Review: Boundless by Cynthia Hand

* This review may contain spoilers for the previous two books, Unearthly and Hallowed. *

Boundless (Unearthly #3)
By Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen

To Sum It Up:

Clara is now a student at Stanford University, having left Wyoming—and Tucker—behind. Angela and Christian are also enrolled at Stanford, where they and Clara are adjusting to their new lives, just like their human classmates. Even at college, though, the three angel-bloods cannot forget what they are and the responsibilities that come with their otherworldly lineage. All signs, including Clara’s latest visions, seem to indicate an impending showdown with the Black Wings. When it happens, Clara only hopes that she’ll be prepared to fight to save not only those she cares about but possibly herself as well.

Review:

You know that feeling you get after reading the incredible finale of a beloved series? The "I Can’t Believe It’s Over!" sadness mixed with the "That Was Such an Amazing Read!" euphoria? That was how I felt once I’d finished Boundless, and I don’t believe I’ll be recovering any time soon.

This was everything the last book in a series should be, at least in my opinion. Boundless held me transfixed and wondering until the very last few pages how everything was going to end. I’m serious: I kept an extremely nervous eye on how many pages remained as the story reached a point that threatened to leave a permanent indentation on the side of my face from pressing my palm so tightly against it. As much of a roller coaster ride as reading this was, I appreciated how the book’s intensity served a purpose and was relevant to everything that had happened in the previous two books. It wasn’t amplified just for the sake of sending off the final book with a bang. I had some unanswered questions heading into Boundless, especially about Samjeeza, the Black Wing (i. e. not-so-nice angel) who’s always seemed a tad obsessed with Clara’s mother. Let me say that I am in awe of how Cynthia Hand tied together all of the threads of the story that she'd been building since Unearthly.

I also give Hand a hearty round of applause for writing such a great protagonist like Clara, to whom I took a liking from the very beginning. She’s grown so much over the course of the series and faces some of her toughest challenges yet in Boundless. She’s caught between the two facets of her life: the part that wishes she could enjoy life like any normal human girl her age would, and the angelic part that entails some heavy responsibilities. Clara the College Student considers enrolling in Stanford’s premed program while Clara the Angel takes lessons in wielding a glory sword. In addition, she worries about what’s become of her younger brother, Jeffrey, since he took off, what’s going on with her suspiciously secretive friend, Angela, what her recent and unnerving visions mean, and let’s not forget about the Is Christian My God Appointed Soulmate question. Oh, and she feels horribly guilty about letting Tucker go and breaking his heart, but with the Black Wings looking to add her to their ranks, she couldn’t bear to expose Tucker to the danger looming over her. Whew. That’s a lot for even a powerful angel-blood to handle, and Clara has to deal with all of it without being able to turn to the person who always comforted her, her mother. Through all of the turmoil, though, Clara manages to avoid becoming a self-pitying whiner. Her choices aren’t always the wisest, and she made plenty here that made me want to yell at her. I could never stay angry with her, however, because she’d already admitted that she’d made a gigantic mistake. And that is why I love her as a heroine.

I’ve never cared for Angela. She’s supposed to be Clara’s friend, but her jealousy of Clara, bossiness, and smug, know-it-all attitude always struck me as unappealing qualities to have in a friend. But even I felt sorry for Angela this time. She gets in so far over head that no matter what you thought of her before, you want to see her pull through. I’ve also never been a big fan of Clara’s brother, Jeffrey, yet he, too, earned my sympathy. You discover how much failing to fulfill his purpose has affected him, and it’s quite sad. When I realized the depth of his despair, I felt bad about viewing him as a snotty punk before. Thanks to what turns out to be some excellent foreshadowing in the previous novels, neither Angela nor Jeffrey’s plight seems tacked on for dramatic effect; they are integral parts of the bigger picture. (For more insight into Angela’s story line, you might want to check out Radiant, a novella that takes place during her summer trip to Italy with Clara before they head off to Stanford.)

A telltale sign that you love a series to infinitesimal pieces is when you’re even okay with the guy whom you don’t want to see end up with the girl. That’s how it is with Christian. In Boundless, Hand makes her strongest case yet for how very, very good he would be for Clara. And Christian truly is a good guy, one who has his fair share of trials here. In any other book, he would have owned my heart, but see, I also have a soft spot in my heart for the underdog. Tucker doesn’t possess a single drop of angel blood, but I love him for just being Tucker: snarky, yet also honest, kind, and selfless. I hate YA love triangles, but this is one of the handful that I find tolerable because for a change, it’s not all about the female protagonist’s heartbreak. You get to see the emotional toll that it takes on the two males as well.

What also sets this triangle apart is its divine component. In the first book, Clara and Christian saw each other in their visions of their original purposes. This appeared to be a heavenly message that they were destined to be together. Although fate continues to be a motif in Boundless, I think this book focuses on choice more than either of the previous novels did. The idea of Clara choosing between Christian, the poster boy for destiny, and Tucker, the boy she chose to love, sounds like some sort of paradox to me. I’m fairly sure that this is one of the most philosophical love triangles I’ve ever read about!

