, part horror. I almost didn’t read it. ( )

I have really complicated feelings about this book. First of all I want to say I loved the fact that I was addicted to reading it. It had an overall creepy vibe to it and I was hooked from page 1 (which happens to be a letter). On the other hand there were some things that I didn't love so much, but I still gave it a 5 star rating because the things I didn't love made me think about this book constantly when I wasn't reading it... and I love that! I also loved the fact that I had no clue what this was about given that the title and cover don't really give anything away.

Mara wakes up with no memory of the accident her and her 3 friends were in. They were in a building when it collapsed and Mara is the only one unharmed. She convinces her parents to move away and they settle in Miami where she begins going to a private school and her father has a new big case to defend.

Almost immediately she meets Noah, a boy whose reputation precedes him but she can't help but want anyway. She tries to avoid his advances, but eventually gives in. While all this is happening Mara is having episodes. Seeing things that aren't there. Then things start happening that are there and Mara thinks she might have made those things happen... or maybe she's just nuts. All she knows is she doesn't want to wind up committed and Noah seems to be the only one who can help her.

Like I said before I loved the creepy aspect of this book. The visions and the way it was written made the book for me. There also was sort of a mystery thing going on with Mara's dad's client and how that all tied in made the book so much deeper. The book in itself is just captivating. I flew through the 400 pages like it was 100. The suspense and the fact that I just had to know if she was crazy or supernatural made me run to this book every spare chance I got. I really liked Mara's personality and attitude. She was funny, witty, sarcastic, and honest.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Noah. Yes he sounded dreamy and all that, but I just felt like it was too much insta-love. And I really didn't like how Mara was so dependent and weak once he came around. Noah always had to be the fixer, and I know given the things we find out about him later on in the book that part makes sense, but it doesn't mean that I have to like the fact that we have a weak possibly mental girl and knight in shining armor. It was like Mara couldn't have one moment without Noah being a part of the solution. Also the nonkissing thing was cool for while, but can we have a kiss already? How can you love someone you've never kissed?? It sounds impossible especially given how Noah is with girls. I guess I just thought this book could've been just as good (or better) without the romance. Not every teen HAS to be in love, especially one with as many issues as Mara. I think she needed a friend more than she needed a guy. And she was strong enough to stand on her own without a guy always having to be involved.

That being said, I sort of like it when I am arguing in my head while reading a book. If a book is written as well as this one, I forgive it that the characters didn't do what I wanted them to do.

I am definitely going to read the rest of the series!! I'm hoping that there is more to all the visions and everything Mara found out about herself and Noah. I wasn't exactly thrilled that some of the revelations turned out to be exactly what they seemed to be. Maybe book 2 there is a twist? We'll see....

OVERALL: YES!! Totally recommend. It's addicting and beautiful.

Pink Polka Dot Book Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com ( )

This book kept me guessing the whole way through. Is Mara mad or bad or is something else entirely going on. I felt like I was trying to remember what had happened even though it didn't happen to me, it happened to Mara. Very clever writing. I don't always read all the books in a series, but after that ending... I will be. ( )

TW: sexual assault, death of a friend, and PTSD hallucinations

I originally read this book back when I was fourteen and I was absolutely obsessed with it. However, as an adult I was led to believe that maybe this book wasn’t as good as I’d remembered it being (given I barely remembered anything at all. Like I didn’t even remember Noah and Mara kissing in this book). Hesitantly, I picked this book back up again after seven years and it was just as amazing as it was the first time.

This story follows Mara who after being involved in an accident that killed all her friends, she moves to a new city to get away from it all, however she starts to see her dead friends along with other strange events that start to happen and you start to wonder if it’s just the hallucinations from her PTSD messing with her or is this stuff really happening?

It’s so fun revisiting a book you barely remember because it feels like reading it for the first time again. All I remembered was the plot was interesting and I loved MaraShaw but I wouldn’t be able to tell you why. When I was younger I just loved things without reason but now that I’m older and I’ve read a lot, it’s cool being able to see and understand what I love about a book.

First off the characters, I loved them. They’re all great and all compliment the story well. Mara and Noah are definitely the standouts, but the side characters were also amazing. Jamie was such a fun friend for Mara to have and if my memory serves me correctly I’m excited to see him again in future books. I definitely want to see more of his friendship with Mara because he kind of just disappeared from this book. Mara’s brothers were also amazing. I really loved the relationship she had with both of them. I really love loving sibling dynamics in books and how all of them were really supportive of one another.

I would say my only complaint to this would maybe be the female characters. Mara is the main one we see but aside from that, the female characters were either means girls or just didn’t have a lot of page time. I’d definitely like to see more of the likeable ones.

The plot is gripping. Mara is fun to follow but she’s also unreliable because she’s can’t tell the difference between a hallucination and reality. It keeps you guessing as you try to put the pieces together. I like that not everything is revealed in this book. We definitely do get some reveals to make this book in particular satisfying while also leaving you with enough questions to make you continue on in the series.

The romance is swoon-worthy and I understand why my younger self loved these two so much. They have a lot of great banter but that’s not the only thing the romance is built upon. They have great chemistry and an emotional pull to one another. They share a lot of soft scenes together that only serve to remind me that I’m single but the fluffy scenes just warm your heart and make you smile. When they get together you really get to see the softness of their relationship. Honestly I don’t even care that this relationship takes over the entire book because I love them so much and I love every scene they have together.

An unexpected layer I was not expecting on reread was the humour. This book was genuinely funny and this is coming from someone who has read a lot of books that claim to be funny but evidently fall flat. Mara can be quite the comedic protagonist at times. Her internal dialogue could sometimes make me laugh. Along with that, Mara and Noah also had some silky moments together which humour is always the way to my heart.

Overall I’m glad I picked this back up again, for if nothing else, to at least remind myself that younger me had good taste (maybe not always but this is an exception). It was so fun to revisit this story after seven years and I definitely want to get around to reading the rest of the books because I only ever read the first two. If you still haven’t picked this book up, I can’t recommend it more. ( )

REALLY tough rating. I don't think it's a spoiler to say it's very unclear whether this is paranormal or psychological. I was kind of annoyed at the MC's instalove with rich, jerky guy, which turned out to be sort of justified, but for a while in the middle I thought "no way am I reading the followups." Then, the last 7% of the book detonated, and I was like, fuck, where are the sequels?

So at least one of those stars there is hope that a lot of what bugged me was intentional, because by the end it did seem like the pieces were being laid more carefully than I thought. ( )