Boundless

Unearthly #3

by Cynthia Hand

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live 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 seems 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 fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Angels, Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 2013

About the author

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the UNEARTHLY trilogy, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, MY LADY JANE, MY PLAIN JANE, MY CALAMITY JANE, MY CONTRARY MARY, and MY IMAGINARY MARY (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, THE HOW AND THE WHY, WITH YOU ALL THE WAY, and the upcoming TIMELESS and MY SALTY MARY (also with Ashton and Meadows). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, two cats, one crazy dog, two kids, and mountain of books.

Reviews

[Wendy Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Boundless Interview & ARC Giveaway with Cynthia Hand is up!

This review is spoiler-free, and safe even if you haven't read the first two books in the series. (But if you haven't--sheesh, what are you waiting for?!)

After waiting for Boundless for so long, I was strangely nervous about reading it. When the package arrived, I literally hugged it for a full minute because I knew what was inside! All day long, I was scared to even peek at the first page, so it wasn't until after midnight that I started the book. But my burning need to know how this incredible story ended kept me up through the night until I finally finished it at 4 in the morning.

This final installment in the Unearthly series picks up shortly after the novella Radiant, as Clara begins her freshman year at Stanford University. She's trying to balance a normal life with her divine purpose as an Angelblood, even as her dreams are plagued by disturbing visions. Clara still feels the absence of those she loves, even though Angela and Christian are both there at school with her--and though her relationship with Tucker changed after Hallowed, she just can't stop thinking about him. Every decision Clara makes now has an impact on her future, as well as the safety--and happiness--of those around her.

As always with this series, Boundless is beautifully written, and filled with humor, depth, and emotion. My favorite moments include: a walk among the redwoods; Clara learning to impart her glory to help others; training sessions with an important tutor; unexpectedly poignant interactions with the still-scary Samjeeza; the freedom and joy of flying; an arresting, despairing vision of hell; a slow-burning buildup to an exciting climax; and above all, a gorgeous moment high on a rock with someone she holds dear. I've also rarely seen parental love depicted in such a warm and loving way, and there are scenes here that clutched at my heart unbearably. I appreciate how full and busy and purposeful Clara's life is; each activity she undertakes and each relationship she maintains is a formative part of her, but none of them define her as a person or as an angel. I wish more young adult novels took such care in showing this balance between life and love in a way that is so organic to the plot.

There are, however, some elements that leave me conflicted. For me, it was a little too easy to guess who the traitor was; the pacing in the middle of the book felt a bit uneven and left me at odds with the romantic developments; and I thought Clara's relationships with both Tucker and Christian relied a bit too much on our past history and knowledge of what has come before. I went into this book loving both boys and feeling that no matter what choice Clara makes, I would feel okay with it because I thought it would feel right. And in some ways, that's still true--I think most readers will be satisfied with how this complicated entanglement is resolved. But because there is so much back and forth in this book as Clara is pulled between her feelings, and because I struggle with how fair the conclusion might be to certain parties, I'm not sure that I am quite there yet in celebrating what occurs. Even though things wrap up pretty neatly here, I feel like I still need more closure, so I'm kind of hoping that the author writes a follow-up story one day. I can dream, right?

But love is a painful, complex, and ever-evolving thing, and the concerns of mere mortals don't always apply when it comes to angels. Even with separation and danger and loss, there is a great deal of hope and promise for this indelible trio, as well as for Angela, and for Clara's parents. There is so much love in these books in its many different forms, and I feel the glow of it long after I turn the last page.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best paranormal romance series ever written. Boundless is a strong and satisfying conclusion to an incredible series that sets a new benchmark for paranormal romance. The passionate discussions about the books speak to the strong emotions that these characters inspire, and I know that I am all the more enriched for having known them. While this particular book is bittersweet, my heart is certainly lifted by the promise of things to come.

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden. An advance copy was provided by the publisher.

Don't miss our Q & A with Cynthia Hand on January 25th! We're going to be chatting about Clara's divine purpose, the author's upcoming projects, and obviously fangirling over Tucker and Christian. We'll also be giving away our ARC to one lucky winner! In the meantime, you can also read our epic interview with Cynthia from last year here and here) if you're interested.

Thoughtful discussion is absolutely welcome below, but PLEASE USE SPOILER TAGS where appropriate. It isn't fair to ruin this for people who haven't had a chance to read it yet.

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

It's always a sad day when I must say goodbye to a series that I've come to love over the years. You feel so invested in the characters that you just don't want it to be over. But what's really the nail biter is the concern of the final book ending on a high note. Will it meet your expectations? Will it be just a satisfying conclusion? Will it completely suck? I mean, who wants to remember a series thinking, "Awww, man! This series was great... until the author blew it in the final book. Such a shame really." Fortunately, I think Boundless was great for most of the novel, but did let me down a bit with the very last chapters. And as you probably guessed, it would be very spoiler-y of me to go into detail of what bothered me and I'm trying very hard to keep this spoiler free. No promises though. But it will contain spoilers for both Unearthly and Hallowed. And no, I will not tell you who Clara ends up with. :P

Boundless picks up right where Hallowed left off. Clara is getting ready to go to college, Jeffery is still missing and Clara and Tucker's future is unknown. There is a bit of a recap over the first few chapters for those of us that possess a leaky brain, which was nice. And if you didn't read the novella Radiant, it is later revealed what Angela was up to in Italy. While Unearthly held a mysterious air and Hallowed's more depressing, Boundless felt much more grim and hopeless. There were quite a few times where I was unsure if Clara could overcome her difficulties and even when she did, there was always something else. Cynthia Hand really showed little mercy for most of the book with her plot twists, which always seemed to bring Clara nothing but grief.

Things I liked:

-As usual, I love Hand's writing style. There are some authors that just get a great feel for how teens talk and Hand is one of them. Also, Clara is a smartass and I love it.

-I think this book has the best plot out of the series. There is a lot more suspense going on because Clara has not one, but two visions. She's also on a time crunch, lives are on the line. You, know. Important things of that nature.

-Samjeeza's role. I have to admit, I kinda like the guy. His story is very sad and I felt for him.

-Tucker: HKFHJDNHFJBFKHJFB!!!! I loved how Clara just couldn't seem to stay away from him. His scenes gave me SERIOUS FEELS like this one:


I received very strange looks from Mr. Sinclair while reading Boundless.

Things I'm not too sure about:

I was really hoping that Boundless would tie up a bunch of loose threads, but it seemed to just leave more questions than answers.

-I was surprised to find out how big of a part Angela had in the storyline. Throughout the series I had my suspicions that she was evil, but she was cleverly left ambiguous until now. However, I'm not sure I like where her story arc went. Was Angela's purpose really to throw her future away?

-What in the world was Jeffery's purpose? Why did God want him to start the forest fire?

-Boundless is a lot more "preachy" than the first two. And when I say preachy, I mean it has a lot more religious references, including a few bible quotes and everything. I suppose some of that can't be avoided since it is an angel book, but it is there. I did find it kind of ironic that Tucker would bust out his bible on Clara. It was a human preaching to an angel. Lol.

-Tucker vs. Christian. I was not happy with their endings. It's not that I'm disappointed with who Clara ends up because I honestly would be fine with either choice. But it's how each of their story arcs ends. One just disappears from Clara's life, which is messed up because he doesn't get a decent ending. And the other experiences a big change in their life that I thought was convenient and a little too "happily-ever-after" for my liking.

The biggest issue for me had been with the ending because it felt like Clara got everything so conveniently handed to her. Don't get me wrong, Clara did go through hell in the book (quite literally actually), but when the consequences and life catches up to her, everything magically becomes alright. Somehow Clara has this power and that power. Oh and she can magically do this, but you didn't know about it till now, because secretly she's been slightly Mary Sue-ish all along. Surprise! Everyone's purpose in the series has revolved around Clara's. And these people have suffered badly, especially Angela, Christian and Tucker, the poor, little mortal.

