Review: Unearthly

Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly, book 1
Genre: Ya, Paranormal Romance
Published: January 2011
Pages: 435
My Rating: 

Angels are some of my favourite ‘things’. I simply adore these divine beings with their majestic wings. Their pure, untouched souls vibrating with untainted love. Ergo, reading about them is wonderful to me. I enjoy(ed) the 'Fallen' series by Lauren Kate very much, but was very disappointed by 'Hush, Hush' and its sequel. So I was hoping ‘Unearthly’ would be better. It was actually, being good and sweet, but not as epic I hoped it would be. It was, however, the story I expected 'Hush, Hush' to be. The way 'Hush, Hush' could and should have been had it been about 'good' angels and had it been written properly...

The beginning of the book did not draw me in immediately though. The vision Clara had, wasn’t written very strongly; it’s more telling than showing what the author does.
The rather simple writing style in the present tense even appalled me at first. (To me, writing a book in present tense feels like a beginner’s mistake.) Too many sentences are short and start with ‘I...’ or ‘He...’, another indication pointing towards the author’s lack of writing experience. But the storyline takes the focus off these flaws, fortunately.

Lately, I find myself becoming tired of 16-year old heroines. However, the concept of ‘Unearthly’ is original enough to grab ones attention and it makes one wanna read on. Being a normal, modern, school-going girl who happens to be part-angel, Clara receives a vision which becomes her life’s purpose. Bit by bit the vision becomes clearer, until Clara knows where to find the mysterious boy she is supposed to save from a forest fire. The author wrote in some lovely and believable details and explanations on angels, which were new to me. Everything is clear and simple, and explained rather than expected to be common knowledge.

Slowly, the story develops once Clara moves across the country with her half-angel mother and demi-angel brother and meets Christian, the mystery boy from her visions. Clara makes new friends and learns more about angels from an unexpected source. Because she is still uncertain about her purpose, Clara tries to get to know as much about Christian as she possibly can. This involves a mild form of stalking, not like some of the unhealthy stalking we’ve read about in a lot of YA books lately. Wink, nudge…
Nothing epic happening at first, asides from the knowledge Clara has angel blood flowing through her veins and feathers growing out of her back (when needed/forced). Through the major part of the book, the story seems to focus more on Clara’s adjustment to her new life. Towards the end and Clara’s supposed purpose-fulfilment the story picks up speed. Still the plot isn’t huge but more subtle and not entirely exposed during this first instalment of the trilogy.

Because of the simple writing style, ‘Unearthly’ reads away quickly, easily and understandably, without the ridiculous plot twists or over-the-top paranoia we encountered in ‘Hush, Hush’. Actually, for a book on angels with meaningful purposes the pace is very slow. Clearly ‘Unearthly’ puts the emphasis on romance rather than action. The story itself is endearing enough to make you forget about the lack in sentence variation or non-descriptiveness.

The romance part flows very naturally, it doesn’t feel forced on in any way. I had expected things to go slightly different, knowing Clara’s destiny was somehow entwined with Christian’s. Then again, that’s not how these stories usually turn out. The story is incredibly sweet and realistic, and like Clara, you forget she’s part-angel sometimes. Sure, there almost isn’t anything she isn’t good at, but most of the time her human side prevails. She’s a normal teen trying to find out her purpose in life, not just an angel-blood trying to live up to her purpose. Her angelic-ness makes it even harder for her to be herself, having to hide her true self most of the time.
The choices she makes are very understandable, Clara is easy to relate to. It’s hard to act divine and put yourself last, when you feel like a normal girl who wants to live a normal life and put herself first. I was left as confused as she was, in the end. Which is a sign of good penmanship after all. I truely was Clara...

Tucker seems like the kind of guy any girl would be lucky to have: an attractive, spirited cowboy with a golden heart.
Christian is still too much of a mystery to me to make up my mind about him.
My initial thoughts that something was ‘up’ with Angela were right. Gotta admire a girl with so much enthusiasm, whose mother owns one of the coolest places in town.
Wendy shares most qualities her twin brother Tucker; she’s steady, trustworthy, loyal and down-to-earth.
I know Clara's mother Maggie deliberately let her daughter find out things, but it pained me to actually feel her shutting Clara out at times.

