Thursday, February 14, 2013

Review: Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand

Boundless (Unearthly, #3)

Date Read: January 29 – 30 2013
Release Date: February 1st 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
Source: Bought
Genre: Paranormal
My rating:  (Not enough stars)

Synopsis:
“The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.
Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she’s headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.
As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfil her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.
In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.”

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“… How much I think about him, how I dream about him, how even after all this time apart my heart still aches to see him, touch him, hear his voice.”

One of the most epic finales I’ve ever read, this is one ending I’ll never forget. The feels? Ohgod ALL OF THEM. I legit UGLY cried at one point in the novel – the kind where I was sobbing so loudly, soaking my pillows and my face was all splotchy and scrunched up and my chest was heaving from the pain of it all… I felt so much love, heartbreak, happiness, sadness, hope and despair my emotions were just all over the place. But what makes a really good series final is that feeling of completeness and satisfaction you get that it’s over – the bittersweet aftertaste once you reach the last page and also the whole world of possibilities that the author has left open for the characters too. I felt all of that with Boundless!

I can’t get over how amazing Cynthia’s writing is. If possible it’s improved even more since Unearthly and Hallowed. Her writing just has this way of sucking you in… into her abyss of beautiful words and descriptions. Everything was just phrased so eloquently I felt like I was reading poetry. When an author can SHOW rather than tell, it makes the whole reading experience so much more enjoyable. I get so frustrated with writing that gives me information dumps.

“It smells so good here, like wet cement and fresh-cut grass, the aroma of bacon and pancakes wafting between the homes, garden roses and magnolia trees, the smells of my life before.”

The plot was an interesting one and I was intrigued with how Cynthia would tie in the Black Wings, Clara’s purpose and this ‘battle’ with said dark angels. A battle definitely ensued and I really liked the way it played out over the course of the book. It wasn’t a huge climax but rather everything built up and unravelled slowly but with so much power. I think Cynthia handled the extent of Clara’s abilities and fit those with what she was faced with in a very reasonable manner. Despite being what she is, Clara is only 18 and can only do so much and I liked how she didn’t suddenly have the powers of the archangels; her powers took time to hone and they were believable!

I enjoyed reading about most of the supporting characters here like Angela who I saw a different side to, and I really liked getting to knowing Michael more. I was a bit disappointed with Phen though. He was shrouded in mystery and when I finally met him it felt so anticlimactic. He was introduced as another angel with not much background and I thought it was a bit rushed and too vague. But my favourite supporting character had to be Samjeeza! His profile had been built up over the past books and there was obviously history between him and Maggie, but their story is finally revealed in Boundless and I revelled in it! Such a bittersweet tale, I could really feel Samjeeza’s sorrow.

“Samjeeza flinches. It is more than he expected. I feel him start to tremble under my hand.”

Although Maggie was essentially a supporting character in Unearthly and Hallowed, she makes another appearance in Boundless. I think it’s amazing how her presence managed to emanate throughout Boundless despite her physical absence. Wendy @ The Midnight Garden in her review of Boundless comments “I've also rarely seen parental love depicted in such a warm and loving way” and I couldn’t have phrased that better which is why I quoted her. Clara and Maggie’s relationship is one full of so much love and support, but in Boundless it’s not just Maggie giving Clara advice as the mother – there’s daughter to mother wisdom too! That kind of bond is so beautiful and timeless I wanted to grab a piece for myself.

“We think of happiness as something we can take. But usually it comes from being content with what we have, and accepting ourselves.”

Clara has grown so much since Unearthly. When I first met her, I thought she was slightly whiny but this understandable, faced with a purpose and no idea how to achieve it. Not only is she stronger physically in Boundless, but she’s stronger mentally and emotionally. There’s a newfound confidence to her in the way she goes about things. She’s sure of herself and her decisions – they may not always be the best but she knows what she wants. I loved that take-charge fire to her attitude! We also see a lot more of Christian in Boundless and he really grew on me – I’d already decided that I didn’t care who Clara ended up with but I ended up having a soft spot for Christian regardless. He was so supportive and just this constant in Clara’s life – the stability she needed amongst all the angel madness (the irony I know as he’s part of it too but he understood her in a way that no one else could when she was alone).

“He’s waiting. He’s still waiting. He’s given up everything for me. His entire life. His future. Everything, because he wants to keep me safe.”

So this begs the question: Tucker Avery or Christian Prescott? GAH I don’t even know how I’m going to write out this paragraph. The romance was SUBLIME. Heart-wrenching, heart-breaking, heart-SHATTERING. Beautiful, bittersweet, hopeless, hopeful and in the end just so full of love no matter what happened I was left breathless. One loves her from a distance but she can’t have him – or can she? One is right in front of her but she doesn’t have feelings for him – or does she? I was knocked around by these two amazing boys so many times I nearly forgot my bias by the end. The romance was essentially what made me ugly cry haha. And god was it written in the most stunning way. No amount of adjectives will explain my feels. I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE AS HAPPY WITH WHO SHE ENDS UP WITH AS I WAS!

“I give him my whole heart through my lips. I love him. I open up my mind and show him how much I love him.”

I really felt the integrity of the trilogy when I got to the end. Cynthia maintained a cyclic structure that came full circle by the last page and this style gave it such a completed feel I really knew I’d reached the end of Clara’s story.  And yet I still knew that even though one part of Clara’s life had been completed, there was a lot more waiting for her in the future – that her purpose was not yet over.

“My home is you.”

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