Also, let's discuss purposes for a minute. Slight spoiler: Clara was always told by her mother that her goal in life is to always fulfill her purpose. So when she has these visions, she goes out of her way to make sure it happens. In fact, her mother was even disappointed in Clara for ignoring her visions for the better part of Unearthly. But later we find out that the visions are just glimpses of a possible future. So basically: You don't have to do what the vision says, but you'd better anyway because it's also your purpose? HUH? But furthermore, if all this time the angels were just seeing possible futures, why weren't any other possibilities shown?

Overall, I did enjoy Boundless. Sure, there were a few instances that I wasn't exactly thrilled about. And yeah, the ending did leave me a bit frustrated. But this book also made me laugh, cry and was never boring. It may not be the perfect ending I thought it'd be, but I certainly had fun reading it. A series has come and gone. I'm sad to see it go, but I am very excited to see what Cynthia Hand comes up with next.

ARC was received from the publisher. Thank you, HaperTeen!

More reviews and other fantastical things at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

PLEASE DO NOT CLICK THE SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK!

----------------
Before reading:



Damn you Tucker and Christian! Damn you both with your ridiculous ability to make me squeal like a swooning fangirl! Damn you to the firey pits of he---

*SWOON*

*drags self off floor*

I can't believe this.

Ohmygod

I just realized I'm not even remotely prepared for more of your awesomeness yet!

MUST.GET.READY.

[Ain020596 · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** EDIT:



OHMYGOD. WHAT GORGEOUSNESS.

GIVE IT TO ME.

NOW!




***End of Edit.***

Oh Tucker! GO BACK, CLARA! GET YOUR SKINNY ANGEL BUTT TO HIM RIGHT NOW. OR I WILL KILL YOU.


And now, I'm going to faint from the rollercoaster ride that was book two.



Oh and Christian?

[Mitchii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's my full review (spoilers ahead):

Ok, you guys I’m ready to speak. I’m ready to shout it out to each and every one concern how much this book disappoints me. I know it’s unfair to judge and rate it on who Clara ended up with. It is totally and utterly unfair. But the story did treat the ‘one I preferred for her’ the exact same way. I wish that he wasn’t that understanding. I wish he did something awful. I wish he wasn’t that supportive of her. I wish there’s something negative to say about him. But I come up empty handed. Because if there’s one thing after all that has happened to them proved is that he completely, definitely and truly LOVES her. As in just her. And not because of anything else.

Before I go to my main point, I would like to tell you good people, especially if you like the story regardless who she’ll end up with that the conclusion of this trilogy is actually well executed. Ms. Hand knitted all those lose threads. So much sometimes, I think, it crushed all the possibilities I’ve been thinking right after I read it (that is all connected to my main concern). It was so clean, so spotless that something made it a little flat to me. But overall, the story was fascinating, while yes, I would’ve changed few [major] details about it but I sincerely enjoyed majority of it.

Now let me start with my Christian Prescott centric review and please if you haven’t read Boundless and not too fond of spoilers, discontinue reading this review now. I’m about to recklessly gush and I don’t want to ruin anything for you. But if you don’t mind, then go ahead spoil to your heart’s content.

“I love you,” he murmurs. “Can you feel that? You. Not some destiny I think I’m called to. You. I’m with you. My strength. My soul. My heart. Feel it.” – Christian to Clara

The constant argument against Christian and Clara’s relationship is that it wasn’t love. They were just connected because of their ‘purpose.’ Sometimes that word irked me the most because after Hallowed ended I saw that Christian’s gestures were no longer just connected with their divine mission. While I do admit that I think that Christian and Clara’s relationship started because of it. That after he found out that Clara is also just like him triggered something in him. But it was just that he found someone he can finally share intimate details of his life who very much knows his circumstances. But more than that, I sincerely think that he fell in love with her because of the time they shared together. He finally knew who Clara was. The Clara beyond his vision. The true Clara Gardner. That she’s more than the person/angel-blood mysteriously entwined with his (their) purpose. She is just Clara. The sarcastic, fun, beautiful, and strong lady that he fell in love with.

Yes, bottom-line is HE LOVES HER. Purpose aside, he truly loves her.