The way things were going I should have expected the book’s ending. But the way things were supposed to be going, allowed the ending to surprise me. Thankfully Hallowed (the sequel to ‘Unearthly’) is already written and I’m glad I pre-ordered it. Because this book was clearly a set-up for a longer story, a (albeit very long) introduction for more to come; leaving some serious issues to be resolved, questions to be answered and mess to be cleaned up. A task I am willing to take on, because this book was a very lovely read. A feel-good book if you will, with its darker passages, humour, endearing characters, very promising concept and somewhat gloomy ending.

P.S. Alas, I own the book with the *least* attractive cover option out of the 3 different versions. It's hideous in my opinion even; the girl dressed in white with her 'computerized' hair, against the blue forest background. I sooo don't get this cover, as opposed to the other beautiful ones!

Review: Clockwork Heart

Clockwork Heart, by Dru Pagliassotti
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Romance
Published: April 2008
Pages: 390
My Rating: 

The story about Taya the ‘Icarus’ (a messenger flying across the city of Ondinium, on wings made of the feather-light metal ondium) starts mid-flight. Literally. On her way to deliver a message, Taya rescues Viera Octavus, one of the so-called ‘exalted’, and her son from an almost-crashing wire ferry. Because of her husbands political importance this may not have been an accident.
Shortly after the wire ferry crash, Taya meets the 2 Forlore brothers who turn out to be Viera’s cousins. The intelligent, handsome, charming Alister and his seemingly socially inadequate brother Cristof (who voluntarily gave up his caste to work as a clock writher in Tertius). Alister easily sweeps Taya off her feet, especially at the ball thrown at the Octavus Estate in her honour. The relationship with Cristof slowly evolves due to his difficult, closed character and Taya’s distrust of him because of the way he acts/does.

Ondinium is a city powered by the great Engine, running on an ondium core. It’s divided into three sectors: Primus, Secundus an Tertius. Its inhabitants are also divided into different castes: ranging from the rich and noble born exalteds to poor labourers. Because of their importance to society, Icarii like Taya are not bound to their caste. Seeing how Taya grew up in Tertius, it means she has far more freedom.

I loved the flying lessons Taya gave! Don’t worry, I won’t tell to whom, but that really was a great scene with so much emotion! Fear, relieve, patience and then something more…;) No sappy romance there, merely a refreshing and real passage. There were many other moments I had to laugh out loud because of some –awkward, sarcastic or sweet- dialogues.

Taya is a lovable character; she’s brave, curious, ambitious, funny and down-to-earth despite being up in the air most of the time. The feelings/relationships she develops or already has, don’t feel forced. I could easily relate to her crush on Alister, as well as her annoyance with Cristof.
Alister (being an ‘exalted’ means he’s forced to hide his face behind a mask in public) seems like the actual Prince Charming with his perfect looks and charisma. Until another side of him surfaces from behind his mask...
Cristof really does seem to be the ‘awkward crow’ Taya so lovingly describes him as. Always dressed in black, with sharp edges both outside as well as inside. His grumpiness is funny, painful, sarcastic and pitiful at times. But his righteousness can be felt.

The setting is very original in my opinion and well thought through. It’s not just a flat cartoonish background, but has actual depth because of the social castes and political scams, etc. This could be a real functioning society. I do miss some more elaborate world building. The strange terms and surroundings that are Ondinium are being strewn around without much explanation or history, making it hard to envision some things clearly. Another example of the lack of description concerns some of the characters. I’m not quite sure how Taya looks (definitely NOT like the cover girl!) or what age she has.
Besides the occasional difficult words (English is not my native tongue though, so…), the story read away pleasant and easily. The writing was fluid. Something exciting happened most of the time, whereas other chapters seemed to drag on a bit. It was not epic though, nor earth shattering or renewing enough to blow one away. In its genre this is kind of a mediocre story, a nice way to spend your time surrounded by pretty pictures (like the ball, again…!). A couple of days ago I read/finished The Iron Thorn and that felt so much more original and written so much stronger when it came to world building and plot. (Maybe because it was a set-up for a much more epic plot, a first part in the series.)

The plot took a turn I wasn’t happy with and couldn’t believe either. I didn’t want to believe it, I mean. Did not see it coming, or did not want to see it coming, maybe. But after a while, the story felt better and more natural. However, I didn’t find the plot that interesting. It was not exciting enough, I wanted it to be over with. It kinda dragged on after it seemed to be over and got confusing to me with the new side-plot and somewhat dry info. I caught myself skimming the pages, wondering how much longer it would take until things got resolved. Since I did care for Taya, Cristof and Alister, they were the main reason I kept reading.

