The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Retribution of Mara Dyer
Michelle Hodkin
Genre(s): Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Published: November 6th 2014
Pages: 470
Rating: 2 stars

“Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is.

She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should.

She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.

Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.

Retribution has arrived.”

The Retribution of Mara Dyer had a promising start. It was setting up to be an epic finale to a trilogy that has done nothing other than confuse me and present me with more questions than answers. It was a gripping mystery, albeit a young adult one. Or at least it was for the first 80%.

The things went down hill. Not gently or subtly, but in a vertical drop as if the land had cut away beneath its feet. It shed its skin, revealing its true colours that I had tried so desperately to deny. Do not be fooled like I was into thinking this is a psychological thriller because you will be sorely disappointed. This is 100% hands down a paranormal romance. And that really pissed me off.

Excuse the language but I cannot express how I feel any other way. Well, I could, using stronger language, but I don't like swearing in my reviews. I'm letting myself off this time, however, as Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw have driven me to such disappointed anger in this series.

I liked this when I first picked it up. I wasn't really sure what was going on in book one, and I despised Noah as a character and their 'romance', but the general story held my attention. The same could be said for the majority of this book... Until the ending.

After all the mystery and all the questions, I felt like nothing was resolved or wrapped up. I still wanted answers and I was still confused. As far as endings go, this barely was one. It was just an excuse for Mara and Noah to finally sleep together, which was not what I wanted after three books of pure 'what the hell'.

I feel like another book is necessary, pulling this apart and debunking everything, explaining the anomaly properly and how it works along bloodlines, telling me more about her grandmother. That being said, I wouldn't read it because no doubt it'd be just as disappointing as this was.