Unearthly (Unearthly #1)
By Cynthia Hand
Published: January 4, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Paperback, 464 pages
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .
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. --Goodreads
4.5 Stars
Review
After trudging through the horrendously high number of paranormals that have the Twilight characteristics, I was totally prepared to call quits on this genre. Luckily, I didn't, and still haven't, which allows me to discover the gems that I would have otherwise missed. Unearthly is a fast-paced, smart paranormal that explores the idea of fate and totally reworks the overused Nephilim thing.
Clara Gardner is a Nephilim who knows who she is and what she will have to do. Unlike most paranormals that are like "OMG! I'm this special creature," we already past that point and don't have to deal with the crap. Clara, her mom, and her brother are all part-angel, making them have super-duper cool powers that make them way more epic than most people, but also causes some inconveniences, aka Clara's hair glowing blonde, resulting in her hair being dyed a hideous carrot color.
Unearthly was special in its way of re-imagining the myths of Nephilim and incorporating them into our modern era. At some points, there were times when Clara and friends took the whole angel thing way too seriously for such a minor thing, but the author never fails to add another aspect of the angel thing that just brings smiles to the reader.
My only major complaint about this book was the first third of the book. During this intro to the world of Nephis (love my abbreviation, right?), the plot would progress incredibly slow and at certain points, I just wanted to give Clara a thump to the head. Still, as I continued to read the book, I fell more in love with the characters, the world and romance. I can guarantee that no one will be able to not love Tucker, because boy, that guy knows how to work his charm (unfortunately for me).
Clara Gardner is a Nephilim who knows who she is and what she will have to do. Unlike most paranormals that are like "OMG! I'm this special creature," we already past that point and don't have to deal with the crap. Clara, her mom, and her brother are all part-angel, making them have super-duper cool powers that make them way more epic than most people, but also causes some inconveniences, aka Clara's hair glowing blonde, resulting in her hair being dyed a hideous carrot color.
Unearthly was special in its way of re-imagining the myths of Nephilim and incorporating them into our modern era. At some points, there were times when Clara and friends took the whole angel thing way too seriously for such a minor thing, but the author never fails to add another aspect of the angel thing that just brings smiles to the reader.
My only major complaint about this book was the first third of the book. During this intro to the world of Nephis (love my abbreviation, right?), the plot would progress incredibly slow and at certain points, I just wanted to give Clara a thump to the head. Still, as I continued to read the book, I fell more in love with the characters, the world and romance. I can guarantee that no one will be able to not love Tucker, because boy, that guy knows how to work his charm (unfortunately for me).
Cynthia Hand has created a work of art with the Unearthly series. The gorgeousness of the setting and the writing kept me hooked throughout the entire book, while the characters ran around in their own little bubble of Nephilimism. As mysteries were unraveled one by another, I can say that this book was one that will keep the reader hooked till the very end, and still grab ahold of your thoughts even as you put the book down.
Purchase this book: Amazon/ Barnes&Nobles/ The Book Depository
So glad you liked this one! I was a bit leery of trying out an angel book (this was my first), simply because that seems like the most likely place to find an awful Twilight rip-off. Happily, though, I was really impressed with Unearthly.
ReplyDeleteTotally same thing happened here with me. Was like, this looks really stupid, but then I start it and fall in love! Why can't more books turn out this way?
DeleteLOVED this book! It was the first book I read about angels and made me want to continue reading about them <3
ReplyDeleteThen I read Hush, Hush's sequel and I gave up on it...
The second book is pretty great too.
Christian's pretty awesome too. This book has the greatest love triangle I have encountered because you like both of them instantaneously.
You might want to try Paranormalcy. I loved that paranormal book.
She’s Got Books on Her Mind
I've read all both books mentioned here. Hush, Hush was just pure crap to me. I've never read a book as badly thought out as that one. Definitely cannot wait to read Hallowed, but I kind of want to wait for Rise to come out before I start out on Hallowed because I don't want to have to wait for the third book.
DeleteGreat review! I loved this book too! It is definitely impossible for anyone to not LOVE Tucker Avery. He is totally amazing, way more so than Christian I might add ;)
ReplyDeleteTotally! I read the summary of Hallowed and thought Christian was a wannabe loser when he thinks he can still hook up with Clara with Tucker around. I refuse to allow Clara+Tucker to be destroyed. Tucker is just the most amazing YA guy I've seen in such a long time!
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