The world and characters were the book’s strong points in my opinion, whereas the plot lacked a bit.

After finishing I was kinda sad to leave Ondinium, Taya, Cristof and the others behind. I really liked them and would like to know how the story continues. The ending wasn’t really open, it was happy and conclusive enough. But, the story offered more, Ondinium is a strange an interesting place and Taya’s journey has only just begun. Both are interesting enough to read more about. Since I heard Dru is already writing the next instalment, that's a good thing :)

Review: Destined

Destined, by Alison Kraft
Genre: YA, Sci-fi, Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural
Published: August 2011
Pages: 290
My Rating: 

The idea of this book spoke to me enormously. It’s told from the perspective of modern day vampire slayer Apolline Greer (who comes from a long line of female, single vampire slayers and is rather obsessed with the ‘Titanic’) who suddenly finds herself aboard this famous sinking ship, in the body of her ancestor. Also on board are: Cristof-the vampire who killed her mother, another vampire hunter named Alexander Walker (Appoline never knew there existed others like her, let alone they were so cute) and a female vampire named Sasha whom she and Alexander were both sent to kill. Since we all know what happens to the ‘Titanic’ it’s an understatement to say Apolline is acting under a lot of time pressure. She has 4 days left ‘till the ship sinks.

Unlike slayers we already know (such as ‘Buffy’, which Alison Kraft refers to herself) the slayers in this book don’t walk around and slay every vampire they encounter because not all vampires are considered bloodthirsty and dangerous. They’re assigned to kill specific ones because they’ve turned bad. Which is why Apolline is not allowed to kill Cristof, even though he’s responsible for her mother’s death, has tormented her family before that and torments Apolline still. Yet now temptation is very strong: she has a chance to stop him before he has a chance to kill her mother.

Even though Apolline is a strong character, having lost her mother at a young age and being trained to be a vampire slayer, I find her personality a bit lacking. She’s cool and in control and doesn’t allow herself to break down and cry for quite some time. It took some time before she finally grew on me, but towards the end I could really sympathize with her.
Alexander Walker is truly an old fashioned gentleman, charming in a way. Despite the proper distance which social etiquette requires, you feel the romance between Noelle/Apolline and Alex grow, in a subtle way.
Logan seems like a good (and cute) guy too. Very slowly (for obvious reasons, as we find out later) he finds a way into Apolline’s life, because he genuinely cares for her.

As far as writing goes, this books reads away easily. Since it’s written from 21st Century Apolline’s view (in the first person), the style/language is modern, apart from the moments Apolline has to converse to her fellow travellers in 1912 of course.
Clearly Alison Kraft has done much research on the ‘Titanic’, I am pretty sure her descriptions of the ship, decks, rooms, sleeping quarters, dining rooms, floor plans, etc. are most accurate. But during the first half of the book the story is just being told without much extra flavour. Everything is a bit ‘flat’ and I miss a spark with the book.
Just like in the movie blockbuster, until the ship starts to sink, hardly anything happens. Alison Kraft takes a bit too much time writing about everything. Instead of chasing after Cristof and Sasha, Noelle and Alexander wander around the ship and talk, have breakfast, lunch or dinner and in between take their sweet time to change outfits. Admittedly, it’s nice to read how ‘crazy’ people were back then: taking hours to change into different attires for every meal, whilst the outfits they wore (especially women) were no easy task to change into. The tight and uncomfortable corsets, the hundreds of buttons on the gowns, the hair and make-up. No wonder every woman (who had some means) needed a maid!

I’m a big fan of detailed writing and descriptions, but it dragged on a bit too long. Almost every breath Apolline/Noelle takes (shallow breaths, due to her confining corset), every move she makes, is being described. The story drabbles on a bit too long. That does make you feel what Apolline feels: it’s actually rather boring to be aboard a big ship during the 1900’s.
Because of those elaborate descriptions the vampire-action gets snowed under a bit. It's almost like Alison Kraft thought about adding a supernatural theme to the story later to make it more interesting, instead of just writing another story about what it must have been like to be on the 'Titanic'.

However, as the story finally unfolded I really felt for Apolline. The love she and Alexander felt for one another was going to end either way, by death or Apolline’s return to the future. Alison Kraft described the chaos during those panicked last moments excellently. I won’t tell whether or not Alexander, Noelle and Apolline survived, but boy, did I feel some pain... All those innocent people who died that night, some of them being Apolline's new-found friends after her always solitairy life. Heartbreaking.

