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Tout d’abord mon résumé (qui n’est pas une traduction) pour les non-anglophones. Ce (premier)roman raconte l’histoire d’une jeune fille qui possède un quart de sang d’ange dans les veines. Peu de pouvoirs, mais elle possède quand même les ailes (qu’elle peut faire apparaitre et disparaitre à volonté) et surtout une mission : Elle doit sauver un garçon d’un incendie. Pour cela, elle va quitter la Californie avec sa mère (demi-ange) et son frère (quart-ange) pour le Wyoming. Là elle va devoir identifier le lien, le quand et le qui de sa vision. Malheureusement elle est nouvelle et malvenue dans cette nouvelle vie. Elle va rencontrer une jeune fille qui lui révèle être également une demi-ange et avec qui elle va faire beaucoup de recherches, pour mieux comprendre cette part d’elles. Mais tout ne se passe pas toujours comme prévu, et quand le cœur s’en mêle, rien ne va plus. J’ai choisi de lire ce roman parce que j’avais lu que Richelle Mead le recommandait (sur son FB pour ne pas dire de nom). J’ai fais confiance à cette auteur dont j’apprécie le travail, et j’ai eu bien raison ! L’histoire, adolescente, tiens la route et prouve qu’on peut écrire une histoire d’amour entre adolescents sans tomber dans la mièvrerie (non je ne vise pas une certaine série à succès qui est actuellement en cours d’adaptation au cinéma, non non). Bref c’est jeune, c’est mignon et j’adore. L’héroïne a de la réflexion et du recul sur ce qu’elle fait. Elle essaye d’être mature pour coller à son devoir, mais ce n’est pas toujours facile à 17 ans. Entre les amies et les ennemies, et une mère qui lui fait des cachotteries, dur de se reposer sur quelqu’un. Avant la moitié l’histoire est sympathique, à partir de la moitié on accroche vraiment, et dans le dernier quart on ne lâche plus le livre ! La fin, dont j’avais peur qu’elle soit un peu rapide, loin de me décevoir, annonce au contraire le départ d’un nouveau livre. Alors on peut reprocher un début poussif, mais qui ne m’a pas gêner et qui pose bien le cadre de l’histoire, et une fin rapide, mais on comprend vite que le livre n’avait pas pour but la « fin », la mission de Clara, mais plutôt d’amorcer des questions cruciales. Bref, j’ai adoré et j’en redemande ! Read more

I was a bit reluctant to read Unearthly after I heard that it was yet another book about angels. I've read quite a few recently and only one or two have stood out. I should have never worried about Unearthly, though, because it's brilliant. Seriously, it's like discovering a breath of fresh paranormal air after being trapped in a heavy fog for a couple of years. The writing is fantastic and I really couldn't tell that Cynthia Hand is a debut author; her prose is utterly compelling and her ideas manage to be original even with the abundance of angel novels I mentioned earlier. It's quite a long novel clocking in at just over four hundred pages, but the pages almost turn themselves. Can you tell yet how much I enjoyed it?! Clara was a fascinating character and I loved how we found out about her purpose when she did. She's known she's part-angel for a couple of years, but she doesn't know everything about their heritage and the do's and dont's of the angel world. When she first found out about her purpose - when she gets a strange vision of a boy in a burning forest - her whole family upped and moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, or the "boonies" as it's referred to. That's how important an angel#s purpose is. Clara made a few friends in Jackson Hole pretty quickly: Wendy and her twin brother Tucker, mysterious girl Angela and Christian, the boy from her vision. Jackson Hole was the kind of place where boys (Tucker) dressed like cowboys and drove trucks like farmers. I like cowboy boys, and I am not above admitting that I swooned a few times. Tucker was like my ideal boy, so I was on his team from the start. The checkered shirts get me every time! I thought the secondary characters were well-rounded and likeable, but I never really warmed to Angela. I get why she was important, and she was, but I thought Wendy was a much better friend who seemed to get left by the wayside. I couldn't help wondering if she was merely there as a way for Tucker to be in Clara's life, but I'm going to wait and see what pans out with her in the second book. You might have guessed that Unearthly is home to a love triangle, but don't let that put you off: it was a great one. I rooted for one boy right from the start, and I was happy with where his story took him. That's all I'm going to say about that, as there was always a clear winner for me. Whether or not I was right is something you'll have to find out for yourselves! Hand's angel mythology got me hooked from the start, and I thought the whole thing was fascinating. These angels were different to any angels I've read about before, which really made the novel stand out. I'm still thinking about it now, about the wings and actual flying that took place throughout the course of Clara's story. I'm hoping we'll find out even more angel mythology in the next book in the series, as it was definitely the strong point of this one. It set it apart from the crowd and kept me interested and guessing all the way through the book. Unearthly had a great setting, enthralling characters and one heck of an open ending. I have no idea what Cynthia Hand has planned for future books, but I think we'll see a lot more love triangle drama and some nasty angels on the scene. I'm so glad I read this book, and I think yu would be too. It's a must-read for fans of the paranormal - whether it be angels, vampires or werewolves - and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different. Roll on book two! 4.5/5 Read more

