The Unearthly

Well written which is as expected. The plot is interesting enough to keep my interest and get me invested in what happens next

For a short paranormal YA, this was pretty good. I'm interested in the world, and I find the concept interesting. Now, we do see a few cliches mixed in, like Gabrielle being more or less a type of Special Snowflake Girl™ but I sort of expect these things when paranormal and contemporary are mixed together in a YA with romance, so I won't cavil on it much. Despite this, I actually liked this book a lot and am interested in the rest of the series. A lot of the time when I see books with paranormal aspects that aren't locked in a high fantasy or historical setting I end up rolling my eyes a lot, but this one held my attention and didn't make me snort or scoff or groan. I was interested in this series after reading the author's The Fallen World trilogy because I found her to be a good writer and I wanted to see what else she had to offer.Gabrielle is a pretty likeable heroine; I think she protests a little too much in some instances and gives in too easily in others, but she definitely came off as mature and level-headed. I also like Andre a lot (from the description of the book I was actually expecting a teenager, not an adult), though like with this author's other series, the immense age gap (and therefore power imbalance) in the relationship bothers me. But I suppose that's why the author went ahead and made a point that the the supernatural community sees 16 as the age of legality/adulthood/etc. I didn't find the side characters to be all that interesting or dimensional, but we'll see how things go. We still have four more books.One of the strongest points of the book is that the supernatural world is set up a bit differently and offers some originality to the classic tropes we all know so well by now. I also like how this book was more focused on action than just having some danger thrown in to make the romance exciting. Gabrielle generally isn't too thrilled about Andre and often wants to know more about her parents or why the man in the suit is haunting her than she wants to be intimate with Andre. It's kind of refreshing, actually, and that's coming from a girl who basically can't be bothered with a book unless there's a romantic subplot.The weakest point of this book is probably its length and the fact that it dedicated a lot of time to seemingly unnecessary things. When a book takes place at a school or focuses on a school-age person, some school/dorm scenes are inevitable, but there has to be balance. I feel like I read a lot of library and class scenes. Same with the interactions of friends. There's at least three or four "get dressed up to go party" situations which played out the same way each time. There wasn't a whole lot of action and the main climax wasn't all that spectacular. It just sort of... happened, then died off. I suppose I wanted more, but seeing as this book was just under 300 pages I guess the lack of content and the fact that there's four more books sort of silences that complaint.I recommend only picking this up if you have the ability to read the rest (should you like this book) or can tame your thirst for more since this book doesn't read like a solid on its own; it kind of feels like a chunk of a larger story we've only just touched upon rather than something that is structured and formatted well enough to stand on its own as a complete story. You don't really read this book and feel satisfied enough to not need the next part; it definitely leaves you in such a way that you want book 2 right away to get answers to the questions book 1 raised.Overall, a decent start to a paranormal romance that will have me looking into the next few books! It's definitely not mind blowing or especially beautiful or anything grand like that, but I got through it easily in a single sitting and enjoyed it so it gets 4 stars.

Good plot, interesting premise, I am looking forward to seeing what's to come next. My favorite thing about this book is that Gabriel is no shrinking violet. She stays strong with her values and her gut, applying that tenacity to areas such as not being helplessly drawn to the hero, being able to defend herself, acting intelligently (and, yes, somewhat immaturely--she is sixteen years old), and is quite a character. She is somewhat too stubborn and obstinate though, but I'd rather have her as is than like most of the other softer heroines that populate similar books. She is young and inexperienced in some ways, but then seems beyond her years in others, so she is an interesting girl to read about and see the world through. I also like how she is given the responsibility of an adult at sixteen, like all are in this magical world if they are accepted into the school.The world building was pretty good, but did remind me a lot of Harry Potter (an old castle hidden away on an island, a magical world regular humans don't know of, different groups that the students got sorted into based on their magic once they reached the school, "the one" who lived after an attempted coup that left her an orphan because of her great destiny). Besides that, I pretty much predicted most of what was going to happen early on, from who the killer was, to who was going to play what role, to how Gabrielle was going react to certain revelations--which I also guessed. My last criticism is that there were many noticeable grammar mistakes, especially the misuse of adverbs (even in her blurb--"And he wants her. Bad." It would be BADLY, not bad). Grammar mistakes catch my eye easily, so they was rather distracting and humorous--which broke the flow of the book--when they popped up.Despite its annoying bits, I did enjoy this book and will continue the series. It is a refreshing read for me after I haven't read any of this genre for several months, and is different enough from the regulars of the genre that I can get over its flaws. I am not quite sure if it deserves four stars because, honestly, the quality of the writing is not that good (it is obviously YA, catering to a younger crowd, but that doesn't mean that the quality should drop). I am feeling generous enough though, coming off of reading it, because the story itself was good. And I do recommend it if you like YA, mystery, supernatural elements, romance, or stubborn and tough heroines. It is a pretty quick and entertaining read overall.

