AUTHOR: Cynthia Hand
RATING: 4 STARS (3.5 STARS)
PUBLISHED: January 2011 - HarperTeen
SERIES: Yes; Trilogy Still in Progress:
- Unearthly (January 2011)
- Hallowed (January 2012)
- Untitled (Unknown)
"In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has apurpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny? Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart."MY REVIEW:
Unearthly is the
first novel in a new paranormal romance series about angels. Like I’ve said
before, it's hard to find a completely original novel about angels because the
majority of these novels have the same major theme: good v. evil. Yes, there
are a few variations, but for the most part it’s the same song and dance.
This
novel was enjoyable and entertaining. Unearthly
had almost everything I look for in a young adult paranormal romance novel: lovely
(non-whiny) characters, an entertaining plot, an action-packed storyline, a few
twists and surprises, and an interesting love story (or two). However, I
expected this novel to be more powerful. In
all honesty, I was looking for a stronger
connection, a deeper romance, and a more explosive conflict.
I
really, really liked Cara, the main character. She wasn't whiny or annoying,
which way too many heroines are these
days. Her thought process was natural and realistic. Her actions were logical
and believable. I understood the choices Cara made throughout this novel
because I would have made many, if not all, of the same choices. In my opinion,
a lot of teens will be able to identify with Cara because she’s a mature and charming
protagonist.
Although
Cara’s mom wasn’t very accommodating, Cara kept pushing her for answers. When Cara couldn't get answers from her mother, she found another source. I really
appreciated that Cara didn’t just give up. I am curious to see if Cara’s mom has a
justifiable reason to withhold information from Cara or if Hand is just
silencing Cara’s mom to create additional conflict. I really hope it’s the
first, but I’ll have to wait and see.
Surprisingly,
I don't really have a big opinion on the guy front. I liked both guys. Right now
I'm leaning more toward Tucker, but who knows! I'm going to wait until the next
novel before I commit myself to a team :)
I
had extremely high expectations, maybe a little too high, for Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. Before I
began this novel, I predicted that I would rate Unearthly 4 STARS (4.5 STARS) based on all of the extremely high
ratings. My actually rating isn't quite that high, but it's close. I gave Unearthly by Cynthia Hand 4 STARS (3.5
STARS). I recommend this novel, and I look forward to the release of the
next novel in the series, Hallowed.
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