[Received the arc for an honest review! Thank you!]

Noah Shaw was my favorite character from the Mara Dyer series... even more than Mara herself, so when the series was announced for his solo story I needed more.

And I feel like I still need more, even though this is the second book. I'm not connected to Noah as much as I was on the Mara Dyer series, and the story just feel confusing and disconnected, and now everything that was good is gone? I need to understand where this is going.

For fans of Michelle Hodkin and the Mara Dyer series, this book has been long awaited. For me, I wanted a book from Noah's perspective as soon as I met him in the first Mara Dyer book, and somehow we got two. We find Noah Shaw on his own at the beginning of this book, finally fed up with the lies Mara has been telling him for years, at least from my perspective. This book forces Noah to decide who he wants to be and how he can live with the choices he and his friends have made. It's a complicated story with nuances and a morally gray center.

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw by Michelle Hodkin was definitely high on my list of sequels that I wanted to read in 2018, and the book definitely did not disappoint! If you know me any at all, then you probably know how much I adore the Mara Dyer series, and now, the Noah Shaw Confessions as well. These books are just so good!!

One of the things that I love about this series, (same as I did with the previous series), is that the storyline gets curiouser and curiouser as it goes along. It definitely kept me guessing on what would happen next, and not enough books do that anymore. And I love it when it does happen, as it makes me feel even more involved with the story. The storyline for this book was all about the backstory, which was definitely interesting, and more than a little creepy. I loved it!

Most of this book revolves around Noah Shaw’s story, obviously, but also a bit about Goose, who we get to know a bit more about as well. A few of the characters from the previous books also make appearances, and I love seeing them again, even though these meetings where a bit confusing at times. One character was noticeably missed from this book, and that was Mara Dyer herself. I found myself waiting for her to show up as the story went along, but she was only there for a moment, and I can’t wait to see her again in the next book. She was definitely missed!

Overall; The Reckoning of Noah Shaw was a great addition to this highly addictive sequel, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, which I assume will be the last, and which is currently untitled, but expected to release in November 2019. I can’t wait to read the rest of the story to see what is going to happen next. If you love these books, or if you’ve never read them before, I do highly recommend them!

Happy Reading!

As soon as I read the prologue for The Reckoning of Noah Shaw I knew this book was going to hit me and gut me it did. Michelle Hodkin has a way of engaging the reader with her words and questioning what’s real and not real

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw starts off where book one left off and let me tell you everything you thought you knew was wrong. Every. Single. Thing. I was shocked with the twists and turns that were thrown my way. I’m still trying to piece it all together and I can’t wait for the third book to see what other surprises we get.

This is a for a mature YA audience. It sounded very interesting and I intended on reading the previous books, but that just didn't happen, so I skimmed. Not the best way to judge a book, but it was interesting.

Thank you for this ARC for an unbiased opinion.

I am saddened to see the spinoff of a beloved series go completely off the rails and make me question everything I loved about this world and characters. Noah is a complete mess and so far removed from everything I adored about him. Nothing of any significance happens until the last few chapters, conveniently setting up readers for another wait. I am likely to give up on the series at the point; so heartbroken and disappointed. The original series now seems tainted, and I can't even stand to look at my hardback collection at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster from my advanced review copy.

I’ll admit that some of my low rating is partially my fault since I remember about 10% of the previous book, but I feel disenchanted overall by this whole series/world. This book had a lot of filler (going back and explaining more things that had happened in previous books) and a decent amount of interesting plot points otherwise.

I don’t even really know what else to say because this was just the epitome of a “shrug emoji” to me lol. I think that it's hard to review this series without giving too much away because the synopses always include very vague information. Basically, this one relied heavily on Goose and Noah going around and trying to get to the bottom of everything. 

As I mentioned, the story went back and forth a little between "before" and "after" certain events took place. This is usually fine, but the majority of the book was somewhat confusing. I didn't really understand what was happening, where the story was headed, and what was really happening with the characters. I think the vague-ish writing style (not sure how else to describe it) and moving around a lot didn't do this book any favors. I previously loved Noah but I was disconnected from him (and truly everyone else) in this story. Also, word of warning that I don't think is a major spoiler: don't expect to see a whole lotta Mara in this book.

The end was intriguing, like the first book in this companion series, so I am generally intrigued enough to keep reading these books. 

SPOILERS TO FOLLOW: One of the new people with powers that we meet, Isaac, potentially "removes Mara" from Noah's memory. Meanwhile, the epilogue shows Mara and her brother in the airport heading to London to stop whatever they seem to think is going on. It's unclear at that moment if they will make it in time or when it's even happening compared to the rest of the story.