Ultimately, Boundless was a thrilling, emotional, and very satisfying conclusion to the series. By “emotional,” I mean I may have cried a bit. By “a bit,” I mean I had to make a mad grab for the tissue box before tears rained all over the pages. In a book filled with memorable moments, what I’ll always think of is how Cynthia Hand ingeniously incorporated my favorite scene from Hallowed, which is also one of my favorite scenes from the entire series, into Boundless. That alone warranted a five star rating. I’m a sap for story arcs that come full circle, and this one was simply brilliant.

All in All:

Um, judging by the length of this review, I believe I’ve blathered on quite enough about this book. Just read the whole series if you haven’t yet, especially if other angel books haven’t worked out for you. This might be just the ticket.

The Worst Sherlock Holmes on the Planet: Melissa's Unearthly Rant

* Spoiler warning for Unearthly and Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. *

Disclaimer Thingy:

You guys have no idea how excited I was to get my own ranting feature. I love to complain! Just ask Ally or Lee―they are forced to hear me whine on a daily basis. To be honest, I don't know why they haven't murdered me yet. The event that inspired this feature happened over a way too short winter break. I happened to catch a few episodes of Doctor Who, and I was hooked. For days I cried and howled for the entire collection of Doctor Who. Lee got so fed up, she found out that the show was available through her Amazon Prime membership for me to watch. (Haha! Another excuse to bum around her house!) So, I guess I'm a whiny brat. But, it makes life funny, so I continue to wail about anything and everything.

Alas, Lee has threatened me with bodily harm if I give out spoilers in my reviews. And since ranting requires something to rant about, I have not been able to fully express my book angst. At last! I have found a loophole! Mwahahaha! Do keep in mind that I am a whiny brat and I am only trying to be funny, but I will probably come off as really annoying. So, forgive me in advance.

My Unearthly Rant:

Before I start my book-related rant, I would like to rant about rude people in Walmart. One very innocent Saturday morning, my mom dragged me to Walmart at gunpoint (not really, but close enough). I don't like Walmart, it smells funny. After four days of laborious grocery shopping, we were both ready to make our grand escape. Alas! Some morons were going in the EXIT door! The ENTRANCE DOOR WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY AND NOT EVEN FIVE FEET AWAY! First of all, it IS common courtesy to let people out before you try to go in. Second of all, THEY WERE USING THE WRONG DOOR. Both were clearly labeled, but the asshats apparently couldn't read! Now to the book rant. Oh, and PLEASE use the right door at Walmart.

Although I really enjoyed Unearthly and its sequel Hallowed, there are a few aspects that are quite rant worthy. Clara, the main character was annoying. SHE DIDN'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS, EVER, ABOUT ANYTHING! And then, she has the nerve to complain about being in the dark! Here is a list of problems that could have been prevented if Clara had stepped out of her pity party long enough to ask a handful of vital questions:

1. Clara has a brother. Who would have known?! She was so busy with her own drama to give a crap about anyone but herself. Tsk tsk. She wins the Worst Sister of the Year Award. There were plenty of situations that should have put Clara on red alert for her brother's welfare. She couldn't have taken ten minutes to sit her brother down and ask him what was wrong?! But, NOOOO! So, she went ahead and screwed up both of their purposes due to self-inflicted ignorance. To be fair, Clara's turd of a brother could have offered up some vital info. I mean he knew how much trouble Clara was having, and he could have eased her mind by simply telling her that he had his own purpose! Talk about a cry for attention; what a vengeful turd.

Well, now that I think of it, that's the only specific example I can think of with actual consequences. But, I'm still right. Things could have gone a lot smoother for everyone if Clara would have pushed her mother for answers. Honestly, I think if Clara had demanded answers, her mother would have fessed up. But, like son, like mother. Why didn't she say anything?! You know what, these people win the Worst Communication Skills Award!

Questions in books don't usually bother me, but when the answers are RIGHT THERE and the character chooses to be ignorant, I feel like clawing my eyes out in frustration.

Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed (Unearthly #2)
By Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen

To Sum It Up:

After choosing to listen to her heart rather than pursue her destiny, Clara wonders what consequences her decision will bring. She also wonders how Christian is supposed to fit into her life, since fate seems to be telling both of them that he’s an inevitable part of it. As Clara worries about her future with Tucker, a new fear arises to give her even greater concern. Clara begins having troubling dreams filled with overwhelming sadness, and eventually the cause of her sorrow becomes startlingly clear: she’s going to lose someone she loves.

Review:

I continue to love the Unearthly series with all of my heart, though Hallowed just about shattered it. This book left me feeling a ton of different emotions all at once; no, this is not your run-of-the-mill middle book in which the story merely serves as a lead-in to the conclusion of the trilogy. Hallowed was every bit as engrossing as Unearthly was, and then some.

