Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Horroween Reviews: Mary: Unleashed by Hillary Monahan

Posted by HelloJennyReviews at 1:00 PM

Title: Mary: Unleashed
Author: Hillary Monahan
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication: September 8th 2015
Cover Rating: 5/5


Within the first few pages of Mary: Unleashed, I could tell that I was going to have some problems with the book. Maybe not the story itself, but definitely the book. The author wasn't very consistent with her details but then again she was consistent with tiny facts like the EXACT color of Kitty's caramel brown hair. But things like Shauna being the one make Jessica bleed rather than Mary were inconsistent. All the author has to do was go back and reread the last 3 pages of her own book in order to be consistent. I feel like that was kind of lazy. I am writing this before I get too far into the book but this opinion will not change. I may or may not like the book by the end. But the authors inconsistency is definitely bothering me.

After finishing the book and reading the authors note I can overlook most of the inconsistent parts. I do have to say that it still irks me that the author couldn't just look back to make sure things were the same. 

There was more action and a lot more plot/story revealed and I feel like this book was a great way to end the duology. The first book was kind of just an opener. Like it should have been a prequel novella, maybe. The first book was pretty tame compared to this one. 

Shauna was pretty much the same in this book. Although she lost some friends she still felt bad for Jessica. I can understand having a bond with someone for so many years altering your view of them. But Shauna KNEW and SAW everything Jessica had done yet she still cared about her. She was too soft and I wish she would have been a little bit stronger. 

Kitty changed. She became Anna. She hated Jess and spoke her mind more and stood up for herself. It was amazing to see but it's horrible that it took death to change her. 

Jessica got what she deserved. I know Shauna didn't think that in the end but that is because she had a good heart. Jessica did try to redeem herself and tried to help but I still have no idea whether it was for selfless or selfish reasons. She was definitely not trustworthy and it made everything she did questionable.

I really enjoyed these books. They were such a creative way to retell the Bloody Mary legend. I thought it was interesting that the girls didn't do the simple thing and break the mirror in the basement of the church. They thought it had to be something more complex that was causing the Mary haunting. But in the end it was still pretty much the same old, same old. I did expect the book to be a little more casualty heavy but it was pretty light. I don't know if I am disappointed about that or not. I think the story was told very beautifully and I wouldn't change any of it.

I would have loved more backstory for Elsa and what happened with her Mary situation. I would also like to know what happened to the Sheriffs' wife and what is up with that weird field on his property. I know it was said that every family has their own evil they fight but it still wasn't clear what the field was about. 

The end was amazing and sad and just so full of information. I still have no idea why Mary would go after her family. They didn't do anything to her. They aren't the ones who killed her or put her body in where it was. But I guess they didn't really try hard enough to find her body or help her. So maybe that's why? Who knows. I loved the letters throughout the books. They were helpful and helped us get to know who Mary was before she became this puss oozing ghost-demon.

Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.



If you like Supernatural then you would probably like these books. When I first started them I couldn't stop thinking about one episode. I haven't seen very many episodes but these books just have a great vibe that feels similar to the shows.

2 comments:

Rincy .N. Rebello on July 9, 2016 at 8:48 AM said...

Hey, I really liked your review. I'm so relieved someone beside me noticed & got annoyed with the little inconsistencies. It's like the author was too lazy to check the details in the first book before going ahead with the next one. For example in the last book Mary attacked them when they were in Kitty's volkswagon but she mentioned that it was Jessicas car in the next one. Boy! That really irked me. And there were quite a few of them. Other than that, I loved the book. Loved what she did with the whole bloody Mary legend.

Rincy .N. Rebello on July 9, 2016 at 8:50 AM said...

Hey, I really liked your review. I'm so relieved someone beside me noticed & got annoyed with the little inconsistencies. It's like the author was too lazy to check the details in the first book before going ahead with the next one. For example in the last book Mary attacked them when they were in Kitty's volkswagon but she mentioned that it was Jessicas car in the next one. Boy! That really irked me. And there were quite a few of them. Other than that, I loved the book. Loved what she did with the whole bloody Mary legend.

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