Unearthly

Slightly embarrassing confession: I really really wanted to like the Twilight series, and to a certain degree, I did enjoy Twilight. To me, there’s something so intoxicating about stories of first love(s)—definitely add the plural “s” because there’s always a love triangle—juxtaposed with the quotidian drudgery of high school life mixed with extraordinary tales of supernatural creatures. But with Twilight, the writing was so amateur, the plot so nonsensical, the characters so bland, the themes so sexist, that I could not enjoy it as unadulterated teen paranormal romance fluff; I had to maintain my dignity and denounce it.

Thus I am so happy to have picked up Unearthly despite the fact that the blurb and cover did not immediately appeal to me, because it has everything I wished Twilight would have had: a gooey romance without abuse, an engaging, mostly logical paranormal mythology, and a likeable, intelligent heroine.

Unlike Twilight, Unearthly is remarkably well-plotted. The book begins with Clara, a girl with ¼ part angel blood, receiving her purpose from God. Much of the mythology of the book is based on Christian mythology, so some purposes from God involve being a messenger angel and some involve being a guardian angel. Clara thinks she’s a guardian angel, which, along with her general paranormality, creates a nice gender reversal; in Unearthly, the girl is the supernatural awesome creature and the boys struggle to keep up with her and understand her exceptionality. It is obvious that the author actually spent time outlining her series rather than just winging it since key revelations are slowly divulged and more remains to be discovered in the sequels.

Another reason Unearthly succeeds is its pleasant heroine. Clara is amiable, but she’s not a Mary Sue who suffers from a terrible case of too-stupid-to-live-itis. She’s special, because, duh, she’s a quarter-angel, but people call her out when she’s acting stupid. She’s not lionized nor is she a self-insert character for the author or reader. Sure, boys kowtow a bit too readily at her feet, but I was willing to forgive it since her choices didn’t make me roll my eyes incessantly. I genuinely liked reading about Clara’s difficulties adjusting to a new high school and growing into her newfound powers. From time to time, she could be melodramatic, but it faded quickly. I could relate to Clara and cheered for her.

If you’re allergic to sugary teen romance that seems to grow into true love in less than a heartbeat, then Unearthly is probably not for you. The love story develops too easily (though, isn’t first love always super easy? the loves that follow are the hard ones) and there are schmaltzy exchanges like this: “But she gave me the perfect gift."

“What?”

“You.” Yet sometimes, lovey-dovey exchanges like that are what I want. I couldn’t even bring myself to object to the love triangle because it makes sense in terms of the plot and I was too busy deciding what boy I wanted to be victorious (Team Christian! I think…).

Unearthly is certainly a standout in the YA paranormal romance genre, and I can’t wait to see the love triangle, angel mythology, and themes of free will develop throughout the rest of the series.
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So I really really liked this book.

There wasn't a point in the story where I had a different opinion, it was just really good.

It wasn't hard to like the main character, Clara was just the right mix of the supernatural and normal teenage girl. She might have been more mature than a normal sixteen/seventeen year old. However you can still see the growing up that needs to happen.

And another thing...I love Tucker, where can I meet a guy like him, do they even exist anymore, cause I sure the heck haven't found one yet. Clara you are one lucky girl. ( )

I loved it!!! ( )

I wasn't sure what to think about this book. So many other people who liked this book DESPISED [b:Hush, Hush|6339664|Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1)|Becca Fitzpatrick|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358261334s/6339664.jpg|6525609], and I actually rather liked it, so I wasn't sure what to think.

I LOVED IT! Paranormal romantic YA fiction is my wheelhouse, and this book did NOT disappoint. The relatable, STRONG, "normal" female protagonist was a welcome distraction from the Bella Swans of YA fiction, and **SPOILER ALERT** it's always a huge plus when I don't see the love interest coming (I was sure it was going to be Christian).

Highly recommended.

A remarkable story! Outstanding, really, the characters all had a way of making me feel attached to them, the story moved forward easily, there was a sense of mystery and urgency until the very end of the book. Clara is an excellent female heroine, she is strong, capable, and really takes other people's feelings into consideration most of the time. At the same time, she feels very different, and a little excluded by her mother.

Clara's mom, Meg, was also attaching, but not the best mom-character I've ever read, she almost reminded me a little bit of Nora's (Hush, Hush) mother. She knew that Clara's purpose was coming up very soon, but she still left her alone with her brother for a good part of the summer. Even when she was around, she was absorbed in other things, and did not share nearly enough information with Clara. Then, when Clara made some mistakes (not serious mistakes imo) she got angry with her, and shut her out again. I do get that a lot of things has to be learned from experience, but somehow, I disagree that it ALL has to come from own experience. What good is it to have parents if they are not able to help their children on the way? Even when children have to take their responsibilities, and grow up and make hard choices, the parents really should be there to guide and help them. Especially in a situation where the children are part-angels, and seem to have a very important purpose in life, even if that purpose is not easy to figure out, as it first happens through visions.

I loved Clara and Tucker's relationship, very healthy and happy, and when she shared the truth with him, he thought about it, and was able to love her just the way she was. I don't think that he took her away from her purpose, I think the love they shared made her a lot stronger, and able to deal with the difficulties ahead of her. When she had to call on her glory when the black-wing Sam tried to kill Meg, she was able to do so when thinking of Tucker and the love she feels for him.

And it seems her purpose might not have been to save Christian after all, maybe they were simply supposed to know that they are both angel-bloods, so that they can fight the black-wings together?

I am not so sure about Angela though, she could be a lot older than she seems, and even if her wings are still white, that does not mean her Italian (angel?) bf isn't a black-wing, and she might want to fight the 'wrong' side.

And I also wonder what's up with Kay! Why did Christian think he couldn't be what she wanted? And how much does she know about the angels living around town?

I am (im)patiently waiting for the next book, I love this universe, and I love how the characters all came to life, and made me feel something for them. ( )