You should allow this book to take you on a voyage with it. The story may evolve slowly, the plot evident after some time, but it’s worth it in the end. Indulge yourself in the life style of the 1900’s for a while, take your time, and feel the romance wash over you. Don’t expect too much (vampire) action, then you’ll be fine.

Despite the collision course the Titanic was heading for, this book -as well as Apolline Greer’s life- is not. History can’t be changed, but the future can still have a happy ending.






***SPOILER***
Especially in the ‘now’ I feel for Apolline, once she has returned safely (alas, Noelle does not survive) and gets to know Logan- the neighbour she has been secretly lusting after for some years already. Being confronted with things 'Titanic' hurts too much, understandably, and Apolline questions her sanity. Was it just a dream, or not? And did she manage to kill Cristof or not, because her mother is still dead.
Once it turns out Logan is Alexander’s great-great-great grandson, possesing a letter addressed to Apolline (proving Alexander did survive the ‘Titanic’, despite the fact that Apolline saw him fall into the freezing water together with Sasha) both Apolline’s and my tears were flowing freely. END SPOILER***

Review: City of Bones

City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments, book 1 of 6
Genre: YA, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural
Published: March 2007
Pages: 485
My Rating:

In all honesty I was interrupted for several periods of time while reading this book (amongst which was a hospital stay due to surgery, during and after which I could not concentrate on anything), so I'm not sure whether I am to blame for my lack of being able to be swept away by the story, or too many things in the story itself kept me from being drawn in.
But, since I have read ‘Clockwork Angel’ by Cassandra Clare which I thoroughly enjoyed (the Victorian Setting appealed to me more than the setting of the ‘Mortal Instruments’ though) I blame me for this temporarily state of insanity. Upon finishing 'Clockwork Angel', the book left me empty-hearted and longing for more of it. I loved Cassandra’s writing, characters, setting, action. So despite the different setting, I decided to order the ‘Mortal Instruments’ anyway.

I had prepared myself that this series would be less good than ‘Clockwork Angel’ because it was written earlier. But Cassandra’s writing is of the same high standard then as it is now, she treats her readers like adults instead of tweenies. She takes us seriously for a change. From page 1 the book is action-packed and introduces us into a different world not far from ours, without losing sight of the plot. Nothing happening drags on too long or seems senseless.

The action just keeps coming, Cassandra doesn’t waste words on jibber jabber. Everything happens for a reason but is still descriptive enough and pleasant to read without being rambled on like a story that has to be told without paying attention to use of words.
However I do find Cassandra uses the same sentences/words a lot. The werewolve's 'lolling' tong for example, and the 'breathing like he/she had just run'. Not much variation, whereas most sentences read like beautiful poetry.

The terms are explained in this book, the gadgets and history about Shadowhunters and their powers and weapons. I love the original ideas of the rune marks, and how this whole world works. I find there's nothing weird about it, like it has always been like this. Totally believable.

I like how the plot comes together piece by piece. It’s not childish or immature, it’s a very well thought through story/plot (of which I wish I'd thought it up).

Like in ‘Clockwork Angel’ I do find that all the excitement and action keeps Cassandra from writing ‘too deep’. I’m still having trouble with feeling Clary. I know what she looks like, but I don’t know anything about her insides. With everything that’s going on in her life, she seems to be taking things rather well, rather superficial. I would like to get a bit deeper inside her head. It’s hard to identify yourself totally with one of the main characters that way.

I’m getting kind of annoyed with the fact that whenever something major happens (Clary finds out her mom was a Shadowhunter, married to the bad guy Valentine, stayed on the ‘wrong’ side too long) some kind of action thing happens and we don’t get to read any of her thoughts. I actually longed for some peaceful times, some slow times in the book, to catch my breath. The book felt like a never-ending rollercoaster ride, and no matter how fun rollercoaster rides are, if you're being forced to stay on them while getting more and more nauseous, it's not fun anymore...

Those are my only points of criticism, Cassandra needs to slow down sometimes, and I want to read more about everyone's feelings in between the action. Or at least Clary's feelings, because she's the main character.

And I hope that Clary and Jace aren't really brother and sister. (I think I read a spoiler about that somewhere, ignoring it for now...) Cassandra wrote the story very plausible, no soap-opera-like-surprises, but believable, and leading to something more. Not just a twist to keep it exciting or fill the pages, no, some devious sidetrack to the plot.

