Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
January 4, 2011

From Goodreads:

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 is a magical that sucked me in from page one and didn't let me back into the real world until the very last page. Unearthly has become one of my all-time favorite reads and I will definitely take time to re-read it in the future. The characters are all well-rounded and each has their own conflicts to deal with. Clara, the main character, has a lot at stake and Unearthly and this book takes her through a journey with many highs and lows.

Clara is one of my favorite heroine's in teen fiction. She is strong and won't take crap from anyone. I loved her relationships with her friends. They weren't unfocused and just barely glanced over. Her friendships were well developed and it wasn't just about Clara and some guy. Clara is an angel-blood who has been given her one true purpose though dreams. Whenever she dreams, she sees a gorgeous guy who she feels that she must save. When she is given a major clue on his where-abouts, it's off to Wyoming with her family where Clara will discover her purpose and find out more about what it means to be an angel blood. Along the way, she makes many fascinating discoveries and even finds herself involved in a love triangle.

Christian is one part of said love triangle. He is a seemingly perfect guy who is very broody, gorgeous, and mysterious. These characteristics make him such a dreamy guy and I really loved getting to know more about Christian and what makes him tick. He has many secrets, this one.

Though it is a tough decision, Tucker is my favorite guy in the book! He is such a flirt and seems like such a fun guy to be around. I love his relentless teasing of Clara! There is major chemistry between these two! Tucker is all tall, blonde, and built cowboy! Yummy! He is such a sweetheart to Clara and you can tell that he has some strong feelings for her. I love Tucker and can't wait to see more of him in the next book in the series.

Angela and Wendy are amazing friends to Clara and really help her get through the hard times and make her realize things about herself. They were well developed characters who each has conflicts of their own that weren't glazed over. They are as important to Clara as Christian and Tucker are.

Unearthly is delightful and original take on angels! I can't wait for more of what is to come from this series and I hope that the second book will be as good as this one. The end leaves off at a critical point and I am in dire need of the second book. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good paranormal book.

My Rating:

5 Stars