Unearthly

By: Cynthia Hand

Narrated by: Samantha Quan

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?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Took me a minute...but I liked it!

What did you love best about Unearthly?

Those two boys. Who wouldn't love to have two studs fighting for your attention!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unearthly?

Not as much memorable, as SO SAD! The part where Tucker has to make a choice between himself and his horse. I sobbed. I own horses and they are my everything. Hit home and made me a mess.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What's your purpose?

Any additional comments?

I had a hard time getting into it at first, but I did enjoy it.

Really Enjoyed this book

Plot - believable, not at all far-fetch and refreshingly different.
Character development - satisfactory. The main characters are multidimensional and likeable and have you supporting them.
Pace - also satisfactory. This is not a story that have your adrenaline going crazy but advances at a pace that is just right to allow for character development without having the story dragging.
Boring factor - none really. This book kept me engaged the entire time.
Narrator - Her voice was pleasing and appropriate.
Any weak area - maybe the ending. I felt like it was a slight bit of a let down until I realize that there is a follow-up book, which I will also get.

slow moving but speeds up......

What did you love best about Unearthly?

i liked this story because it was different than any other book I have read so far. I also liked the idea of angels instead of the gobblins,ghost, witches and vampires. I also liked that it deals with normal "teenager problems".

What about Samantha Quan’s performance did you like?

she did the voices well. But she was slow in some spots.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I haven't had a chance to listen to it in one sitting. Though I would love to some parts were slow and I had to turn it off.

Any additional comments?

Its a great read and I would recommend this book to my friends.

Engaging and Warm-hearted!

I found this story well-written, with a fresh, novel voice for this genre. Not all the dialogue and characters are "what you might expect". (Examples: I really enjoyed the way Clara's inner life, her thoughts and sense of humor are written, and the love-story aspect of it is not drowned in cliche'). The characters become very real because they are warm-hearted, engaging and compelling. The heroine and other main characters are quite believable. To me the narration was pretty much perfectly suited to Clara and the other characters throughout. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the difference between a story that does draw you in and feels truly heartfelt and one that does not, but this story definitely has it, and I highly recommend it. My only minor complaint is that, after a lot of anticipation, I found the very end just a bit lackluster. Evidently, that was how the author felt she wanted to segue to a sequel at the time, but after the two most dramatic scenes toward the end, I felt it lacked the punch it could have had. Having said that, the characters have won me over and I will definitely be on board for the next installment!

4 stars

good story and looking forward to listening to the next. narrated well but wish for more variation to the characters.