The Reckoning of Noah Shaw, by Ashley Elston
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Series?: Yes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Length: 480 pages
Source: ARC
Format: Paperback
Times Read: Once
Rating:      + 1 million

What I Liked:
I told you

Since I’ve never reviewed anything Mara Dyer based on here before, let me give you a brief summary of my feelings on the series:

I read the first book in the Mara Dyer series as soon as it came out even though paranormal books are not typically my jam. Something about it called to me, and I followed. The second I finished reading the last page, I closed the book, took a breath, and opened back up to page one. I’ve never done that before or since that very first Mara Dyer book. With each subsequent book in the series, I preordered the hardback and then also bought the ebook so I could start reading it during the day when I could sneak in time at work. I adore the Mara books, and I adored the first book in the Noah series. Getting an ARC of the second one was…you guys, sometimes I would just get it out and pet the cover. It’s so pretty, and I GET TO READ IT!! Basically, if you’ve ever wondered what my favorite books are, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is always on the list, and that means all of them.

I SO wish I had the time to reread the first four before I dove into this one! There are a lot of callbacks to the original series throughout it, and if you aren’t super familiar with those, they might not mean as much to you. Those I’ve read a bunch, so I was fine. But so far I’ve only read Becoming of Noah Shaw once, and I was definitely missing some details when I started this one. I tried to find a spoilery review online, but there didn’t seem to be any, so if you have time to reread before starting this one, definitely do. A lot happened last time, and we pick up right in the middle of it.

♥ This is another book where I can’t say a lot because it’s going to ruin things for you, but if you’re a fan of this series, you’re going to love this. Noah is super angsty in this one, totally raw and reckless. He doesn’t censor himself, and he doesn’t always have the nicest thoughts, even about the people that he loves the most.

♥ We were promised more Goose in this one, and Goose we got. He and Noah are together almost the whole time, and their friendship, their chemistry and banter, is perfection. Watching Noah interact with and trust someone other than Mara is so interesting, especially someone he’s known for so long but only became really close to recently.

♥ Everything about the manor house. I don’t want to give too much away about who’s there or what goes on, but damn if it isn’t spooky and atmospheric. And that one night? I had SUCH Haunting of Hill House vibes, and now I want Michelle to write a haunted house series.

What I Didn’t: Guys, come on. What is not to like except for
OH RIGHT THAT

⊗ Michelle I’m sorry, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME??? The ending is a total gut-punch that I never saw coming and now I don’t know what to do with myself.