Book Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken: The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: September 2012
Pages: 384
Source: e-book from NetGalley
For: Review
Series: The Lynburn Legacy, Book 1

Kami's been hearing a voice in her head ever since she can remember. Jared has never been more than that. Until he is. When he shows up, terrifyingly real, Kami doesn't know how to act around him. But she's got other things on her mind, like the small town secrets and mysteries she's determined to solve and the fact that someone might be out to get her.

Things I Liked:
I think I've seen about a hundred reviews of this book recently, so I'm tossing mine into the mix for whoever might read it.  This book felt so different from all the other paranormal fare I've read.  But it also had all the good elements of paranormal romance!  I have to admit my absolute favorite part is the sarcastic wit and quick humor of the conversations Kami has with just about everyone.  I love her dad, that he's a normal dad and that he also has such a great relationship with his kids.  The interactions between Kami and Jared, which make up such a huge part, were conflicting for me.  Their reluctance to touch one another and to be entirely freaked out by the other's reality at first struck me as really weird.  But, in thinking about it further, I can see how it would be a natural reaction.  I love how clearly Kami made it that they were not romantically involved, but that it was still more than friendship.  There are so many different ways people can have relationships that I was glad to see something different here.  It was smart and funny and also Gothically horrifying and disturbing.  I was both surprised and relieved at the ending, though it did kind of break my heart.  Different, so very different.

Things I Didn't Like:
I hated Jared, pretty much.  I can see how Kami would defend him, since she knew his intentions and inner thoughts very clearly, but he was such a jerk.  The ending didn't help my dislike of him.  But, I also really didn't like Ash either.  I have to admit there were a number of times I got really lost when the magic and paranormal activities going on were explained.  It wasn't clear, it was confusing.  Maybe I wasn't reading carefully enough, but I felt rather lost in trying to understand it.  Still, not enough to detract from my sheer enjoyment of the book.

Read-alikes:
Daphne Du Maurier
Nancy Drew
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few, not too many

mrg-factor: none
kissing and such, nothing further

v-factor: ->
a few rather disturbing scenes

Overall rating: ****

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage