Unearthly (Unearthly, 1)

5 out of 5 stars.Clara Gardener is an angel blood, which makes her life infinitely more complicated than your average teenager's. Ever since she found out, her life has never been the same; she had always known she was different from other kids her age, but, really, an angel? Adding to the weight of this burden is that all angel-bloods have a certain purpose (or purposes) that they have to fulfill, and bad things happen when an angel-blood decides not to complete it. At least that is what Clara's mother says. Clara has decides to follow her calling, which leads her and the rest of her family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Traveling to Jackson Hole was even more unglamorous than expected, and Clara is now experiencing the full-fledged fury of an angry teenage boy. The more time goes by, the more Clara wonders about her purpose. Is this really what she is meant for? Did she somehow misinterpret something and uproot her family for some teenage fantasy? And even if she is on the right track, how can she really fulfill her life's calling when the boy she is supposed to protect won't allow her to get close enough to actually help him?Nothing is made easy for Clara, but she is determined to finish it! Nothing and no one is going to get in the way of protecting the boy from her visions, but life throws her yet another curveball, and Clara doesn't know quite how to deal with it, with him. Can she finish what she started, or was she doomed to fail from the start?I was really surprised by this book. My sister had read it last summer and she had enjoyed it quite a bit; I, however, did not read it because I was drowning in new books at the time, and I was a bit wary of the angel aspect of this series. Well, here I am seven or eight months later and in love with a new series that I was originally pooh, pooh on. Yeah, I am eating crow, and just so you know, it tastes delicious.The month of February has been good and bad for me; I was a bit overwhelmed with all the FEELS that certain books gave me, and it was a lot to process in such a short period of time. Because of that, I really just wanted something enjoyable to read that was interesting while still being lighthearted, and this book came to mind. I am so glad it did because it panned out so well, and I had a blast reading "Unearthly" by Cynthia Hand."Unearthly" takes place in Wyoming, and I just loved that! Me and my family used to travel through the midwest to come and see extended family. So the setting of this book was familiar, but still new and I loved that about this book. I felt like I was actually there and I could really get into this book because of that. Beside the setting being absolutely beautiful, I ended up really enjoyed the characters in "Unearthly."I like the struggle that Clara went through trying to figure out who she was and who she needed to become to fulfill her purpose. I think that this is very relatable for anyone who is alive; we are all just trying to find out who we truly are and what we're meant for in this life, angel or not. That aspect of this book really intrigued me and it caused me to think about my life's purpose, and, whether the author intended to or not, I felt like I came out at the end of the book knowing a little bit more about myself than I had before, and it has gotten me thinking about my future and who I want to be.Purpose aside, Clara also had a lot of other things she had to deal with; family, friends, and possible romantic relationships. I thought it was interesting how Cynthia Hand dealt with all those things in "Unearthly." I admired that, even when Clara was avidly pursuing Christian so she could get to know him, Cynthia never made it too obsessive; it was a bit of insta-love with them, but I could deal with it, which says a lot. While reading this book I felt like it had a more realistic approach to romantic relationships, and that the characters were more mature in the fact that they didn't become super obsessive, and that they didn't just drop everything because they thought they were going to be together "forever." Instead of falling prey to the Edward/Bella syndrome, said couple still lived their lives, but enjoyed being with each other, and I really liked that about this book. It is very rare in teen fiction to see that kind of relationship; granted, it is still fictional, but I thought it was still a much better approach to that kind of relationship than is commonly written these days. Okay, with Clara out of the way, let's talk about some of the other characters.Christian Prescott, the boy Clara is supposed to save, was a very good character. I thought that he was well written and I didn't mind him at all. With that said, I thought him to be a bit too perfect (my sister and I discussed this after I had finished "Unearthly")...I don't know why but I still feel that way. He was super nice, popular, attractive, and seemed like perfect boyfriend material. What's wrong with him to make me not be in love with him? I can honestly say, I don't know! He is a great character and he and Clara have some really sweet moments together, but he just wasn't my romantic cup of tea. I would like him to be good friend to Clara, just not a romantic interest for her. But alas, he is one, so I have to deal with it if I am to read the rest of this series and enjoy it!The last character I want to talk about is Tucker Avery: A.K.A amazing Wyoming farm boy.Cynthia Hand did a number on this character (in a good way). Tucker is a very minor character in "Unearthly" for the first three-quarters, but then he really arrived with a BANG! At first he's just the brother of Clara's new friend, Wendy, and quite the jerk at first; he has issues with people from California, apparently. But as the story goes on, you discover that he is actually a really, really good guy. He reminded me a lot of Logan from "Defiance" and "Deception" by C.J. Redwine. If you enjoyed that character, I think you might really like Tucker. Besides the fact that he reminded me of another one of my favorite characters, I just LOVED Tucker. I loved the way Clara's and his relationship turned into a kind of truce and then turned into a sort of friendship. There was no insta-love involved here. Yay! I just get a big old smile on my face whenever I think of Tucker or one of his and Clara's sweet moments.Cynthia Hand did a fantastic job of creating a genuinely good guy character, while still making him dynamic and fun to read about. He didn't have to be a bad boy to be interesting, which was refreshing.Overall, this is a great book! I am very excited to have found a new series to read, and I look forward to future works of Cynthia Hand's. Well done! Check-out by blog: booksandwonderfulthings.wordpress.com

After devouring Unearthly in just under two days, it is officially one of my favorite books of the year. While angel mythology is certainly key to the story, it comes across as a contemporary novel with just a hint of the supernatural. The mixture of genres is well-done, and leaves me feeling completely satisfied with the way everything is written. I enjoyed the story, and found it easy to devour, and am certain that others will as well.The first thing you need to know about the book is this - I fell completely, head over heels in love with Wyoming as I read it. I wanted to visit immediately, just to see the spectacular settings described in this book. Hand manages to bring to life this place, and provide just enough detail so we get a good grasp of where our characters are based.The second thing is that the angel lore is fleshed out in this novel, and sensibly so. The information is imparted to us in bits and pieces - "good" angels, "bad" angels and angelic history and abilities. This makes things easy to digest, but at the same time, can lead to a bit of confusion as we struggle to figure everything out right alongside Clara. Even though we get enough revelation to understand what's going on at some point, there's still more to be learned, and I'm eager to find out what that is.The third thing about this book is the wonderfully fleshed-out set of characters. Hand did a superb job giving everyone memorable personalities, and I think that's something she should be proud of.Clara was fun to read about because she reminded me of myself. Despite the fact that she's part angel, she still acts like a normal teenage girl would in most situations (especially emotional ones). What really struck me as something we shared was her choice between her purpose and her free will. That's a decision most of us typically face in our lives, and Hand has written it into this novel in a way that's easy to relate to and recognize.Clara's family - her mother and brother Jeremy - are very much present in this book. I absolutely love that her family was considered as an important part of her story! Clara's mother was involved in her kids' lives, and tried her best to protect and shield them from harm. She was a supportive parental figure, and did her best to teach Clara about being an angel. Jeremy, on the other hand, acted like a typical younger brother. But there's no doubt in my mind that there's got to be something more to his role in this particular story.It is impossible to ignore the presence of the two wonderful boys in this book, honestly. They're both such amazing people - Christian and Tucker - that any reader can see why it's hard to choose between them, whether in Clara's case or for ourselves.Christian struck me as a preppy boy. He's intelligent, sociable, athletic and he's popular. He's that rich kid who doesn't allow his family's money to define who he is or how he acts. He seems pretty down to earth, and kind, and I just could appreciate how genuinely nice he was. In real life, Christian would definitely be my type.But honestly, I absolutely adored Tucker. What is it about cowboys? I don't know, but Tucker just came right around and lassoed my heart (and yes, I went there). He was a bit brusque initially, but his gruffness was just disguising the way he really felt about Clara. The strength and constancy of his feelings overwhelmed me to the point of falling completely for him. The moments they shared were just wonderful in their simplicity and ease, and I wanted to experience many of them for myself. In case it isn't obvious, I fell hard for Tucker.Fourth, there's plenty for me to love about the story. I love that there's a love story between Clara, Christian and Tucker. I love that Clara's family also has a story. I love that learning about angels is a different story. And of course, there's the biggest story of all - Clara's decision to accomplish her purpose or to follow her heart. It's a fascinating set of stories all intertwined with Hand's deft hand, and I admire the way that the story just flows from page to page. As it winds to a conclusion, the way Clara's story plays out is very intriguing indeed, and leaves the door wide open to find out what happens next for all these characters.When a book makes me constantly smile as I read it, I know it's a winner! Unearthly was a charming, intelligently written angel book, and it's given me hope that angel stories can be well-done indeed. I loved the way Hand wrote Clara's story (and the ever-present love triangle) (and the family situation) (and the angel stuff), and I'm eager to see how it continues in Hallowed.

