Tag Archives: Cynthia Hand

Review: Radiant (Unearthly #2.5) by Cynthia Hand

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Title: Radiant 
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher/Year: Harper Collins Publishers, 12/04/12
Length: 94 pages
Series: Unearthly Series #2.5

It probably would have been smart of me to read this installment before i read boundless to get a bit more of the back story on Phen, but i’m kind of glad that i read it now.  So in Radiant, we are taken through Angela’s summers in Italy where she meets Penamue (Phen), the ‘ambivalent angel’ that she falls in love with.  We get to see how their meeting evolves into a friendship into a relationship that is destined to fail since we know that it’s almost impossible for an angel to have a relationship with anyone, let alone a dimidium/quartarius/human.

There’ s not much more for me to say about this one – it was a nice story to give us an idea about why Angela’s so obsessed with him, and maybe what the beginning of the school year at Stamford came out of.

happy reading!

Review: Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand

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Title: Boundless 
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher/Year: Harper Collins Publishers, 1/22/13
Length: 438 pages
Series: Unearthly Series #3

Overview

The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she’s headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.

My Thoughts

FINALLY – i manged to find myself a couple days to hunker down and read the final book of the Unearthly Trilogy and i have to say that there was a lot that i wasn’t expecting and that’s a nice thing to get.

So in Hallowed we end the story with the passing of Meg, Clara’s mother because she’s ‘aged out’ of being an angel-blood.  Clara has decided to follow Angela to Stanford because that’s where Angela’s vision takes her and she knows that Clara is with her.  Christian goes with them since he goes where Clara goes.  Jeffrey is also still missing since he’s run away knowing that the police are looking for him for setting the fire that almost killed Tucker in book 1.

so that was a mouthful.  When we begin the story, we’re with these freshmen as they are getting used to being in school trying to be normal while knowing that it’s not possible.  Angela’s her usual self and figures out a way to make her vision come to her which makes Clara take a stab at that and nothing good ever comes from Angela’s ideas.  Long story short, Michael, Clara’s father comes back with a key role as a fight trainer.  Sam is back because he’s always back…we meet Aseal who is Sam’s brother and now the leader of the Watchers and a downright EVIL guy…and a sordid entourage of other evil doers.

The interesting thing with this story is that we learn bits and pieces of angel history and it’s stuff that i haven’t read before so it’s a nice new spin.  We get a new view of Hell and what that really is like, and we meet some people that you know are plain bad.

There’s a reoccurring theme of Clara finding her way back to Tuckers barn every time she means to go somewhere else, so that relationship gone bad just continues to be bad.  Christian continues to pine for Clara who also realizes that maybe he’s her purpose just like her mom said that she was hers.

I don’t want to go into any spoilers cause that’s just something that i so HATE when i’m reading reviews, but what i can say is this.

1) people are NOT at all what they seem

2) there are character connections that you probably never expected

3) those that are bad….are they really bad?

4) why oh why did this story end the way that it did?  i’m sad!!!!

so with those nuggets of information, read on little birds and enjoy the final installment to the Unearthly Trilogy.

Re-Review: Unearthly and Hallowed (Unearthly series Books 1 & 2) by Cynthia Hand

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It’s so hard sometimes when you’re such an avid reader that you’re reading through more than 10 series at any given time.  I’ve found that since there’s usually a decent gap between when installments are released, i have to go back and do a refresher before i can get into the next book.  this is the case here with the Unearthly series – not because the characters and story didn’t stick in my mind, but because i wanted to make sure that i was 100% clear on what was going on, and where we left off so that i’m not confused.

So in Unearthly, we meet Clara who is 16 and has recently learned that she’s an angel-blood – meaning that at least one of her parents is part angel.  we learn in this story that it’s her mother, and that her mother was a Dimidium meaning that she’s HALF angel.  This means that Clara and her brother Jeffrey are Quartarious – 1/4 angels.  less rare, but still with some great powers.

Upon turning 16, Clara begins to get visions depicting her ‘purpose’ which is something that all angels have in common.  they all have a greater purpose that they are supposed to serve and it’s never clear up front and usually something that’s not easy to do either.  So after a lot of time spent trying to understand what her vision was showing her, where it was happening etc, her family moves from Sunny California to a place in the Grand Tetons i think – in the mountains where it’s cold and snowy and rather than surfing, and water skiing, people are snow skiing and into outdoorsy things like hiking.  BIG CHANGE for Clara and her family.

so this story takes us along the journey that clara has, trying to figure out what her purpose is, finding the people that she builds relationships with:  Wendy her BFF from the start, her twin brother Tucker who’s an interesting love match, Christian, the SEXY popular guy in school who’s got a bit of mystery to himself, and Angela – who’s some what of a loner, yet she’s got some mystery as well and has a quick bond with Clara.

through a series of interesting events, weird stuff happens and takes un expected turns, and that leads us into ‘Hallowed’ – book 2.  This is where we find that Clara is in a deep romantic relationship with one of the male leads, and a spiritual connection with another.  which one you ask?  well i’m afraid to say which in case you’re reading this review for the first time of the series and you haven’t gotten through book 1 yet.

In any event, if you thought that Book 1 took you on interesting paths, book 2 is even more complex.  you’re taking on a journey that introduces you to the unkonwns with Angels, the dark side with black wings and powers that really are more complex than anyone knows.  you learn more about the life cycle of Angels and what it actually means to be a part of their history.

now this means that tonight i get to jump into Boundless (book 3) and see where things are going.  i think that we were left off in a suspenseful place at the end of book 2, we find out things about parents and family that we didn’t know and there’s still something going on with Jeffrey that we don’t really get.  He’s always been a loose cannon anyway no?

so….tonight i’m jumping into Boundless and we’ll see if i can get my fill for a bit.  enjoy!