In Hallowed, Clara finds herself in quite the conundrum. Love triangles in YA books usually send me running in the opposite direction, but this one has such a different twist to it, and it’s so expertly written, that I don’t want to look away. What do you do when you love someone, but it seems that God has somebody else in mind for you? I mean, these aren’t your parents or your best friend telling you that you’re not with the right guy—it’s GOD. Clara even sarcastically notes that she never pictured herself as the girl caught between two guys, but that she is. And I love her for making that observation. I didn’t agree with all of the decisions that she made throughout the book, but I had to give her a lot of credit for acknowledging her mistakes. I respect heroines who take time out for a little self-reflection.

Although I am Team Tucker all the way, I can’t hate Christian. I can’t even dislike him. I felt like I got to know Christian much better in Hallowed, and he’s a decent guy. He’s in the same boat as Clara, with the whole God-Wants-Us-to-Be-Together thing, so he understands what she’s going through better than anyone. And therein lies the crux of this love triangle: how do you ignore a connection like that?

So poor, human Tucker really has the odds stacked against him this time around. There’s this sincerity to him that just makes me melt; I love how he always wants to know the truth, even if it’s going to hurt. I also love how he’ll do whatever he thinks is best for Clara, no matter what the expense is to his own heart.

I actually cried while reading Hallowed. Now, I may get a bit misty-eyed on occasion, but this time, tears were streaming down my face. And I rarely, rarely full-out cry while reading. One event in the book struck particularly close to home. I knew that it was going to happen for a while, but I didn’t think that I’d react so strongly. Cynthia Hand wrote these scenes with such moving beauty; there’s no doubt that rereading them would set off the waterworks again.

If you loved Unearthly as much as I did, and believe me, I loved Unearthly, you won’t be disappointed with Hallowed. Oh, you might be a jumble of emotions after reading it, like I was, but this is a must-read sequel. This series—simply amazing.

All in All:

I’ll reiterate what I said in my review of Unearthly: Best. Angel. Series. Ever.

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly (Unearthly #1)
By Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen

To Sum It Up:

As a quarter angel-blood, Clara Gardner has a purpose, the reason why she was put on Earth, to fulfill. She knows that the event is fast approaching because she is increasingly seeing visions of a boy standing in the middle of a raging forest fire. Once her visions give her a better idea of where she needs to be, Clara and her family uproot themselves to Wyoming. It’s there at her new school that Clara finds Christian Prescott, the boy from her visions. Clara’s purpose seems to be clear, but unforeseen circumstances may force her to make a difficult decision that could have serious consequences for her future.

Review:

Oh, how I adored Unearthly! Just when I was becoming paranoid that there was some divine message in the fact that angel book after angel book failed to click with me, Unearthly turned out to be the angel book that I’d been searching for. The lore, the characters, the setting, the writing, and the story were all simply wonderful. Warning: this is going to be a gushy, possibly incoherent review because I want to write about everything that I loved all at once. There will be liberal use of the word “love,” too.

The angel mythology in Unearthly strikes just the right note, taking the usual images associated with angels (wings, superhuman strength, an ethereal glow) and making them completely plausible. I thought the idea of all angels having a purpose was a nice twist on the concept of them as protectors. What really makes Cynthia Hand’s representation of angels stand out, though, is how they lead pretty normal lives considering that they’re otherworldly beings and all. Some of the previous angel books that I’ve read put so much emphasis on the characters’ angelic traits that I felt as though I never got to know the characters for themselves. Unearthly’s Clara is a very relatable protagonist who happens to be able to fly and occasionally glows.

I really liked Clara. She’s smart in the intelligent sense as well as smart in the smart-alecky sense. I loved her wry narration. Despite the advantages that her angel blood provides, such as a knack for sports and languages, she is refreshingly grounded. When Clara’s not worrying about fulfilling her purpose, she’s caught up in the regular teenage business, like fitting in at her new school and not making a fool of herself in front of Christian, the guy she’s supposed to save. You get a full picture of what life is like for Clara; she has this single, momentous mission looming ahead of her, but she’s still a teenager who wants to enjoy a normal teenage life. The fact that Clara is not a normal teenager but rather a superhuman being with a very great responsibility figures prominently throughout the novel.

I never imagined myself, a city girl through and through, falling for a cowboy like Tucker Avery, but it was impossible not to. He’s such a genuine, heart-on-his-sleeve type of guy; I could not help but swoon whenever his name appeared on the page. I loved his straightforward manner, that he said whatever was on his mind. Tucker also excels at sarcasm, which, enjoying snark as much as I do, I found absolutely charming. Dear Cynthia Hand: please do not let anything bad happen to Tucker. I have become too invested in his well-being to bear seeing any harm befall him.

I just loved (there’s that word yet again!) reading Unearthly. It’s a superbly crafted novel that brings angels to realistic life and makes me want to see the majestic beauty of Jackson Hole, Wyoming in person. It’s a novel that is in no hurry to cut to the romance; it builds subtly, making it that much sweeter. Most importantly, though, this is a novel that proved that I could love an angel book.

All in All:

Best. Angel. Book. Ever. A HUGE thanks to Miss J at Miss Book Reviews for recommending this!