“But there’s something about you two, when you’re together. It’s like you fit.” He grins. Shrugs. “He’s your soul mate.” – Jeffrey

You know what I hate the most is how the story established how they fit together. How pleasant and romantic the idea of them together. It’s like all facts headed straight to point A (Christian) the suddenly it went to point B (Tucker). I don’t have anything against Tucker. I’m even on his team before, my Unearthly review can attest to that. But like I said, why made Christian so damn supportive? Why show us the possibility which make a lot more sense than the time she was with Tucker? I’m here asking those questions. Still asking them. In Unearthly , I was actually surprised that they ended up as an item. But it only showed how Tucker grounded Clara’s life. That it showed that her life is not driven by anyone but by herself. It’s her life, her wheel. But in Hallowed , during and after the situation she was with her mother and how Christian is there for her, it showed a lot about their potential as a couple. It says a lot about Christian as well, and the way they support each other on that moment. That they shared many things aside from their heavenly lineage. If Christian found someone who can now understand him, Clara did have that too, with Christian.

His dedication for her in Boundless didn’t falter. In fact, all the important events happened with Clara or with the story Christian was there. My head couldn't wrap the idea of Tucker getting the larger picture. It was lackluster and shallow reason that he is her "home." And even if Clara was indecisive and insensitive, Christian still never left her side. Even if he bends his principles, he will do it for her. And all the major events (even painful ones–especially painful ones), the one person who is always there for her was Christian. He had his devotion proved over and over again. He’s so unselfish. Isn’t that a characteristic of true love? But yet all he had done are now pointless because he didn’t have what he deserves. I’m not just talking about Clara. If there’s one character that should’ve a well-deserved happy ending, that’s him.

“…Maybe I’ll catch up with you in a hundred years or so.” … He smirks. “I won’t call it waiting,” – Christian

Ah Christian, how can you be so that? So…almost perfect. And up until now he’s still hoping. He deserves someone but my stubborn heart still aching for Clara. I don’t know but I feel that his happiness will be complete with Clara at his side. But Tucker’s new situation changed the ball game. I hope his ‘longevity’ is not as long as Methuselah. Because darn right, that will crush my already itsy bitsy hope.

Anyway, I loved the story, while I think Hallowed is the best book of the series for obvious and biased reason, I still not taking what I said back: that this series is one of the well-written angel books (or paranormal book) out there. I was actually amazed on the extent of her research for her story, even going to the places personally. It showed that she poured everything in here. I might be upset and dissatisfied, yes, but that doesn’t change the fact it was an excellent story.


After reading reaction:

Too many emotions. I don’t know where to start. Or how should I start. There are expected awesome moments, as well as heart-crushing ones. If you’re asking if it’s about CHRISTIAN, it is. I loved his character. So much that the ending made every bit of the book pointless. Yes, I did not like the ending . While I did mentally and emotionally prepare thanks to early reviews, the reality of it still hurt pretty damn bad.

I’m still processing everything. Sorting it out. I forewarn you that my review for Boundless will concentrate more on Christian. I don’t like Christian just because of Clara, I loved him for who he is. Him alone. And it pains me that after all he went through, the one piece that missing still not filled. Ok, I’m not making sense anymore. And btw no Tucker bashing here. I liked the dude, believe it or not. But it just doesn’t make sense to me on how little he played in this book but still got the major development. Not just in his love life but his entire being. Lucky, cowboy!

Review will up soon. Tomorrow...I think. Too tired right now.


Pre-reading Review:

My heart chose Christian. Sorry Tucker. :(

*** From YA Scavenger Hunt: A preview from the third book. Clara and Christian is on a date. Date! Me: hyperventilating due to excessive fangirling. Eeeeep!!! ***

Update (May 29, 2012): Holy macaroons, there's the title. BOUNDLESS. I think I'm in love (again). <3

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stayed up all night finishing this last night. The ending was perfection but I took away one star because I was so bored and annoyed for most of the book because it was all Christian. I really can't say much about how I feel about the book without spoilers so... Don't read this unless you want to know who she ends up with. I knew before I started so I understand needing to know.