So, I got sucked into the story finally, but I'm gonna do some light reading first, before I continue this series. I can easily let go of the 'Mortal Instruments' world, whereas I had more trouble letting go of the 'Infernal Devices' reality. Not a very good sign I guess...

However, this would really make for a heck of a movie!!!

Have a good day! :)

Review: Torment

Torment, by Lauren Kate.

Series: Fallen, book 2 of 4

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-fi, Romance

Published: September 2010

Pages: 452

My Rating:

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting for the sequel to 'Fallen' ('Torment') to get published, I finally got to know what would happen next to Lucinda and Daniel.
What I liked about this sequel was the different setting from the first book. Even though I could totally sympathize with Luce in the dreary environment of 'Fallen', 'Torment's' setting was refreshing. The sunny school for Nephilim felt lighter somehow.

I liked reading how Luce discovered her 'powers' (don't want to give too much away) and made new friends, who didn't appear to be all that friendly at first. On one side she was pining and aching for Daniel, she still took matters in her own hands. Even if she didn't know how. Which may have been stupid, but I can relate to those kinds of actions ;)

Most of all I liked where the ending was going (again the epic battle here... amongst her poor, unsuspecting family and friends), it made me very curious for 'Passion'!

Have a good day :)

Review: Fallen

Fallen, by Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen, book 1 of 4
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Published: December 2009
Pages: 452
My Rating: 

In all honesty I have to admit I'm writing this review whereas I've read the book quite some time ago. (About 2 years ago even!) That's not my usual style, but 'Fallen' deserves a review, so here I go.

The original (movie-worthy!) setting of this book set the tone immediately to a dark read: the reform school 'Swords and Cross' Lucinda is being sent to is a grim, gruesome place. It wasn't even her fault she got sent there in the first place. It's not like she meant to set her boyfriend on fire, it just happened. But maybe it was for the best Lucinda was sent away, it gave her the chance to live her life without being judged by all her fellow students.
Whether the academy is the best place to have a fresh, new start is debatable. It's not very inviting with all its grey buildings, the cemetery on school grounds and the old church now harboring an Olympic size swimming pool. Most of the students seem to have adapted to their surroundings and fate and seem like they actually belong in a place like that. The mandatory all BLACK dress code doesn't do anything to add to the cheeriness. However, Luce quickly finds herself a new friend in Penn, whose father used to be the janitor. Even Arianne who seems very strange at first turns out to be a loyal friend.
And of course, then there is Daniel. Daniel who doesn't seem interested in Luce and treats her with her disrespect. That is, when he acknowledges her at all. But Luce can't stop herself from feeling attracted to him. (Although why I can't figure out: I don't like his looks and he's the wrong kind of tormented. He's a drag, actually!)
Anyhow, Luce pines for Daniel and tries to get in touch with him. This goes on for the major part of the book, nothing else of importance happens. There were times I wondered why I kept reading even, it felt rather boring to read about this seemingly unrequited love.
Luckily, we have Cam to keep things interesting, with his black hair and cat-like green eyes. And even though you can sense from a mile away he's BAD news (yes, with a capital B, A and D!) he's smoking hot. Now there's an attraction I understand!
When it comes to Cam, you can sense Daniel is jealous, or rather protective of Luce, in other ways, deeper ways. Like he knows about Cams badness. And finally things start to make sense, the romance takes off (a little, in a goody-two-shoes-way) and we find out why Daniel kept Luce away but didn't want Cam near her either. At that point there hadn't been any 'fantasy' aspect to the book, so although I knew what the book was about, I was still surprised when Daniel showed his true self. Like his angelic-ness didn't belong in the book. But I got used to it quickly. One things that kept being annoying though, was that Daniel couldn't tell Luce what the deal was about. No, she has to find out herself.

The semi-epic ending of the book was harsh in ways I did not see coming. Well written, realistic when it comes to feelings, detailed when it comes to he angels' appearances.

All in all a book with an original concept, a promising story with epic battles lurking around the corner, an endangered romance without knowing how to make sure it will last this lifetime. The writing is okay, not too hard, but detailed enough. The characters aren't that well-written and I can't really feel the chemistry beyond the fate-link Luce and Daniel share. A bit of a mediocre book perhaps, with a little extra though. It certainly  kept me engaged enough to read the sequels!

Also, I dare say it's right up there with the 'Twilight' Saga. If you liked those, you'll like these as well. I hope the movie they're planning on doing about this one will go through, because I know these books will translate beautifully onto the silver screen!

Have a nice day! :)