Author: Michelle Hodkin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: November 8, 2017
Pages: 384
Format: Galley/Netgalley
In the first book of the Shaw Confessions, the companion series to the New York Times bestselling Mara Dyer novels, old skeletons are laid bare and new promises prove deadly. This is what happens after happily ever after.
Everyone thinks seventeen-year-old Noah Shaw has the world on a string.
They’re wrong.
Mara Dyer is the only one he trusts with his secrets and his future.
He shouldn’t.
And both are scared that uncovering the truth about themselves will force them apart.
They’re right.
Review: Oh my god! I loved this book so much! So, I really want to keep this review spoiler free so I might be a bit vague about a few things. But trust me, you definitely want to experience this book and it's shocking moments when you read it, not in a review. So small bit of info, you should read all the Mara Dyer books before this to fully understand things happening. I actually haven't completely. I'm in the middle of Retribution (book 3), so I've read enough of it to understand the referenced things generally. So I wasn't missing much information. However, remember all those before notes, letters and chapters in Retribution?? We get to see a different side of that in this book. And we get to see how they end up coming to the main story!
Noah Shaw! I honestly think I enjoyed reading from his point of view more than Mara's. Don't get me wrong. I love the Mara Dyer books, but I just generally think I liked Noah's point of view a little bit better. I felt so bad every time we were with Noah when he was experiencing another Gifted's death. You couldn't help but feel awful every time he was seeing a death and couldn't do a thing to stop it. I could not imagine being in his shoes. What made things worse for him was that he knew these people had gifts like him, and he couldn't figure out why others like him were dying. On top of all this he was still dealing with everything regarding his father and his "research." Poor Noah was juggling so much.
The majority of the book revolves around trying to find out why other gifted are going missing and dying and who else in general has a gift. Come to find out, two more people really close to the Shaw and Dyer families had hidden gifts, one not knowing he had one, and one knowing and intentionally hiding it from them. We also catch up with friends from the Mara Dyer books. One being helpful to Noah and Mara, one not. Mentioned person who is not causes a lot of drama and issues throughout this book, including one of the huge scenes at the end. But throughout this book we see some new gifts come to light, new secrets revealed, and a lot of changes within many of our favorite characters due to their trauma and experiences with their gifts.
I really liked Daniel in this book. We see him really be like the brother Noah never had. And we even see Noah be exactly that for Daniel in return after the huge betrayal Daniel experienced from one of the people closest to him. And whats worse, is the ending. I have no idea how poor Daniel is going to handle what happened at the ending once he finds out about it. He will definitely need Noah's support.
And Mara. Mara Mara Mara. My feelings about her are all over the place in this book. I loved the happy, loving, caring scenes between her and Noah in this book. But I also couldn't shake her actions. Hiding stuff from Noah. After all she went through and she still hides things from the person she loves. Not to mention she was always a prime suspect in the deaths that were happening. And she always acted differently regarding it. She would deny it sometimes, or just not say anything at all, but she seemed to be the most suspicious of the group regarding the people dying. She never had a straightforward reaction regarding it. She was just different from the Mara we used to know.
The ending. I still do not know how to react to the ending of this book. Lets just say all the things that happened at the end are setting up for an incredibly interesting next book. It was not my favorite ending, but a good one still. I am incredibly excited for the next book because I sense it will have a lot of interesting things going on!
5 Stars!
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