I loved the ending. All along we knew Christian was just a great partner and friend. Clara never really felt more for him which was evident on their one date where they were not allowed to talk about anything angel related and then they had nothing to talk about. It was always Tucker and I do think Clara gave Christian a fair shot. But she just never felt much more for him than friendship and some attraction. Anyone that follows my reviews knows I am actually usually more on Team Guy #2 but not this time. I did give Christian a shot myself but he was pushing, annoying, and never had any real chemistry with Clara. I think he took his purpose the wrong way and also thought he had to be with Clara when hey had the purpose wrong all along. I'm glad the whole purpose thing was cleared up because for someones purpose to be to get with someone just rubs me the wrong way. It makes more sense that Christiana and Clara were to team up and be strong as Triplares together but that Clara could choose Tucker. I know the whole Clara saving Tucker and turning him into a Prophet was convenient but I don't give a fig! As for Christian, Clara told him in book 1 I AM IN LOVE WITH TUCKER AVERY so everything after that was his fault for pushing her when he knew it wasn't ever going to happen. I really don't think he will sit around for a 100 years waiting for her. I'm sure he will move on. He just said that and now Tucker's lifespan is lengthened anyway. And Clara doesn't want Christian now so why would she want him after 80 years of a happy marriage with Tucker. I loved the epilogue and seeing Tucker and Clara together. I was wondering if Clara was pregnant or they had kids the way Angela asked if she wanted to borrow a parenting book?! Either way it was a great end!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear dark wings/black wings/whatever the heck you call the evil angels,
Please eat Christian!

Dear Tucker,
Please fight for Clara! Christian is indeed a smug bastard!

Dear Clara,
Hello?! You love Tucker! Who cares about this evil purpose stuff when your brother was told to light a forest on FIRE?!?!

That is all!
Oh and have you read the Boundless teaser of Clara and Christian on a date. Read at own risk because I felt sick after reading it lol. But hey a least Clara is thinking of Tucker.
http://ericaorourke.typepad.com/blog/...

And thank you to Asher @ Paranormal Indulgence for this drawing that sums up my feelings.

[Ela]

****EDIT****



Yes, Josh, you are right. That cover is gorgeous.


****EDIT****

My, God, it has a title now?! Excuse me while I weep in impatience...

***

Oh, the agony!!! Why must it be so long?! *sobs*

[image error]

[Dija · Rating 4 out of 5]

*sniff, sniff* I can't believe it's over. :(
__________________________

Tucker. Christian. Tucker. Christian. Tucker. Christian. Tucker. Christian...oh, who am I kidding? Michael ftw!

[Diane ϟ [ Lestrange ]]

"TEAM TUCKER" ALL THE WAY!

Tucker honey, pick me pick me! lol :D

[shady boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Here we are at last.

I don't know why good-byes are called good-byes, and I don't want to say it to this series. I don't want to. I don't.

In the desolate, barren land of YA angel fiction, the Unearthly series is like a beacon of light. A clara lux in obscuro, better yet. It is beautiful. It is heartwarming. And it may just be one of the paranormal series' I've read that I am extremely, emotionally invested on.

That's the main thing I love about this series, really, is that it's so real. The writing and the dialogue between the characters is definitely something you'd find in contemporary novels. It makes the characters seem to me like actual, living people, and it makes me care about them as if I know them personally. It makes me feel for them.

Boundless was a breathtaking conclusion. The same with Hallowed, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, only this time it's intensified. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I yelled, I cried some more. Cynthia Hand seems to know exactly how to hit me in the feels, and splatter my emotions all over the walls.

Clara is one of my most favorite heroines. She's so damn relatable and just likable. I still can't exactly explain what it is about her that I love so much, but she's never once annoyed me or came across as a Mary Sue. And it helps that she's funny. I think it's pretty hard not to root for her, because there's just something about her.

