Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Friday, December 24, 2010

Goodreads Description:
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.


My Review:

Favourite Quote: "He seems to gaze right into me, like he's seeing me for who I truly am.  And in that moment, I want to tell him the truth. Crazy, I know. Stupid. Wrong.  I try to take a step back, but my foot slips and I almost go headfirst into the river but he catches me."

Wow! Surprisingly I loved it!  I have been having a bad run with angel books lately but this is exactly what I have been looking for.  Unearthly has an original plot, interesting characters, a swoon worthy crush and overall is a pleasure to read.

Cynthia Hand's writing was just easy to read.  Before I knew it I had read 300 pages.  The plot wasn't filled with action but rather mystery.  Never did this go down the predictable path, it seem to subtlely surprise me.  Unearthly is probably the most interesting angel concept I have read.  There was a little bit of good angel vs fallen angel but for a change it didn't have anything to do with the love interests.  The vision and purpose element is what made this so different.  Sometimes with angel concepts too the history can be far too complex and hard to understand but this was effortless to follow.

Now to my favourite part of this book, the characters and that is what drives this story.  Clara is sweet, sometimes funny, believable and made smart choices.  Tucker (~swoons~, sorry but every time he is mentioned that happens) is a crush worthy male character.  A true gentleman, witty, gorgeous, and a cowboy (which makes him extra swoon worthy).  I adored the playful banter aka flirting between Clara and Tucker, it provided plenty of awwww moments.  Christian, well he was okay.  At first I thought I knew his type - typical, popular, gorgeous, nice guy that every girl is crushing on but in the end he was more than I expected. 

I know that I have just mentioned two guys so therefore it equals love triangle but do not fear.  This love triangle was gentle (although I do think that it might be brewing for the next book).  Clara is pretty certain of her choice and doesn't go back and forth.

The ending, no cliffhanger here, yay!  There are a few questions but it ends in the right place for more but still leaving readers satisfied for now.
 
Overall, I highly recommend this book, it had all the right elements.  An outstanding debut.

Rating: 5/5

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperTeen for providing me with a copy.  I have already pre-ordered my own copy.

Some interesting info:  The above cover is our cover here in Australia.  Isn't it gorgeous!

For more info: Cynthia Hand's blog

Check out the trailer:

8 comments:

Jess - The Tales Compendium said...

I like you review Nic. I too have had really bad luck with angel novels and had originally decided not to bother with this one but I'm going to take your word for it and give it ago :)

Annette Mills said...

I loved this book too. I thought the cover provided by netgalley was beautiful, but the Austrailian one is Wonderful!

Kat said...

Ooh, I *love* the Australian cover, even more than the US one. I'm glad you loved Unearthly and that it's definitely more than worth reading. I've also had a meh history with angel romances lately-- namely Fallen and Hush,Hush, which for some reason I just didn't 'get' the way a lot of people seem to. I'll definitely be checking this one out. Thanks for the review! :)

Teddyree said...

I skimmed your review as I've got this one coming up soon. Was pleased to see your rating though :)

Misha said...

Awesome review! I have it on Netgalley but I am unable to read on the computer :(
The Australian cover is amazing!

Jenny said...

Yay Nic! I loved this one so much as well, and I definitely swoon whenever I see Tucker's name mentioned as well:) I loved the different take on angels as well and there's still so much about the story we don't know. Can't wait for more of this one! Lovely review:)

brandileigh2003 said...

I love it too! I haven't seen that cover though.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

Tucker is a cowboy!!!!! Oh Em Gee! I'm always on the hunt for cowboys! Yeehaw and all of that!

I'm so curious about this gentle love triangle thing, and it makes me happy to hear that Clara doesn't really go back and forth, plus no cliffy... FTW!

Great review, Nic. Sorry I missed it the first time around.

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