After devouring Unearthly in just under two days, it is officially one of my favorite books of the year. While angel mythology is certainly key to the story, it comes across as a contemporary novel with just a hint of the supernatural. The mixture of genres is well-done, and leaves me feeling completely satisfied with the way everything is written. I enjoyed the story, and found it easy to devour, and am certain that others will as well. The first thing you need to know about the book is this - I fell completely, head over heels in love with Wyoming as I read it. I wanted to visit immediately, just to see the spectacular settings described in this book. Hand manages to bring to life this place, and provide just enough detail so we get a good grasp of where our characters are based. The second thing is that the angel lore is fleshed out in this novel, and sensibly so. The information is imparted to us in bits and pieces - "good" angels, "bad" angels and angelic history and abilities. This makes things easy to digest, but at the same time, can lead to a bit of confusion as we struggle to figure everything out right alongside Clara. Even though we get enough revelation to understand what's going on at some point, there's still more to be learned, and I'm eager to find out what that is. The third thing about this book is the wonderfully fleshed-out set of characters. Hand did a superb job giving everyone memorable personalities, and I think that's something she should be proud of. Clara was fun to read about because she reminded me of myself. Despite the fact that she's part angel, she still acts like a normal teenage girl would in most situations (especially emotional ones). What really struck me as something we shared was her choice between her purpose and her free will. That's a decision most of us typically face in our lives, and Hand has written it into this novel in a way that's easy to relate to and recognize. Clara's family - her mother and brother Jeremy - are very much present in this book. I absolutely love that her family was considered as an important part of her story! Clara's mother was involved in her kids' lives, and tried her best to protect and shield them from harm. She was a supportive parental figure, and did her best to teach Clara about being an angel. Jeremy, on the other hand, acted like a typical younger brother. But there's no doubt in my mind that there's got to be something more to his role in this particular story. It is impossible to ignore the presence of the two wonderful boys in this book, honestly. They're both such amazing people - Christian and Tucker - that any reader can see why it's hard to choose between them, whether in Clara's case or for ourselves. Christian struck me as a preppy boy. He's intelligent, sociable, athletic and he's popular. He's that rich kid who doesn't allow his family's money to define who he is or how he acts. He seems pretty down to earth, and kind, and I just could appreciate how genuinely nice he was. In real life, Christian would definitely be my type. But honestly, I absolutely adored Tucker. What is it about cowboys? I don't know, but Tucker just came right around and lassoed my heart (and yes, I went there). He was a bit brusque initially, but his gruffness was just disguising the way he really felt about Clara. The strength and constancy of his feelings overwhelmed me to the point of falling completely for him. The moments they shared were just wonderful in their simplicity and ease, and I wanted to experience many of them for myself. In case it isn't obvious, I fell hard for Tucker. Fourth, there's plenty for me to love about the story. I love that there's a love story between Clara, Christian and Tucker. I love that Clara's family also has a story. I love that learning about angels is a different story. And of course, there's the biggest story of all - Clara's decision to accomplish her purpose or to follow her heart. It's a fascinating set of stories all intertwined with Hand's deft hand, and I admire the way that the story just flows from page to page. As it winds to a conclusion, the way Clara's story plays out is very intriguing indeed, and leaves the door wide open to find out what happens next for all these characters. When a book makes me constantly smile as I read it, I know it's a winner! Unearthly was a charming, intelligently written angel book, and it's given me hope that angel stories can be well-done indeed. I loved the way Hand wrote Clara's story (and the ever-present love triangle) (and the family situation) (and the angel stuff), and I'm eager to see how it continues in Hallowed. Read more

Este libro es un pasa páginas increíble, las hojas vuelan sin que te des cuenta, la historia se desarrolla con rapidez, pero sin que resulte molesto. El romance entre Tuc y Clara es tan lindo que me mantuvo con una sonrisa y suspirando. Pero el peso del propósito está ahí, y cuando por fin se lleva a cabo las cosas sólo conseguirán torcerse hacia un final que te deja pidiendo por más. Creo que la cuestión sobre los ángeles debe de ser trabajada mejor, me imagino que la autora nos dará más piezas de esto en los siguientes libros. Sin duda un muy buen inicio para una prometedora trilogía sobre ángeles, amor y sacrificio. Cynthia Hand me ha sorprendido por la manera tan hermosa de escribir y la fluidez con que te lleva por la historia. Read more