Tucker and Christian. Tucker and Christian. These two . . . my God, I love them both so much. I honestly feel the same way about them as Clara does in the end. But I really really love both of these two. Cynthia Hand knows how to make a love triangle the right way, because usually I'd pick one guy and stick with him, or sometimes I'd pick neither. But this series is an exception because both guys are so amazing. Back when I read the first book, I thought Christian was just a nuisance. An obstacle. I never expected to love him as much as I do now.

And Tucker. Tucker freaking Avery. I will forever weep for the fact that you are fictional.

We're introduced to a new villain here, and a new plot line. I didn't really 100% understand what the motive of the Black Wings were here, but it wasn't something that got to me because I've always thought that the characters were the highlight of the whole series, and they're the main reason I love it as much as I do, as I said before. But the plot of the book was definitely gripping, with many shocks and heart-wrenching moments along the way.

Chapter 18 was hands down my favorite chapter of the book, though. We get a beautiful scene, and I won't give away much, but it involves Clara's mother. And I hope when you read it, it warms your heart as much as it did mine.

The ending was so perfect. So perfect that I just started bawling. They weren't just sad tears, though. They were tears for every emotion I felt when I read this book, reaching their peak and finally just bursting all at once. Joy for the beautiful way it ended. Sorrow and a little bit of anger that it's all over. And of course, undying and unconditional love.

I really wish Cynthia Hand would possibly write a prequel, telling of Clara's mother's story. For the fact that I don't want this series to end, and also because I genuinely want to know more about her, and what her life was like. Sure, we got lots of glimpses and stories of it from the series, but I'd love the full experience, from her point of view. Surely I'm not the only one who wants this, right?

This series is and will remain close to my heart. And I think I've said all I wanted to say.

And Cynthia Hand, thank you. For giving us all proof that there is still hope for YA angel fiction.

____________________________

Pre-review thoughts:IT HAS A TITLE!!!

Update: HOLY MOTHER FUCKING COVER OH MY FUCKING GOD COVER I CAN'T OMG HOLY FUCK SHIT HOLY PENGUINS OF THE MOTHER FUCKING WORLD OH MY GODDY GODDERSON.

That cover.

I can't breathe.



Seriously, though, LOOK AT IT. Fuck. It goes beyond my expectations. <3 So excited for this book, but also a little sad because it's the last one.

Update: #2 Ohhhhhh not long now baby, you will be MINE. Come to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Lore · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was pain. There was amazing romantic moments. There was more pain. But in the end, it was an AMAZING and beautiful conclusion to this trilogy.

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear God,
I don't want to die. Not now.
Sincerely,
Clara Gardner

This is a fairly spoiler-free review (outside of the tags), but there are some spoilers in the comments, so avoid the comments if you havent' read this.

That ending! If only I could tell you my thoughts about the ending!

For the most part, I think Ms. Hand did alright. I shamefully admit to being something of a whiny brat about the early direction of Boundless. There's such a thing as a comfort zone and I was not in it for the first half of this installment. I honestly had troubles with the new setting and turn of events. It's sort of a pet peeve of mine when series take a turn into the future, yet I still feel stuck in the past.

But what am I complaining for? Of course I was going to be taken on a wild ride. I should have known not to question what was going to happen. It's the same thing I did with book 2, and I ended up dealing with everything just fine. When I know that I like an author's style, it should give me the confidence to be able to trust what's up around the bend.

There were some new twists in this installment and even a couple of small things which managed to surprise me. The back and forth with the visions was interesting, yet frustrating at times? Maybe that was just my take on it though. Even though the use of the visions added extra snippets to the story which weren't bad to read, it all seemed like a too-convenient tool to use as a method of delivery. I'm probably nit-picking a little on that though.

If you haven't tried out this series (trilogy, really), and love for your angel stories to be more on the sweet romance-y side with an extra dash of mystery and adventure, check these books out. If you want to read something darker, well...you're out of luck with this particular set of books. Even though there were technically "baddies," let's not kid ourselves here - a story with villains does not always equal dark. If you're looking for something less sweet, shoot me a message and we'll talk about darker.