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

You'd think by this point we'd seen it all wouldn't you? Us young adult fiction readers have read everything there is on angels, faeries and all the jazz and to be honest - we must be pretty confident we're past being surprised. But we were wrong.Unearthly is your typical hidden-identity angel book in tha Clara (our leading Angel girl) must hide her true being. But, that's about all that's typical about this book. Having never heard of Cynthia Hand I thought it was only fair to give a new author a chance and I'm so glad I did because her character and world building was beautiful and her ideas were so exciting.Clara is only PART angel. And not a very big part either - just a quarter. As is her brother Jeffery. Clara keeps having dreams, unusual dreams but always the same one. Only sometimes with additional details here and there. Except Clara isn't dreaming whilst she's asleep, she's dreaming whilst she's awake which can be pretty embarrassing (but funny for us). What this means is, Clare has received her purpose. In Hand's world, angels have destinies. They are put on Earth to fulfill a purpose shown to them in their minds after they reach a certain age.This means that now that Clara has SOME idea of her purpose she knows where she needs to be, and it's not where she is now. So Clare and her family move from California to start a whole new life with some really brilliant characters thrown in. As Clare starts her new school she meets Christian. The boy from her vision. The boy she must save. Now as you might expect there's an element of a love interest there. BUT, there's a love TRIANGLE people! Got to love a good love triangle! Tucker, our brooding and pretty grumpy cowboy is so likeable. He is by far my most favourite character. The best part is, it's so hard to decide which of the two is better suited to Clara - the broody but gorgeous gentleman of a cowboy or the drop-dead gorgeous boy Clara must save from the burning forest.It's also really nice to see Clara's relationships with everyone. Not only with Tucker and Christian but more so with her brother (whose waiting for his purpose) and her mother (a fellow, slightly stronger, angel with a hell of a lot more experience to pass down). Interestingly, Clara's mother always seems so reluctant to teach Clara about the ways of being an Angel, about a purpose or about "Black Wings" - something I'll leave you to find out about yourself.Along the way we get to learn so much about angels. How they come about, how the whole purpose thing works but there are still a few questions left unanswered which leaves me desperate to read the next in the series. And to me, that's the sign of a good book so I can't recommend this enough. There's a massive twist at the end too which I didn't see coming at all!! Overall, this book is fantastic. It's a really new take on a typical story with uniquely likeable characters which is definitely something hard to come by. Definitely give this a read.

I am not really a huge fan of Angel themed books. But I do own a few and I have read all of them. This by far is the best Angel series that I own.It has my all time favourite theme of a love triangle, which never fails to keep me hooked on a series. I always have to find out what happens in the end.The romance in this book was balanced perfectly. By that I mean that it was not dragged out or too 'perfect'. I am not keen on books where all the characters are described as perfect. Although, Christian is described as being perfect etc this did not bother me as it was not described too thick.Clara herself is a brilliant character. I like how Hand has started the book with Clara knowing what she is. This made me feel more interested as we were saved from going on a journey of self discovery. We were put into the middle of the story this way and were saved from having to read about what happened when Clara discovered what she was.Clara's mother is also a great character. She is a strong motherly type who I would also describe as quirky and fun. I think this is due to her being an angel as well so she knows what Clara will be going through etc. Normal teenage drama is nothing she has too worry about. Or so Clara's mother thinks so. I also like that she has her own secret past which at times in the story can be seen as pedantic but at other times the mysteriousness (think I just made a word up!) of it all kept me reading on. I wanted to know more about Clara's mum as well as Clara. Having more than one character as the focus is a great change.Christian and Tucker are both interesting and compelling characters. I could not decide between them. A one point I was rooting for Christian and the next Tucker would suprise me and win me over. Then Christian would win me over again. The fact that Tucker is seen as a more 'forbidden love' draws me too him more for some reason but I can't help but have a soft spot for Christian.Overall, I found Unearthly to be a compelling read, a fantastic, well written book that is at the top of my list when it comes to the Angel genre. Th characters are great and the story does not fail to entertain me and keep me hooked. The ending is awesome too!

I will give no spoilers away in this review.Im a fan of paranormal romance such as hush hush, twilight and fallen and i picked this up unsure whether i would like it.Clara is a normal teenage girl and one quarter angel (Quartarius) with her mother being half an angel. Clara starts having regular visions while she is awake, this is because she is visualizing her purpose. Each angel is given a purpose- something they have to complete. The plot of this book explores Clara working out her purpose and completing it.I like how this book is written in first person, the writing really helps you to understand how Clara's feeling and relate to her. The mythology in this book also makes for an interesting read!Its a great story, its not fast paced but that doesn't mean that i could put it down because i couldn't! Sometimes i feel with books they are so fast paced i miss things... this book is perfect! It has a great story,setting and you really get into the lead character. The romance in the book is innocent but really nice! It hasn't got masses of action, but it doesnt need it to keep your attention, the story flows so well you cant put the book down!I have ordered the second book Hallowed and cant wait to continue reading!If your a fan of paranormal romance then i would give this a go!Please rate my review as helpful :)

It is very difficult to find a paranormal YA book that is both unique and fun to read. Unearthly managed both - exceedingly well.Cynthia Hand, it felt, looked at all the angel lore and threw it out the window, choosing to create her own brand herself. And Unearthly was fabulous for it.Clara is a quarter angel with a purpose. Every angel of human descent on earth has a purpose, and it cannot be ignored - at all. When Clara has the first of many visions showing a boy she has never met, she and her mother track down where he lives and they all move there - clear across the country. But things aren't going to be as simple as Clara thought. She may have found the boy she is destined to save, but he doesn't seem to notice her. She doesn't know when her vision will come to be, or even where. All she knows is when the time comes, she must be ready to save him.The cast of characters in Unearthly are interesting ones - very far from the clichés they could easily become. Clara has the usual teen issues, along with a whopping angel one. As she struggles to find the balance between her purpose and her yearning for normalcy, it becomes painfully clear that difficult choices must be made.Unearthly was a fun, flirty and gripping YA read. The first of what is sure to be a major new series, I look forward to Hallowed, the next book in the series.