Unearthly (Unearthly, #1) in Book BFFs

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Unearthly (Unearthly, #1)

Cynthia Hand

Start date: August 1, 2013

Finish date: December 31, 2013

Discussion: Group Series Reads

Why we're reading this: Aug-Dec 2013 Group Series Read!
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Group Series Reads

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* Bi-Annual Group Series Reads Rules and Such
By Angel , Bossy BFF · 1 post · 26 views

last updated Jul 19, 2013 07:55PM

Hallowed: Series Discussion (SPOILERS)
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last updated Sep 28, 2013 07:51AM

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What Members Thought

Sep 14, 2010 Kai rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teens, 2011-tbr-pile, arc, for-review, favorites

Original post at

Wow. I am totally blown away by this book.

Unearthly is just fabulous! Just when you thought any form of writing about Angels couldn't get any better, Cynthia Hand proves us wrong! It's new and fresh, and simply stunning you just can't help but wonder how she was able to write something this good.

The pacing was slow at first, but as you go through the pages, the story just picks up and the next thing you know you're so absorbed in it and you only have so few ti Original post at

Wow. I am totally blown away by this book.

Unearthly is just fabulous! Just when you thought any form of writing about Angels couldn't get any better, Cynthia Hand proves us wrong! It's new and fresh, and simply stunning you just can't help but wonder how she was able to write something this good.

The pacing was slow at first, but as you go through the pages, the story just picks up and the next thing you know you're so absorbed in it and you only have so few times to catch your breath to think and absorb what's happening. I couldn't put down this book!

Clara is not your typical angel. For one who is with Angel Blood, you'd think luck is on her side, but a lot of things had gone wrong for her when she received her purpose. She had to leave the only home she knew and the friends she grew up with, all for the sake of "saving" the boy in her dreams.

I loved how Clara seems perfectly flawed. Her hair color was a disaster (Carrots!), and from being popular back home, she struggled to make her way through school, which seemed like an unfamiliar territory. She was disliked on sight by the most popular girl on campus, because the guy she had to save happens to be her boyfriend. I love how Clara is quirky, sassy, witty and generally a fun character. She tries hard to make sense of how it was to be an angel, and decipher what her real purpose is. And despite her being an angel-blood, her character is very easy to relate to. Like Mulan, she "followed her heart", and that's what I liked most about her, being true to herself.

The romance build-up fooled me so much. Who in here did not expect Christian to end up with Clara? My prediction was way off the mark! And for the first time I found myself rooting for the underdog! Christian had the advantage in so many ways against Tucker. The money, the looks, popularity, but I can't help but feel more for Tucker. There's a certain depth in Tucker that Christian surprisingly lacks, or maybe it's because we get to know Tucker more in this book, and I adore his character! *raises Tucker banners*

There's a certain intensity in the love triangle involving Clara, Tucker and Christian that just draws you. At least that's what I felt. Christian and Tucker may be different as night and day, but for some reason, they are both fitting to be with Clara. One of the reasons why I love Cynthia Hand's writing is her way of just putting into words powerful emotions. You can feel a lot through her writing.

I simply cannot get over the fact that Cynthia Hand's writing is very simple. There were no flowery words used, no steering around corners to lengthen the story, and yet you find yourself in Clara's shoes, in her world, with all these wonderful characters and great stories around you that you can't help but be fascinated.

I know there's more to look forward to in this series, and it has a lot of potential! I can tell that it's going to be a big hit! Like most of the reviews I know, I wasn't the least satisfied with the ending. I was stunned, to say the least. It's a long wait for the second book, but that is one wait I'm gonna have to endure. ...more

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Jan 14, 2011 Kris-10 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, favorites, angels

This book had me hooked from the first page all the way to the very last. I absolutely loved it! I had honestly not expected to like this book because I have had plenty of bad experiences involving angels books. But Unearthly has changed my whole view on angels + books. From now on, any angel book I read will be held up to the very high standard of Unearthly. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel! #TeamTucker

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Sep 15, 2010 Angel rated it it was amazing

I have been looking forward to this book since I saw the description on the publishers website months ago. I was afraid that I would be disappointed after having my hopes up so high. My fear was totally unwarranted.
Unearthly was all I thought it would be and so much more!

Clara's journey to fulfill her purpose is a mystery to her from her first vision and it is constantly on her mind. Since it's such a mystery to her, it is to us as well, and I was never able to guess what was going to happen.
Cla ...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Erika rated it really liked it

I admit that the reason I grabbed this book was the amazing cover. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but I have done some of my best book discoveries this way. Then when I read that it was about angels I just had to buy it. What can I say, I love my fallen angels and this book delivered.

Let, me begin by telling you what I liked about this book.

The girl is the angel not the guy. I love Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Fallen by Lauren Kate but enjoyed the girl being the ...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Jessica (BookRockGoddess) Bolton rated it it was amazing

Wow!!! This book just left me floored. I have so many question now at the end of the book then I did at the start. I love the concept of this book and the characters. In this book Clara, is the angel, and she has already known about her powers for two years. So you don't have to wonder who is the angel and how are they going to find out. I really enjoyed that a lot. I love how the author builds some of the mystery around the mother in this book. You start to imagine all kinds of reasons why she ...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Melissa-The Book Addict rated it it was amazing

I feel like I just got off a roller coaster. This book hit all my emotions. I really enjoyed all the characters in this book, None of them seemed to be filler characters, they all added something here or there. One of the things I liked the most about the book was Clara knew from page 1 what she was. You don't see that all that often. I also really liked her family dynamic, Usually YA book have teens running around all hours doing crazy things that leave you sitting there going "Wow, where the h ...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Linz rated it really liked it

This, along with ALL the reviews posted on my 欧宝娱乐 account, was originally posted on my blog, .

