blo Teens Read and Write: Review: UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Review: UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand

UNEARTHLY
By: Cynthia Hand
Pub: Jan 2011
Genre: Teen Fiction/Paranormal
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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?
Debut author, Cynthia Hand just "handed" me (sorry, sorry) my latest YA angel fiction favorite. Ladies and gentlemen, meet (drum roll please)...UNEARTHLY! An irresistible blend of romance and adventure vividly told  amid the resplendent beauty of the Wyoming landscape. The evocative writing pulls you in with characters that continue to reveal layers and depth.

Multi-layered Characters - Like Onions, but Without the Smell!
Clara has a bright, independent spirit that sometimes clashes with others' expectations for her. She has to determine whether to follow the path chosen for her or create her own destiny. While I thoroughly enjoyed her journey of growth, I have to admit that somewhere in the middle I almost tossed the book aside and gave up.

Why? OMG - Clara keeps fawning over Christian while completely ignoring the adorable Tucker - whom I'm absolutely in love with!
My Heart When I Think About Tucker

And he's a rodeo star!
Clara's lack of vision in this area was frustrating. But I kept with it and once the romance between her and Tucker gets started I was completely enthralled - and relieved! Tucker is irresistible - sweet, strong, loyal, thoughtful, funny, and handsome, of course - ruggedly so.

Let me pause to swoon....


Okay, I'm back.  I loved how the romance developed, how their feelings built on real experience and time spent together - so romantic.

UNEARTHLY is full of real relationships - family, friends, old enemies. Sprinkle in intriguing mystery, several surprising twists, and a heart-stopping ending that had me holding my breath! Oh, you'll love this one!


Cynthia Hand divides her time between Southern California, where she lives with her husband and son, and southeast Idaho near the Teton mountains. She teaches creative writing at Pepperdine University.

For more, check out Cynthia's interesting and in depth BIO


15 comments:

TerryLynnJohnson said...

I lOVED this book! Amazing writing! Agreed - Tucker = swoon.

jayme said...

Great review! I can not wait to read this!

Julie@My5monkeys said...

Great review and agree with you about onions & tucker.

Blodeuedd said...

This Tucker person sounds mighty interesting :) I am glad to hear it was good

Natalie said...

I've been hearing a lot of good things about this one, and I have a copy for review, so I'm glad you enjoyed it too! I've been a little wary of picking up angel books lately, since the two I read last month (Halo and Fallen Angel) were complete letdowns for me. Glad to hear this one has potential!

Jenny N. said...

LOL great review! Honestly in the beginning I had no idea that Tucker would become Clara's love interest but I definitely grew to love him.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I enjoyed this one too. Now, I wasn't all for the rodeo aspect, so I forgave Tucker that one. ;) lol Can't wait for the next one!!

Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books) said...

I loved this book! And I don't love angel books, so that's saying something. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well, Alyssa and feel free to swoon over Tucker; I know I did. At one point, I wanted to climb into the pages, smack Clara, and steal Tucker away, but I resisted and I really love how their story played out.

Great review!

Tales of Whimsy said...

I love this book! I'm swoony over Tucker :)

Small Review said...

LOL! I love your review with all the pictures. I'll take a hot, rugged, rodeo guy please :)

Unknown said...

OMG Alyssa!

I have this bad feeling about Christian, don't know why, haven't read the book, but I do. Unearthly is on my list of books to acquire, when I'll find the time.. *shrugs*, but have it, I must!

Thanks for a great review, and so happy she ended up with Tucker!

Dottie :)

Anonymous said...

LOL- that was the cutest review!! I loved the onion pic...:D

Thats it...Im ordering this right....now!

Lola said...

Fantastic review! It's interesting to know that you almost gave up on this one. I have this book on the shelf, waiting to be read. I'll definitely have to bump it up on the tbr list! :)

Orchid said...

Unearthly sounds like it might just be up my alley (I love books with angels).
I'm glad to see a book where the main character and the love interest don't get together right after meeting.
Thanks for the nice review (I'll now be adding this to my list of books with angels that I want to try). ^_^

Freak-YA-tastic said...

I really enjoyed this book and I'm also in love with Tucker ! He's an adorable character while Christian is... well, I' don't really know what to think about him for now.

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