At the end of it all, I can say that I am happy. I am content. I am glad that I took the journey. It's a given that I'll be checking out whatever this author decides to write in the future. Plus, she mentioned Vampire Academy in this book, so I had a moment of let me love you toward Ms. Hand. I think I can support this woman.

Totally random, but I really want to know what a whiff of cloud smells like. Misty air? Cotton?

My spoiler musings for those who've finished the book : I'm glad that Clara and Tucker got back together, but poor Christian. He kind of had no ending. :( Maybe he and Clara will reunite after Tucker's been dead for a while (or maybe not, since it appears Tucker's not going anywhere anytime soon). I think that's the ending I've imagined in my head.

It seemed like the Phen & Angela story should have had more completion.

I wanted to know more about Jeffrey's life.

It's been a while since I've gotten stuck writing a review and I'm not quite sure how to wrap this up. Guess it's time to just bring back a simple....

FIN

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I have been terrible at getting reviews done, lately. Just terrible. Gosh, I read this almost two months ago, and my to-review pile is starting to verge on terrifying. Once again.

Well, even though I read this ages ago, I'm going to try to review it as best as I can. First, for the fangirling portion of our review:

AAHHHHHH. IT WAS SO GOOD AND I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS AND AKDJF;KDSJF;LSDJFLKA.





Ah-hem. I just had to get that out of my system. (Also, that second gif doesn't really have any relevance. I just think it's hilarious and I wanted to use it.

On to the (slightly) more formal version of the review:

I really enjoyed this book and this series. When I picked up the first book, I hated it at first. I thought I'd gotten myself into another terrible paranormal romance in which I'd have to suffer through a weak and intolerable protagonist, a stalker love interest, insta-love galore, you name it. In the beginning, it really seemed like it was headed down that path.

As I got farther into that first book, I surprisingly found myself becoming addicted to the story, actually liking the characters, and found that there were a lot of twists in the plot that I did not expect at all. What had the setup to be a potentially clichéd paranormal romance ended up being quite original in a lot of subtle but important ways. The second book continued this, showing a lot of heart and some great character development.

These trends remained in the third book, which is (sadly) the conclusion to the trilogy. It's very different from the first two books, but without wandering away too much from the story and characters.

In Boundless, we find Clara starting out in college as she, Christian, and Angela all begin their studies at Stanford University. (Side note: I found it kind of silly and unrealistic that they all got into Stanford and all chose to go there, but oh well. I see how it was kind of necessary in order for the plot to work.) Anyway, believability issues aside, I was happy to see a YA book that actually took place in college. As a college student who still loves YA, that's something I'd like to see more of. (And I'm not counting New Adult, because I have yet to see New Adult books that are more than just "porn for teenagers." Hopefully that will change in the coming years.)

So now, Clara and her friends have to balance their college work along with dealing with evil angels (of course). Clara, Christian, and Angela are all having disturbing visions––which all seem to point to one terrifying battle and possibly Clara's death.

Of the three books, this one probably had the most amount of plot. While the first two took a while to start up, I thought the third did a good job of keeping up the pace. Sure, it was a little slow as Clara adjusted to college life and whatnot, but there were still enough hints at conflict that made it intriguing.

As I've said, it was great to see YA characters in college. But not only that, it was great to see teenage characters actually considering what they were going to do with their futures, what careers they might pursue, etc. I almost NEVER see this in YA books, especially of the paranormal variety. I just can't express how glad I was to see a paranormal YA book that didn't just center around the romance. Sure, the romance aspect is still important, but it doesn't consume the plot. We also see Clara worrying about what she's going to do once she's out of school.

I guess this is a minor spoiler, but she decides she might want to be a doctor. I mean, she has healing powers, so why not? I thought it was awesome that she actually wanted to use her powers to help people:

"I can't spend my entire life being afraid of the black-winged bogeymen. I have to live my life ... I won't be stupid about glory, but I won't sit around and wait for my visions to happen in order to do something with it."





Just ... YES. I don't think I have ever, ever read a YA paranormal book where the protagonist was like, "You know what? I don't care if it might get me in trouble ... I have this magical power, and I'm going to use it to help people for the rest of my life, dammit!" But it's not like she's just doing it unprofessionally either ... She's actually studying for a medical degree. It's just terrific.

