Unearthly (Unearthly #1)

Finally an angel book that I really really enjoyed! It wasn’t cheesy, and the religious aspect wasn’t overdone, in fact it was barely mentioned, like angels are just another supernatural entity. Clara, our main character, is a quarter angel and she’s just received her purpose…kind of. She gets visions of who she’s suppose to be protecting, but no other details. Of course her purpose involves a beyond gorgeous teenage boy, but too bad he and Clara are in two completely different social circles. I actually really liked that despite being an angel, Clara isn’t completely irresistible to humans. She has to struggle for his attention just like any other girl, except maybe his bitchy girlfriend.

Another thing I really liked about Unearthly is that Clara’s mom is actually involved. There’s no “wait, and where are the parents?” moments during this book. Clara’s mom is present and involved with Clara’s life and is trying to help her as much as possible in her own secretive way. They have a great relationship and are completely hilarious together in the beginning. Especially when they’re trying to come up with worse names the mean kids can call her other than “Bozo.” Their relationship isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though; they have their fights, but Clara’s mom is always there. I am very curious about what she’s hiding though.

Now, back to the beyond gorgeous teenage boy. He’s suppose to be all business for Clara, but of course she tries to mix in a little bit of pleasure. Is that such a good idea? I didn’t think so, especially when there’s a perfectly nice boy who’s obviously genuinely interested in her. And she’s obviously genuinely interested in him. Gotta love love triangles! Although we don’t get to see much of her relationship developing with Christian (beyond gorgeous teenage boy), but it is there. We do get a whole lot of Clara and Tucker though. I loved how they did normal things, and just hung out, no pressure. It felt like they had a real connection, rather than the one with Christian, which is something else entirely.

I love Clara’s friends! This doesn’t seem to happen to often for me. I always tend to find at least one friend utterly irritating or flat, but not here. Wendy is a sweetheart and befriends Clara right away. Clara might not be able to be 100% honest with her, but I think they have a solid friendship. Plus she’s party responsible for pushing Clara and Tucker together, so yay Wendy! Then there’s Angela, whom I adore. She’s quirky and smart, and a little mysterious. I definitely need to learn more about her! Clara has a brother who I felt was just kind of…there, until about 3/4 through the book when I went “huh, I wonder what’s up with that?” Looking forward to finding out the answer to that, too.

The last 40ish pages, wow. Intense. I have no clue where this story is going, but I need to find out ASAP!

Reader reviewed by Lia

Clara has recently just found out about her angelic heritage, and is forced to cope with sudden, unpredictable visions of a boy standing in the middle of a raging fire. Clara and her family move to Wyoming for Clara's purpose, to save the boy from the fire. Clara struggles to put all the pieces together before her purpose arrives, while trying to keep her angelic side hidden.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked Unearthly. It was different from the other supernatural books. There is a love triangle in the plot, but it's not as predictable as you would think. Clara was sometimes an annoying character, but it was understandable since she was supposed to carry out her purpose without having any clue. Overall unearthly was a satisfying read, and I look forward to the next installments.

If Halo was a hit and a miss for you, I strongly suggest you check out this angel book before you completely give up. Where did Halo go wrong? It didn’t make sense. Unearthly gives the main character a clear purpose of what she is supposed to be doing. Clara is a strong heroine. She makes bright decisions, but she is not so perfect to the point where the reader feels no connection. She constantly makes mistakes. There is a sort of love triangle going on, and it is not completely resolved in the book, but the reader can tell that Clara has a strong connection to both Christian and Tucker. The book does say that it is a trilogy, so we must all be on the lookout for the next in the series, because I feel that more things will be wrapped up. Questions the reader might be wondering: Black Wings, Angela, Christian and Clara’s purpose, and their new Purposes. Bravo Cynthia Hand

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to find a YA paranormal series about angels that didn't make me want to shake some sense into the female protagonist. Unearthly almost managed to accomplish both of these things...almost.

The premise caught my attention from page one. An angel with a purpose - yes! I was instantly intrigued, eager to learn more about Clara's purpose and how she might accomplish it. My excitement grew through the first few chapters while Clara and her mom deciphered clues from her visions to uncover the location where Clara would ultimately serve her purpose as an angel-blood (nephilim).

Once reaching this fateful destination however, the pacing of the novel started to stagnate slightly. Clara enrols in school, and quickly meets the subject of her visions and purpose - Christian Prescott. Seeing how her brother Jeremy foresaw her reaction (of fainting) to meeting Christian, I was able to laugh off her weakness and assumed, being now prepared, she would react better in future interactions. Unfortunately, Clara suffers from the same unnamed epidemic that afflicts many YA heroines, who's symptoms include weak knees, the inability to form coherent sentences, stalkerish tendencies and a general inability to function as a normal human being. Each time she meets Christian, Clara remarks often on catching herself staring at him and feeling dizzy in his presence - all because of how good-looking he is. We're subjected to countless re-tellings of the fall of his hair, the chisel of his cheekbones and the definition of shoulders - and are left feeling like Clara is completely unable to function because his beauty leaves her dumbstruck (thus leaving me feeling like she needs a good shake!)

Once Christian leaves for the summer, Clara returns to a functioning member of society, and begins training for her purpose - only to be completely derailed by golden-haired, blue-eyed, bronzed skin Tucker Avery. This led to my favourite part of Unearthly, and the reason I will be continuing with this series - the development of Clara and Tucker's relationship. Where I felt the tension between Clara and Christina was forced, the chemistry between Clara and Tucker was written with ease. It was easy to see the progression of playful banter and teasing turn into hidden compliments and the blushing beginnings of a crush. I was envious of their summer together, and completely taken by cowboy Tucker and his gentlemanly ways. The only thing that got in my way of enjoying this section was the nagging voice in the back of my head asking what had happened to Clara's all-important purpose, how suddenly Clara decided she was in love with Tucker, what had happened to her mother and the constant reminder to stay focused, and why had Christian been so easily forgotten?

Speaking of Clara's mother, I could not stand the woman! I hate being left in the dark without a valid reason, and I hate when there's conflict that could very easily have been avoided had certain conversations taken place. I'm going to assume that the reasons for her secrecy will be revealed in the next two books, but I really don't like feeling like she was intentionally vague just to create suspension - and since she was never able to give Clara a good reason for being so secretive, that's what I'm forced to conclude.

I enjoyed the ending, although I wasn't surprised by the twist, as I felt like it sufficiently tied up loose ends. We're still left with an inkling suspicion that Clara's purpose might not be completely fulfilled, and the twist opens up new doors for the rest of the series, but everything that had to be resolved was and I was left feeling satisfied. So while I didn't love Unearthly, I am walking away with a new-found hope for angels as credible content for a YA paranormal series.