Unearthly [Paperback]

I've read a fair few Angel themed books over the last year, so it was going to take something pretty special to blow me away. Fortunately, Unearthly was just that. Beautifully written, captivating and with it's very own twist, it was everything I'd hoped for and more.

In Cynthia Hand's debut novel we meet Clara, who is aware she is part Angel and has a purpose to fulfill on earth. I liked how this time we have a lead character who already knows what she is, there's no journey of self discovery here as such and despite her awkwardness, she's a strong solid character. She's incredibly believable and easy to relate to too, suffering the same insecurities as other teens despite her super powers making her good at everything. This is used to cause conflict in Clara's life as she attempts to hide them and not stand out. In fact Clara is played down quite a lot in this book and comes across as pretty much a very ordinary girl, which makes the fact she is special all the more exciting.

One of my favourite aspects of the book was the relationship between Clara and her small but tightly knit family. Her Mum is wise, caring, cool and a little bit of a pain in the butt all at once She's a woman (or half Angel) with quiet strength and fierce loyalty to her children. I love how she isn't over looked as a character. Given a fascinating back-story of her own, she isn't just the 'required parent' but very much a part of this story. I also really loved the interactions between Clara and her younger brother, Jeffrey. I thought the sibling relationship was portrayed fantastically, reminding me of my own with my brother.

I also LOVED the Love Triangle in this book. Usually I find it very easy to pledge my allegiance to one side or another in love triangles. This time though my heart shifted between charismatic Christian and broody cowboy Tucker. Actually, the cowboy bit may have just swung it in the end :D While there's nothing particularly new about this tug of love, it is well written and builds nicely. It will certainly get your pulse racing with it's 2 for 1 swoonliness and what more can you ask for really?

Unearthly was more than I expected and has easily won it's place as one of my top angel themed books. With a fresh take on Angel Mythology and a mysterious plot revealing some unexpected twists it's addictive reading. I flew through it in one sitting and left thinking 'wow!' And luckily it doesn't stop there, the ending sets up nicely for a sequel, Hallowed, due for release next year. Final thoughts on Unearthly? It's Divine...and I highly recommend it!

Clara is not only a teenage girl dealing with the usual teenage girl struggles, she's also a Quartarius--one quarter angel. Thankfully for Clara her mother is a half angel and there to help her through coming into her angel-yness (her father's not around or any part angel).

Clara has started to have visions--well a vision, multiple times. The vision is there to tell her her 'purpose'. Every angel or angel-blood has a 'purpose', something they were put on Earth to do. After a while Clara is able to piece together the clues in her vision and knows where the event is going to take place.

Soon, the family-Clara, her mother and her brother Jeffrey are moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to help Clara fulfill her purpose.

On the first day of school she meets Christian--the boy at the center of her vision and their lives become linked. There's also Angela, the girl who possibly gives Clara a strange look during the classes' '3 Unique Facts About Me' exercise, Wendy--one of the self professed Invisibles who pretty much instantly becomes Clara's friend, and Tucker, Wendy's infuriating twin brother.

And, of course, there's Clara's need to learn how to be a Quartarius, to learn what being an angel-blood entails and just how she's meant to fulfill her purpose. All while being the New Girl at the same time.

Unearthly being about angels automatically made it different than the other, current paranormal stories, but Cynthia Hand's writing and imagination made it a different worth reading. Each of the characters had their own thing (or things) going on that made them interesting to read about and great additions to the story. I really loved that the setting was so fully utilized in this story, they didn't just live in some town because, the location inspired events in the story and was used almost as a character itself.

And I can't say enough for my love of the romance in this book. It was not solely a romance but the romantic relationship in Unearthly was better written than most I've read in books where there was no supernatural element or other plotline. Hand created two characters I was rooting for from the beginning all the way through to the end. I loved both of them and I loved them together.

The first few chapters of the book had me thinking it was just a really good book, but then when I picked it up again and it really got going, the story sucked me in and I couldn't put it down. (I had a cold and I kept thinking, 'Just a few more pages,' until I got up to take my cold medicine but the only getting up I did until the ending was to turn on a light!

The development, pacing, characters, plot, and mythos of Uneartlhy are all brilliant. I really can't wait to read more from Cynthia Hand and I applaud her for this fantastic debut.

I was a bit reluctant to read Unearthly after I heard that it was yet another book about angels. I've read quite a few recently and only one or two have stood out. I should have never worried about Unearthly, though, because it's brilliant. Seriously, it's like discovering a breath of fresh paranormal air after being trapped in a heavy fog for a couple of years. The writing is fantastic and I really couldn't tell that Cynthia Hand is a debut author; her prose is utterly compelling and her ideas manage to be original even with the abundance of angel novels I mentioned earlier. It's quite a long novel clocking in at just over four hundred pages, but the pages almost turn themselves. Can you tell yet how much I enjoyed it?!

Clara was a fascinating character and I loved how we found out about her purpose when she did. She's known she's part-angel for a couple of years, but she doesn't know everything about their heritage and the do's and dont's of the angel world. When she first found out about her purpose - when she gets a strange vision of a boy in a burning forest - her whole family upped and moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or the "boonies" as it's referred to. That's how important an angel#s purpose is. Clara made a few friends in Jackson Hole pretty quickly: Wendy and her twin brother Tucker, mysterious girl Angela and Christian, the boy from her vision. Jackson Hole was the kind of place where boys (Tucker) dressed like cowboys and drove trucks like farmers. I like cowboy boys, and I am not above admitting that I swooned a few times. Tucker was like my ideal boy, so I was on his team from the start. The checkered shirts get me every time!

I thought the secondary characters were well-rounded and likeable, but I never really warmed to Angela. I get why she was important, and she was, but I thought Wendy was a much better friend who seemed to get left by the wayside. I couldn't help wondering if she was merely there as a way for Tucker to be in Clara's life, but I'm going to wait and see what pans out with her in the second book. You might have guessed that Unearthly is home to a love triangle, but don't let that put you off: it was a great one. I rooted for one boy right from the start, and I was happy with where his story took him. That's all I'm going to say about that, as there was always a clear winner for me. Whether or not I was right is something you'll have to find out for yourselves!

Hand's angel mythology got me hooked from the start, and I thought the whole thing was fascinating. These angels were different to any angels I've read about before, which really made the novel stand out. I'm still thinking about it now, about the wings and actual flying that took place throughout the course of Clara's story. I'm hoping we'll find out even more angel mythology in the next book in the series, as it was definitely the strong point of this one. It set it apart from the crowd and kept me interested and guessing all the way through the book.

Unearthly had a great setting, enthralling characters and one heck of an open ending. I have no idea what Cynthia Hand has planned for future books, but I think we'll see a lot more love triangle drama and some nasty angels on the scene. I'm so glad I read this book, and I think yu would be too. It's a must-read for fans of the paranormal - whether it be angels, vampires or werewolves - and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different. Roll on book two!

4.5/5