I didn't enjoy this as much as the Mara books, but it was still very good.

I didn't think it would be possible, but this novel got even darker than the original trilogy. And (not sure why) but I enjoyed it. It was a nice change from some of the happier things that I've been reading.

In the original trilogy, I liked both Mara and Noah. Sure, we had some issues, but I still liked them. In this novel, I hated Mara. She is seriously messed up. Noah, on the other hand, I very much enjoyed learning more about him.

This novel was kind of confusing throughout. But hey, I'm gonna keep reading this. I just have a lot of questions that I want answered. ( )

3,3.5,4....I don't know how to rate this. I'm still not entirely sure what exactly just happened, and I definitely don't know how I feel about it. I really need the next book to get here right now so I can get some answers. ( )

“Fate is bullshit. Destiny doesn’t exist. If I want a happy ending, I’ll have to write it myself.”

The Becoming of Noah Shaw is a promising reentry into Michelle Hodkin’s world. There’s snarky biting humor and new questions arise as we see old friends. Noah and Mara fight secrets and revelations that threaten to tear them apart.

Things I Liked
I’m always a fan of letters in stories. They instantly add context and history, and in some cases mystery. The letters in this story were definitely used to it’s advantage.

Small thing, but I really liked the chapter titles. I feel like so many books don’t have actual chapter titles or headings, so I appreciate these.

There was an abundance of light-hearted banter that so so so entertaining. It was quick, smart, and biting. It really showed the character’s personality and the dynamics between characters well.

This quote:

“A day may come when I stop being my own worst enemy, but that day is not today.”

Things I Didn’t Like
It took way too long for anything to happen. I feel like we didn’t really get into the plot until around the 40% mark. It was a long slow buildup, that felt long.

The writing style wasn’t really my favorite. There was a notable use of parenthesis that was kinda weird. It didn’t necessarily bother me, but it was something I noticed every time, so it pulled me out of the story. I also thought there was a good bit of telling instead of showing within the story.

This was such an easy book to read. It was filled with unlikeable morally grey characters, fantastic banter, and a vivid well crafted world with a rich history. While I found the first half to be pretty boring, the plot really picked up in the last quarter. The Becoming of Noah Shaw excellently highlights Noah as a character and sets up a great adventure going forward.

I received a copy of the book from Simon & Schuster BFYR via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. ( )