I am new to the world of angel books. I think UNEARTHLY was my second venture into this particular genre. I've always been afraid of cheesy descriptions and metaphors, but Cynthia Hand quickly banished thoughts like that with this fantastic story. Her attention to detail and w

I love how UNEARTHLY began with Clara already knowing she was an angel-blood. We see some flashbacks of her ...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Candace rated it it was amazing

I kept hearing amazing things about this book but wasn't sure I'd be into it. I'm a little sick of the same ol' thing with angels. Well, this is definitely not the same ol' same ol'! This book was completely different from the other angel books out there. Hated the others? Give this one a try! For one the angel is the girl instead of the guy. But the entire story is just completely unique.
This takes place in Wyoming. The pretty part, Jackson Hole. Now I've lived in Wyoming and I have a ton of f ...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Shari rated it really liked it

After reading a few different Angel on Earth books and liking some of them, I was wondering if this book was going to be more of the same. I'm happy to report that it is not. After starting out a little slow (and I thought predictable) this book really picked up and even threw me for a loop now and again. For the most part I really liked the characters in Unearthly with the exception of Clara's mother. She tells Clara as little as possible about what it means to be part Angel. This leaves Clara ...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Jessica *The Lovely Books* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I think I am the only one that likes Christian lol.

This book was mesmerizing, funny, dark, beautiful, I could go on and on. I keep thinking every book I read is my new favorite. But this book is different and not like most that I read. I usually hate love triangles with a passion, okay I hate the love triangle in this book too. I can't pretend I like it. I just want everyone happy.

Although I want her with Christian, it was his loss being in love with Kay. Clara fell for a boy who knew her wort ...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Brittani (Game, Read, Teach) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own-physical, reviewed

You can find more reviews, along with this one on my blog

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book seeing as it wasn't even on my radar until I saw it at the library and picked it up. So after finding out it is about angels I decided to give it a go. I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected to! Unearthly isn't like any of the other angel books I've read, which made me want to read it that much more! I loved the whole idea of having a purpose on earth. It made the s ...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Irisheyz77 rated it liked it

Shelves: book-format-arc, for-review, debut, paranormal, mythology, setting-usa, mystery, angels, demographic-young-adult, review-posted

**Originally posted on tickettoanywhere.net**

I am always wary of books that are over-hyped for all to often I'll pick up a book that everyone seems to be raving about only to find that I don't care much for it. This was the case of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand....the over-hyped part not the not caring for it. Because I did like Unearthly but I didn't love it as much as other people seem to have. For me, Clara wasn't the most likeable of characters and I really didn't like how she was obsessed with **Originally posted on tickettoanywhere.net**

I am always wary of books that are over-hyped for all to often I'll pick up a book that everyone seems to be raving about only to find that I don't care much for it. This was the case of Unearthly by Cynthia Hand....the over-hyped part not the not caring for it. Because I did like Unearthly but I didn't love it as much as other people seem to have. For me, Clara wasn't the most likeable of characters and I really didn't like how she was obsessed with Christian. I get that teens do become obsessive sometimes with the boys around them but for most of the book Christian had a girlfriend and so I didn't care for that.

I did enjoy the angel lore in the book as it was different form anything I had read before. But it was just awfully convenient that so many angels just happened to be in the same small town in the middle of small town America. That had me rolling my eyes and getting a little exasperated. There were also several other cliches that happen throughout the book that also had me rolling my eyes and as a result I didn't totally love the story. I thought that there was a lot of excess of set up as well and the beginning dragged a bit for me but it wasn't so slow that I got frustrated and stopped reading. I also thought that once events started to unfold that many of the secondary characters were underutilized and often forgotten.

Unearthly also contained a love triangle and I am not a fan of those. The parts that I enjoyed most where in the middle of the book when Clara forgot about Christian (who was conveniently away for the summer) and spent time with Tucker. It was during those scenes in which I felt we got to know the real character and it was then that I actually liked her. I was glad that at the same time her friend Angela was also out of town but I missed Wendy. Angela was often abrasive and got on my nerves and Wendy was often underused as a character. I do hope that we get to see more of Wendy in Book 2 and get a little less of Christian and Angela. I also hope to see more of Jeffrey, Clara's younger brother, who was barely mentioned in this book though there was lots of set up for a future storyline involving his character.

I wasn't overly thrilled with this book but I felt like it has potential and so am curious to see where things go in the next book in this series. ...more

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Jan 17, 2011 Jessi rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, angels

The longer I think about this book the better I like it. While I was reading it I felt like not much was happening and the pace was a tad slow. However that may be because I've been so ridiculously busy that it took me over a week to get through. It isn't a long story, but honestly it was too long for everything that went on. Which is an oxymoron considering how much jumping forward the author does. She will mention events or things the characters will do, then rarely do we read about such event ...more

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