REVIEW : UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand
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. Good Reads
I didn't know much about Unearthly before I put in a request through NETGALLEY I was intrigued by the cover and that Angels figured prominently in the story. The beginning chapters of the book have a wonderful ease and flow to them. We are introduced to Clara as she awakens from a vision. She goes to her mother and recounts the events to her.
Her mother is convinced that this is tied to Clara's purpose: the one fundamental goal an Angel is born for.
Cynthia excels a giving you enough information to keep you interested as she informs you about Angels and the dynamic of Clara's family which also includes her brother Jefferey who is also an Angel.
In a scant number of pages we have the major plot of the novel: Clara must find the boy in her vision and fulfill her purpose.
I felt a lot of anticipation leading up to Clara's meeting with Christian. The reader really gets drawn in to Clara;s emotions as she comes face to face with her vision and .. passes out!
There are several little touches that make Clara a full bodied character: her klutziness, her hair color gone wrong, her plotting and planning to get Christian alone, her inability to fly .
However once they meet the book began to lag slightly for me. It was interesting seeing Clara's journey at school, making friends with Wendy and Angela who has secrets and similarities to Clara.
The urgency of her purpose with Christian begins to be very monotonous. then two thing saved this book for me: Clara's romantic relationship with a fellow student and the entrance of a "Black Wing" , a dangerous Angel.
As Clara's romance heightened the action revved up a lot! The last 80 pages of this book are fantastic! I couldn't put it down as it lead to its climatic ending. There was a lot of tension and surprises.
Although there are some plot threads left hanging there is a form of closure in this book along with a set up for possible sequels.
This One Thing
Far be it for me to question Angelic timing but I was surprised at all the lag between Clara's first meeting with Christian and the actual reveal of her purpose, I did enjoy the fact that Clara came slowly to her love and took her time but I would have like a little more action through out the book.
Conclusion
A solid Debut with a strong narrative voice, I look forward to seeing what direction this series and Cynthia's writing takes in the future.
Comments
Diana