Trigger warnings for suicide, depression, self-harm, and drug/alcohol abuse.

This rating pains me. It truly does. When I read the Mara Dyer Trilogy during my sophomore year of high school, I fell in love. This trilogy was unlike any other that was published at the time. It was dark, twisted, raw, and chock full of supernatural themes--it was right up my alley. If there is one thing I cannot get enough of it is paranormal/supernatural books. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, necromancers, shapeshifters, and more are my kryptonite.

Needless to say, when I heard that Michelle Hodkin was writing books from Noah Shaw's perspective I couldn't contain my giddiness. I loved Noah Shaw so much, I named my cell phone after him. Yeah. I was THAT dedicated. Now, after hearing all of this I'm sure you can imagine my pain and sorrow at rating The Reckoning of Noah Shaw a mere two stars. It was definitely the last thing I expected when I picked up this book. I had the absolute highest hopes for this book, but it fell flat. This story seems to have lost its initial sparkle that captivated my attention all those years ago. This book felt lackluster and a mere remnant of what it used to be.

There didn't seem to be a clear beginning, middle, and end in this book. It felt like 500 pages of random, unnecessary events with a cliffhanger thrown in last minute. Part of the fun and mystique of the original trilogy was the constant wondering of what was happening and what would happen. That was missing in this book. Instead, I was confused for the majority of this story. There didn't seem to be anything new nor was there any character development. In other words, I was bored.

*sigh* I hate writing reviews like this because I understand how much work goes into writing a novel, editing it, and then publishing it. But, I just did not like this story. At all. I can't tell you one thing that I really enjoyed--and it's from Noah Shaw's perspective. Noah should have been the one thing I enjoyed no matter what, but I didn't even like his character that much. That in itself is tragic, folks. Truly truly tragic.

If you read this book, I hope you enjoy it much more than I did. Maybe this book just wasn't for me. Maybe, Michelle Hodkin's writing isn't for me now that I'm older. I don't know. All I know is that I won't be continuing this series which breaks my heart.

Oh man, I don’t have words, but I have a lot of feelings.

I loved this portion of Noah’s story. I loved being in his head, being back in England, being with Goose. Seriously, I could read an entire book with Goose as the MC. Also, I desperately need him and Jamie together ASAP.

Plot wise, it was fantastic and maddening and literally everything I could have wanted for a second book in a trilogy. We get some answers and more questions, and you bet your sweet ass there’s a cliffhanger ending.

I refuse to say anything that could be spoiler-ish. Just know that I am furious and so happy and can’t even wait to see what the final book brings.

**Huge thanks to Simon & Schuster BFYR for providing the arc free of charge**

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this advance copy to review! All opinions are my own.

This book really got to me. I was so pumped for this book and it kind of felt slow. There were moments where I put the book down and didn't pick it up for a while because I had no desire to. The Mara Dyer trilogy was so interesting and it felt as if this book rehashed parts of the trilogy that I wasn't necessarily curious about. I believe it is good to have background information for a book but it felt like there was too much background and not enough present-day focus. The ending left off on a cliffhanger which made me scream and want more at the same time. I would recommend this book to others who love the Mara Dyer trilogy but I warn them that this is a setup book for what I hope is an AMAZING next book.

I was worried about this one bc I didn’t like the last book of Mara Dyer or the first book of Noah Shaw, but this one got me back into being interested in the series. Full review on Goodreads.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this advance copy to review! All opinions are my own.

It truly bothers me when a book I am highly anticipating leaves me as disappointed as the Noah Shaw books do. I love the original Mara Dyer book with my whole heart and I was so excited to hear that we were getting more in the world, and from Noah’s perspective none the less. After being disappointed by the first book in this series last year, I was looking forward to hopefully reading a better book this time around. But I was sadly let down again.

The main issue with this series in my opinion is that there is no real plot that is evident to the reader until the last third at least. For a good chunk of this book, I found myself truly wondering where the story was going, and still found myself so confused when the plot finally revealed itself. This book felt like a day in the life of Noah. Where the reader just follows Noah around while he’s just as confused as we are. There’s a lot of things happening that don’t seem to make sense and frankly made me frustrated.

The one thing I absolutely love in this series is Noah’s narration. This boy is one of my all time favorites and I was so excited that this series would be in his perspective, and it’s the best thing about it. Listening to Noah’s reasoning through plot points and hearing how he feels about everyone he cares about is truly the highlight.

I just know that there’s going to be too easy of a fix for that ending in the finale but I truly hope I’m proven wrong.

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw is the second book in the Shaw Confessions book series written by Michelle Hodkin. I am not a fan of this one. There is too much depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and ideation. A really depressing story.

