Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1)

Characters

Jared-Oh my, I almost don't know what to say about him. He had so many sides to him, but there was only one true side: he was kind, funny,caring, and passionate. From the very beginning, I kind of liked him. Maybe just because I always knew from Kami's perspective that he wasn't a "bad" boy. He had feelings and people didn't seem to realize that, all they saw was just another evil Lynburn. And that made him all the more likeable.

Kami-She was an amazing character. She was so sarcastic and witty, it was impossible not to like her. I liked how she wasn't a bystander and would immediately go into action, even if she might hurt herself in the process. She was so hilarious also. When there was a moment of despair or sadness, she always had a quip to try to cheer everyone up. She was smart(most of the time). I may have mentioned this before but, I hate when the main character is stupid and thankfully, Kami was actually quite smart. But, probably what made me like her the most is her kindness. People might disagree with me on this, but she was actually really kind to everyone. Even when she was mad at Jared, it seemed she couldn't hate him for more than a day, although that may be because she couldn't stand him being furious in her head for more than a couple of hours. But, really, she was nice to everyone.

Other important characters-Holly and Angelina were also a gigantic part in this story. They definitely deserve some attention. They were both amazing and I couldn't ask for more. They made the story more in depth and comical. They were such trustworthy friends which made then all the more great.

Plot

It was the perfect pacing is the first factor that I loved. This book did take me awhile to devour because I had so much stuff going on, but I finally decided to sit down and finish it. I'm glad I did because I enjoyed it so much. The uniqueness(?) of the book is what made me love this book the MOST. I can't think of ANY other books like this one, that's how different it is. I mean a boy talking in your head and a family of .......I can't tell you that since it would spoil much of the book :D But, it just astounds me how the author came up with this book!

The Finale...or not quite

The ending in this book made me want to throw my e-reader at the wall in frustration and sadness all at the same time. I can already tell the next book in the trilogy is going to have some...drama. But the finale of the first book did what it was meant to do: draw you into the second book to find out what happens next. And I most definitely will be looking out for the second book!

“Noo! It couldn’t just end! NO!” This incredulous exclamation, followed by a lot of hopeful scrolling, was what happened immediately after I finished 'Unspoken'. It was a great read, and I truly, TRULY wanted it to continue. The end of the novel is a fantastic cliffhanger, but I cannot wait until the next book in the series comes out. I must say this: one should think twice before moving to a place called Sorry-in-the-Vale!

'Unspoken' revolves around Kami Glass, a curiosity-driven teen with ambitions to be an investigative newspaper reporter, who has lived in Sorry-in-the-Vale her whole life but has never truly fit into the town. She’s something of an oddball to the other inhabitants thanks to her Japanese ancestry and the fact that she’s had an imaginary friend, a boy named Jared, her entire life. Sorry-in-the-Vale becomes a much darker and stranger place as the mysterious and intimidating Lynburn family moves back into town. Before they all left, the Lynburns were the leading family in the town, the wealthiest and the most powerful...in more ways than one. There are two younger Lynburns: polite, chivalrous Ash and shadowed, sharp Jared. Yes. That Jared. It turns out that Kami’s imaginary friend isn’t so ephemeral after all, and he’s just as surprised to see that she exists outside his head as she is to realize he’s in-the-flesh real. Once the Lynburns return, dark secrets begin to bubble up from beneath the town’s surface, and murder and magic create a twisted mystery that Kami feels a deep need to uncover.

On a purely aesthetic note, the cover of this book snagged me before anything else. It’s simple, elegant and intriguing, and judging by my reaction to it, it has the potential to make readers want to snatch it off the shelf. Plus, I totally love the type font they used and the colors go so well together. Awesome job, cover designer! Huzzah!

'Unspoken' is one of those books that grabbed my attention and demanded that I read it, even when I was already reading other books. I stayed up super late reading it more than once, and even though some parts of the book seriously creeped me out, I just couldn’t put it down. The characters were fantastic, the storyline was captivating, and oh my gosh, magical forests of awesome! Plus, it's funny. I know, murder, death and gore don't always go along with funny, but in this instance, it works, mainly because most of the humor is in the witty dialogue. Some of it literally had me giggling and reading it outloud to my co-workers and friends, who had no idea what was going on...but it made me laugh!

As for the characters, I am seriously attached to them. Kami in particular is a great character; I think she's realistic, clever, insanely curious, a little selfish (in a good, character-flaw way!), confused and delightfully human. Jared is an awesome male lead; personally, he isn’t my pick for boyfriend of the year because of his internal angst and possessiveness, but I love his attitude and his personality. Most of the other characters seem well-rounded as well, and I liked that everyone seems to have faults; gotta love the characters who aren’t the epitome of perfection, they’re so much more interesting that way. There were just a couple character growth choices that I didn’t particularly like, but they didn’t ruin the book for me, and most people will probably be fine with those choices. I liked the flow of the story and Brennan’s good mix of dialogue and description. I’m very curious to know more about the magic in this book; it wasn't really explained except for the idea that it seems to be a nature-based kind of magic. I’d love to learn more about it in future books in the series. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I will impatiently wait for the next one to be published!

I received the ARC copy of 'Unspoken' through NetGalley.com thanks to the publisher Random House Children's Books. Thank you!

{This review is also published on my blog, Scribbled Flyleaf.}