Review - Unearthly (Unearthly 01) by Cynthia Hand

Title and Author:  Unearthly (Unearthly 01) by Cynthia Hand

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: January 4th, 2011

Paperback/Hardcover: 435

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Find it at: Goodreads / Bookdepository

Summary:

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?

Review:

First of all, why did it take me so long to start reading this series? I seriously don’t know why I hesitated so much and only now started reading the Unearthly Series. It’s such a good series!

Clara has angel blood in her and when she starts having visions of a forest fire and a boy standing in the middle of that fire, she knows the time to fulfill her purpose has arrived.

She only has to figure out where the fire will happen, who the boy is and what exactly she is expected to do!

Clara is a good main character. She knows she’s an angels right from the start of the book but she still seems very normal. She’s smart and a little shy and all around easy to relate to.

Now, here is where I state that I am completely Team Tucker! He is such a sweet guy! Christian is great as well but Tucker stole my heart right from the start. :)

In the beginning of the book Tucker does his best to annoy Clara but as we get to know more about him it’s obvious how much he likes her. He’s sweet, hardworking, fun and understanding. He loves animals, specially his horse Midas, which only makes him an even better character.

The relationship between Clara and Tucker starts off on the wrong foot but as they get to know each other they fall in love. There are some great moments between them and I think they made a wonderful couple with lots of chemistry.

Christian is a good character as well and I did like him but I don’t think I know enough about him and his personality just yet. I’m sure he’ll play a bigger part in the next book.

I liked most of the secondary characters as well and thought they brought something to the story. I’m not completely sure about Angela, though – there’ some mystery surrounding her, I think.

I really enjoyed the plot of the book and the idea that Clara has a purpose to fulfill. The plot moves along nicely and there was enough action and mystery to keep me entertained as well as a few surprises. Clara’s mom is obviously a very mysterious woman so I can’t wait to learn more about her and her past.

All in all, I really enjoyed Unearthly and I think Cynthia Hand did a wonderful job with this somewhat different take on angels. The story is interesting and fast-paced and the characters easy to like and relate to.

I just started reading the second book in the series and can’t wait to finish it!

If you’re a Young Adult, Paranormal fan you should definitely give this series a try.

Rating: Between Worth Your Time and Must Read (4 ½ Stars)