Noah Shaw was left shattered, scattered, and confused at the end of 'Becoming'. Now, in 'Reckoning', he is on a quest for answers that brings him face to face with ghosts from the past and sets him on a course where there is no turning back.

I was just as confused as Noah (sometimes even more so..lol) throughout most of the book, but that is what I love about this world that Michelle Hodkin has built since 2011, nothing is just going to get handed to you on a silver platter with a neon, blinking 'CLUE' sign . There are layers to pull back, dirt, rubble, and debris to sort through, and raw, real emotions and feelings to deal with until - after wiping the dust and smoke from your eyes - you finally glimpse that glimmer of light in the distance, but is it the glorious, beautiful light of day and new promise or is it the light reflected from the flames of a new fresh hell?

If that cliffhanger ending (!!!) is any indication, book 3 is sure to be all kinds of explosive and I can't wait. 2019, get over here!

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

The Reckoning of Noah Shaw is Michelle Hodkin’s second installment in The Shaw Confessions trilogy that extends the series of Mara Dyer. I would highly recommend re-reading the series before diving into this one, unless you just have a stellar memory and I envy you for that! While I did enjoy this one a little better than the previous The Becoming of Noah Shaw, I still found myself struggling to remember what happened in the Mara Dyer trilogy! It’s been so long and wayyyy too many books since I read that one, that I can’t quite bring myself to remember what happened and for whatever reason, this is one series that no one has recapped!

But anyway, this book pretty much picks up where we left off and Noah meets Mara, Mara’s grandmother and she wants his help in protecting Mara from the mysterious and villainous professor. But Noah is still a little sore with Mara and everything that happened between them in the last go around and he’s not too keen in abiding by her grandmother’s wishes.

Noah then proceeds to go on with his life, but things don’t exactly work out as intended. He and Goose find themselves running around all over the place and finally landing in London which is exactly where Mara’s grandmother, M, wanted them. And so continues the mysterious world that is the series that Michelle Hodkin has created.

There is a good deal of mystery to this one, but the mystery is very thick and twisted and by the end, there still are not clear answers. Though much is learned in the end, and while I wish it was eye-opening and revealing, it really only presented more questions. Which I truly believe was Michelle’s intent!

One thing that saddened me about this one was that our Mara Dyer was truly not in it. Noah and she broke up after Noah learned what she did and she’s really not there at all. Yet, she’s still a constant presence in Noah’s mind despite his trying to forget her and move one.

This entire series would make for a great television series! Though it’s definitely one that would need to be binge watched. Glancing away or pausing between books will definitely leave you confused when you venture back. Which would basically be the same thing if you happened to glance away during the “show.” It’s like LOST in that sense where missing an episode or missing five minutes would have you well and truly confused! You have to pay attention closely and not let your mind wander…which I think my mind does that, but it’s only trying to remember the things I’ve read in the previous books, so not a good combination there! Lol.

The pacing to this one was moderate. It was so of mystery like in that we were building up to things. There were a few “intermissions” where we got glimpses from the past where I wish I could say things were made clear, but for my poor addled mind, it wasn’t entirely clear. For the most part, I just rolled with things!

While I am not saying that this series is confusing, it is deep. This is a good thing, but again, if you suffer with a poor memory like mine and/or don’t have time for re-reads, you might struggle with this one. Luckily, my notes from last time helped me a little bit, but even then I still was grasping for straws in trying to put things all together again!

All in all, The Reckoning of Noah Shaw was an excellent follow-up to its predecessor. This series is so full of mystery and intrigue that it will keep you guessing all its many secrets and trying to figure out who’s in on all the secrets and who’s not. This series is truly one of the more mysterious ones without being an actual mystery. I will be anxious to see how things will go in the next one as its ending was quite shocking and left me desperate for more!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars


The Reckoning of Noah Shaw releases November 13, 2018

I read this in one sitting because I needed Noah, I needed his love for Mara and I needed him loving her after this shit day.

But I didn’t get that really so I’m kind of disappointed.

Honestly, nothing really happened. This could have been a novella if it wasn’t for the ending. This could have been called Noah and Goose’s Adventure because that’s what it felt like. I did like getting more of Noah’s history, but I didn’t get the history I wanted which was Simon Shaw when he found grandma Mara. Who is kind of weird, I may add. But I guessed the plot twist and I guessed Jaime would be a dick.

We get Mara for a page and she isn’t even with Noah. So I’m happy but kind of disappointed at the same time. It feels like Michelle got so wrapped in the plot and the backstory she didn’t tell the story.

“Mara is what I want most. She’s what I want most in the world”

And Noah, I still want you.