“Am I a player in this scenario or a puppet? I guess, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It is what it is: my destiny.”
– Cynthia Hand, Unearthly
So, seriously Harper Teen is the best ! I got this book for .99 on my Kindle over the holiday season. Before that, it wasn’t even on my radar , it was just another pretty girl in a pretty dress cover.
I’m not a big fan of paranormal romances. To me they all tend to be the same and have a similar kind of ugh-inducing female protagonist who doesn’t exist outside of the new guy they met. And while Unearthly falls victim to some of the usual tropes in paranormal romance (new person in school, love interest is dating mean girl, single parent . . .) I took a liking to it.
Unearthly is a slow paced, yet slightly witty story of Clara Gardner, a teenage angel who has just received her purpose–the major responsibility of angels. She and her family move to Wisconsin for her to put the pieces of her purpose together and of course she gets a few hitches and surprises along the way.
I’ll be honest, this novel isn’t plot rich. I mean things happen, but the overall plot is more talked about and theorized more than we see things happen. There are some interesting ideas and concepts introduced, but there isn’t enough follow through. The ending felt very rushed to me.
I think Clara comes close to being an autonomous female protagonist. She is shown to have purposes and determination outside of the male characters in her life. This book also steers clear of insta-love. However, I think Clara is very much controlled by others and doesn’t know how to be herself.
The male characters were okay. I don’t think we learn enough about Christian Prescott. We know what he does, but not why he does them. I liked how Tucker Avery was developed throughout the series, he played the jerk in a believable and likable way.
While this book isn’t bad, it’s nothing spectacular or new. I hope we get more in the sequel, Hallowed. I’m not anxiously awaiting it, but I will make time to read it this year.
I’m really upset this show got passed over to have a pilot on the CW. I think it would have been an awesome addition. I think the first book alone has the flexibility to be made into 22 episodes.
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I’m a lifelong reader who started blogging about YA books in 2011 but now I read in just about every genre! I love YA coming of age stories, compelling memoirs and genre bending SFF. You can find me talking all things romance at Romance and Sensibility.