neinnnnn halts maul

3.8/4 ⭐️ My first read of 2023 and it did not disappoint! The continuation of Mara Dyer’s story is almost as exciting as the first one. I love marashaw so much and I’m curious as to how the trilogy will end!!

The first 95% get 5+ stars from me; but the last 5% .. I wish I could scream! This cannot be the solution!!! Where's the creativity?? The fantastic 95% were so full of emotions, scary moments (Stephen King hello!) and speculations. I couldn't put the book down... Wow! Then came the end.. Well.. I really hope book 3 will make it good again!

<blockquote><b><i>“Everyone is a little crazy. The only difference between us and them is that they hide it better.”</i></b></blockquote> Well, I wasn't expecting this. I remembered that the first book in this trilogy was a little chilling and had this suspenseful vibe and a bit of a terror feel to it, but there were times I just couldn't read this at night. It had me anxious for Mara and her family and sad because no one believes her and she's suffering so much! When I thought things would be ok, another big turn came and left me reeling. It was one of the things I enjoyed in this second installment - the pacing was super fast and there was a lot happening, and the author managed to introduce a new mystery inside the one we're already dealing with, and I believe it will be the bigger plot of the final novel. There were also some plot twists I didn't see coming at all that turned the story to a direction I was not anticipating but that made complete sense and had me very interested to see where it's going. The ending was a roller-coaster of emotions and I couldn't help but reach for the next novel right away. But there were a couple of things that I didn't love as much, Noah & Mara's relationship is one. Yes, they are cute and I like how Noah believes and supports Mara through everything and sometimes he's the only thread holding her together, but the drama between them, especially the kissing/making up thing, is getting kinda old. I also don't particularly like all that intensity between them, it feels like too much for a couple of teenagers, despite all they've been through. The other thing that bothered me a lot in the novel was how the entire subject of mental health was dealt with, especially by Mara and the people who were at Horizons with her. Yes, in the end, some of it made sense, but it felt like she and the others were making fun or belittling treatments that actually work and save lives just because they are teenagers and are supposed to hate everything and find everything boring and stupid. And people who had actual mental health issues were being...kind of made fun of? Or called crazy and weird? That didn't sit well with me at all, so I had to take a star out of the rating. I still enjoyed this a lot, maybe more than the first book, and I'm really curious to see how the ending will unfold. I don't know if I'll read Noah's books, mainly because I've been told they are not as good and they mess with the story that is well-wrapped after the third installment. I don't know, maybe I'll read just the first one to see how do I feel about it, who knows.