Unearthly- Cynthia Hand

· Pages: 435

· Published: May 2nd 2011 by Egmont UK Limited

· Format: Paperback

· Genre: Y.A/ Fiction/Paranormal

· Date Finished: January 31^st 2012

Synopsis:

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 a purpose, 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.

Review:

Unearthly was one of the novels I initially had no interest in reading. Despite seeing it in my local department store and all over the net, I was not really too keen on another Angel book. However after watching some reviews on Youtube and learning about the new take on Angels I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

The whole new take on Angels was fascinating and I loved it. I could immerse myself in the mythology Cynthia Hand has created and not only was it magical, it was refreshing. From learning to fly to learning about the Angel world inside the present I really enjoyed every minute of it. Also I loved that I didn’t have to read seven books to find out that Clara was an Angel, it gave me time to process it, but then it was head first into her purpose and I liked that about the novel too.

However in saying that there wasn’t all too much that was new for me apart from the Angel mythology and its affect on the characters lives. You still have a love triangle, proms, bitch fights and popular girls, but it was still nice to see that these were a little more fleshed out and not generic. After a while we leave high school behind as summer comes along and I really liked that turn in the book.

My main problem with this novel was Clara’s erratic moods. Sometimes she would be hell bent on her purpose, self sacrificing and compassionate and then in another instance be snarky to the people’s close to her, self- absorbed and confusing. I did like her for the most part, but there were sometimes when I wondered whether I could feel for her. Saying that I understood her personality and the reasons for the way she behaved and I did enjoy reading about her journey.

One of my favorite characters in the book Clara’s mother Maggie, for once it was nice to read a book where the family dynamics aren’t all abusive and hate- filled and where despite challenges and adolescence journey’s theirs is a family that truly loves one another and the relationships were a joy to read. I also loved Tucker – TEAM TUCKER FTW.

With that being said I thoroughly enjoyed Unearthly. It had the right amount of romance, suspense, mythology and humor that while it wasn’t exactly what I felt like it reading. It hit the right cords and I would recommend it.

★★★★