Dear God save us from books like this. Having read Rhapsodic, I became interested in Laura Thalassa and thought I would try out her other work. Rhapsodic was not amazing but it was a fairly enjoyable, well-written book that I would recommend highly. The Unearthly? Utterly, mind-numbingly appalling. From the attempt at character development in the first few pages that falls fully on its face to the hurried and atrocious development of her identity and powers at the school, this book proves itself to be a masterwork of poor writing and forced love. Her quote unquote 'relationship' with the vampire demeans you as a reader and highlights the base problem with this book, you can't tell the reader how the characters are feeling, you have to show them. trying to force that love story down our throats by describing how hot he is over and over does not suddenly make us think, 'wow, these two are really in love and meant to be together'. No. It irritates and demeans you as the reader. This is only accentuated by the brazen creepiness of his attitude towards her. When will authors realise that the qualities of a stalker/sexual predator and the qualities of a love interest need not be synonymous? I regret the day I wasted money on this turd of a novel and BEG you do not make the same mistake as I. It is too late for me, I cannot unsee the truly horrific writing I have seen, but it is NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU.

This didn’t quite pack the same punch as other books I have read by this particular author.I did like it to a point but the story did also feel slightly underdeveloped and the characters a bit flat and one-dimensional.It's a shame as I am usually a big fan of this authors books.I also found the heroine Gabrielle slightly irritating and very immature, She constantly jumps to conclusions with no actual proof and you’d think considering her unfair treatment from others she’d lay off all the judgmental opinions and Keep then to herself but nope.So yeh liked not loved this as it just had too many cliches that had me rolling my eyes a bit.I also thought there were times the flow felt slightly off with this as well.I don’t even think that this being more YA was what bothered me either.Rather I think it may have been that this was quite an early work from this author when she was still honing her craft somewhat I could definitely see the developing talent here but it was still quite raw in places and this reflected in the finished story.This one was very YA and quite tame in content, it’s set in the same world as the bargainer series but separate and also at the supernatural Peel Academy where Gabrielle a Legacy is now enrolled.After her Awakening, our girl finds herself in an unprecedented position both as the last of the sirens and now the firstborn vampire.She also has the eye and attention of the king of the Vampires Andre he’s her new protector and mentor which is actually excellent as someone is trying very hard to kill her.Andre is also Gabrielle’s destined soulmate.So I did find this to be quite instalove and also a bit predictable and there’s also a bit of a potential love triangle at the centre as well.it’s only slight though and I hope it stays that way as love-triangles in romances are a pet hate of mine I actually abhor them.I also didn’t find the side characters that interesting either there was only Oliver that I was slightly intrigued by the others just felt flat and didn’t seem to add much.I think I’m going to try reading the next book here but I’m also crossing my fingers that Gabrielle is going to grow up a bit and be less annoying and judgy.Or at least stop putting herself in danger by acting without thought.I also think she owes Andre an apology she’s behaved very unfairly toward him and she’s still acting like judge and jury, so not cool.So yep this one was somewhat interesting time will tell if it manages to win me over.

I’ve ready every single one of her books and it’s truly amazing how my mind is blown every time. The best piece of writing I’ve ever read, finished this book in two days flat and I just can’t put it down…. And I’ve already read it once! Amazing

Yes there were cliches. And yes there are love triangles and YES a stereo typical gay man. It won't win awards but it is a good book to absorb yourself into. Even thought the protagonist reads like something from a bad fan fiction, there is still that little spark in her. That's why I gave it four stars, because I couldn't stop reading.

A new good author is always a bit of a find. Laura writes a good story and the characters are portrayed well. Although I guessed who the baddie was early on so only mildly disappointed to find I was right. Looking forward to book two which isn't along until 2014.