Boundless

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
3.5/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2013
434 pages
YA Paranormal Angels

Source: Library

I was quite impressed with the first books in this series (Unearthly and Hallowed), finding them to be very well done examples of angel mythology. My biggest problem is that I just was never really on the Tucker train. I have seen loads of bloggers gush about him but I never got it. I could read the writing on the wall about Clara's feelings for him but I was never that excited about him otherwise. If you similarly aren't that impressed with Tucker, I expect you'll find this finale fairly lackluster. But if you're in the majority who loves Tucker, you'll probably be pretty happy.

The parts that didn't really involve Tucker were very good though especially the story of Clara's friend Angela whose story takes what was to me a surprising twist. Clara's brother Jeffrey also has some interesting twists; I really sympathized with her worries over his (poor) decision making. As for Christian, he has some difficult moments and some aggravating ones as well. I liked him less in this book than I have in the previous ones but he does have his heroic times.

One of my favorite parts is totally random though: see, my job involves some of the geography of California so I was pleased to see mention of some of the cities where I've done work. I felt so familiar with them and it made me smile.

I don't want to go too deep into the plot to avoid spoilers but know that while I think the plot mostly moved along at a good pace, there were some points where it dragged. The book does take place over about the course of a year so there is certainly time for adequate character development but I wanted a bit more action and a little less of everything else.

Overall: A strong enough conclusion to the Unearthly series-I think big fans will be pretty satisfied.

Cover: I love how we've had this same girl in a dress with different colors for all three covers although the purple of the first is still my favorite.

Other Opinions:
Chick Loves Lit
Feeling Fictional
The Midnight Garden
Uniquely Moi Books

Hallowed

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
4/5 stars
HarperTeen, 2012
403 pages
YA Paranormal Angels

Source: Bought (an autographed copy!)

SPOILERS for first book Unearthly as well as Hallowed

OK-it took me way too long to pick up this delightful sequel! I think part of that was my general indifference to angel stories though I've seen this ranked as one of the best, I'll still take  contemporary over paranormal any day. The other part would be a lack of infatuation with Tucker. It seems like almost everyone else in the blogosphere swooned for the guy but I didn't get it. I did like Christian though.

I'm glad I already wasn't a fan of Tucker because his behavior in this book is not great. He's increasingly out of the picture, rather personality-less, and very jealous. As he should be because Christian and Clara are able to draw closer based on their shared angel heritage. But, I'm totally biases as an admitted member of Team Christian. Still I didn't like how Clara shunted Tucker to the side for his own protection. I hate when male paranormals do that to their human girlfriends and I hated it here too even though I don't like Tucker. Yeah, I have complicated feelings about the romantic relationships.

Did I mention there were spoilers? Because more are to come, starting now...

So Clara's dad is an angel? This makes sense. I actually knew that because I read some reviews with spoilers beforehand. I didn't predict that (as I mentioned in my Unearthly review, I bought that he was in New York doing whatever) but it didn't surprise me. Clara just seemed to powerful to have so little angelbood. I'm also "glad" that Clara's mom died. Not because I like reading about moms dying (way too common in books, TV, and movies) but because I wondered about her weakness in the first book and it was explained here.

I'm still wondering about Jeffrey-since we only get Clara's point of view, he does not come off well and I found myself very pissed off at him and his behavior. I'm also wondering about the overall battle between the angels and the Black Wings. I don't feel like all that much happened in this book even though I'm sure it is all pushing toward a grand finale in the third book. I'm especially curious to find out more about Clara's purpose (and how Christian ties into it). It is probably too much to hope that they'll procreate and bring more angel babies into the world but I can dream.

Overall: A really fun sequel although maybe a bit on the long side when considering what happens and what the audience learns. Excited for Boundless

Cover: I liked the purple on Unearthly more but it's good. They look nice on the shelf together.

Unearthly

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

HarperTeen, 2010

256 pages

YA; Fantasy; Angels

4/5 stars

First in Unearthly Trilogy

Read for YA Debut and Ebook Challenges

Source: Via Netgalley

Summary: Clara is part angel (through her mother) and has lately been having visions of a mysterious boy in a forest fire; the upside is that her family will uproot itself from California to Wyoming so she can be prepared for this vision, her purpose.  Once there she meets the boy Christian as well as another part angel and a cute, decidedly not angel boy, all of whom will complicate her life.

Thoughts: I wanted to read this because of the gorgeous cover and the twist of angels.  I've never read a book featuring angels (I'm pretty sure) so I was interested to see how it would be a different kind of paranormal.

Of course it still fulfills one of the main paranormal tropes: that of the love triangle.  Immediately she is drawn to Christian, the boy in her vision who she must protect and save.  But she also meets the jerky, cocky Tucker (I also don't like his name) who acts toward her in the manner of a grade-school crush.  Although he is mostly redeemed through his behavior later in the book, I hated how he teased her and did everything he could to rile her just because he had a crush on her. I'm not saying that high school boys are at all mature but I found his behavior annoying.

The mythology of the angel world was tantalizingly revealed throughout the book because while Clara's mother is of angel-blood, she tells Clara very little and thus we, the readers, know very little.  I also want to know more about the rules governing angel behavior.  Why does the angel's purpose come between 13 and 20? Is that all angels do on earth? Are they immortal unless someone kills them like Tolkien's elves? And lastly I wanted to know more about the dark characters in the book, the Black Wings or fallen angels; one makes a short appearance but I want to know more!

I thought Hand did an amazing job with descriptions of Jackson Hole, Wyoming as well as how it feels to have wings and fly.  I've had trouble imagining how angels manage their wings (where do they go when they're not using them?) but I thought Hand did a really good job.  She also was very evocative of the outdoor activities one can do in Wyoming, including skiing, fly fishing, and horseback riding among others.

The other aspect I want to briefly mention is her family.  Her father lives in New York, I wonder how much he knows about angels, but her mother and brother are closely involved in her life.  She and her mother begin with a sort of Gilmore Girls relationship (as Clara admits) that fractures as Clara approaches the time of her vision and draws closer to Tucker.  She also discovers that her mother has been hiding much of angel lore from her, which leaves her feeling wounded.  She has a younger brother named Jeffrey who isn't too important but as he ages, his angel powers may play an important role.

Besides the love triangle, something I'm generally not a fan of, the ending was less than anticipated.  There was a big buildup to the vision which has a twist but it ends up being a let down.  However many questions arise, some of which I have listed below in a spoilers section.  I am really curious to see what happens next in the trilogy.

SPOILERS-questions I have for book 2

What has Jeffrey been up to that turns his wings so black? Is Angela on the side of good? What does it mean that Christian is an angel? What is draining Clara's mother? How is the war between the angels and the Black Wings going? Do angels do anything once they've completed their purpose? Was the vision Clara had not her purpose because Christian is also an angel or are they supposed to have kids and help the number of angels in the world grow?

END SPOILERS

Overall: An interesting debut with an overarching back-story that should sustain the trilogy although the ending was not as suspenseful as it could have been.

Cover: I've also seen a blue cover, I prefer the purple. Kind of makes me think of Natalie Portman

This book was released today; here are links for

goodreads.com

bookdepository.com

amazon.com