(I mean, compare it to a book like Halo where the main character is an angel with healing powers, yet all she does is make out with her boyfriend and whine about how she doesn't like watching the news because it "makes her depressed." Oy vey.)

I also thought that, unlike in a lot of paranormal romance books, the whole romance & love triangle thing was actually handled quite well. As I mentioned earlier, even though it's significant, it doesn't take up the entire story. Sure, Clara does face some conflict in choosing between Tucker and Christian––but neither of the boys are douchebags about it; in fact, they're both quite nice. There is some jealousy here and there, but that's understandable.

Also, when Angela says something about Clara needing to pursue her destiny and be with Christian in order to complete herself or whatever, Clara says:

"Look, I'm a complete person … I don't need Christian to complete me."



THAT'S RIGHT. YOU GO, GIRL.

I also like that Cynthia Hand incorporated religion into the book without it becoming preachy. In books about angels, the issue is pretty much bound to come up at some point. And it's handled quite badly in some other angel books I've suffered through read. I don't know what Hand's personal beliefs are––which is good, because that means she didn't shove it down the readers' throats. The book does suggest the existence of God, but not in a way that says "God says this is right and this is wrong, etc." When the subject does come up, it's usually something like:

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."



None of that "Marriage is between a man and a woman" crap like in That Other Angel Book That Shall Not Be Named.

The only thing along those lines that I took issue with was some occasional slut-shaming, but it wasn't really related to religion. And it wasn't too bad. But ... still. Oh well.

I also thought Samjeeza proved to be a very interesting character. In the first two books he kind of seemed like a very typical, two-dimensional villain. But in the third book, his past involving Clara's mother became more apparent. And it got to the point where I actually felt bad for him. It was like, Clara was the only connection he had left to her mother, so she's the only one he can tell/share stories with.

And now for the spoilers section:

Parts I wanted to address in some way or another:

- Angela getting pregnant (and having a baby): WHOA, I did not see that one coming. But I thought it was kinda cool, in a way. I would like it if more YA authors showed that there can be consequences of having unprotected sex. I've read several YA books where characters had unprotected sex like it was no big deal, and nothing happened to them ... no STDs, no pregnancy. I'd like to see more YA authors address the issue of protected vs. unprotected sex and pregnancy, etc. But anyway, Angela getting pregnant wasn't some kind of PSA, either. I think it helped her to develop a lot as a character, and it was significant to the plot.

- Jeffrey's whole relationship with Lucy and how she turned out to be evil and everything: Eh, I was not really a fan of this. It was just SO OBVIOUS, it was almost painful. I mean, come on:

Jeffrey: "Yeah, I'm thinking a bird [tattoo] on my shoulder, like a hawk or something."
Lucy: "Maybe a raven."



Yeah, it's not like you have been using a raven as a sign of evil throughout the whole series. Anyway, moving along ...

- The scene where Clara visits her mom in the past: TEARS, JUST TEARS EVERYWHERE. I COULDN'T HANDLE MY FEELS.



Acck it was just so beautiful.

- In hell, there's an evil tattoo parlor where people get their sins tattooed on them: AWESOME. That was just ... awesome. I thought it was a really cool idea.

- Angela and Christian are half-siblings: DAYUMMM. Well, that would explain the whole thing where they kissed (in Radiant) and Angela was like, "Eew, it felt like I was kissing my brother." Well played, Cynthia Hand.

- Okay, the ending. Hmm. I had very mixed feelings about it. I mean, sure I was happy Clara ended up with Tucker. I like Tucker. It was sweet and everything. It just felt a little convenient to me that he became semi-immortal and all. Also, I felt like Christian just kind of got cast aside. It sucks how in a lot of these love triangle scenarios, one of the guys basically gets totally forgotten at the end. It had a rather Hunger Games-esque annoying flash-forward endings where it was like, "La di da, here's the future where we're married and have kids. And what happened to that other guy? Oh, who knows. He's around somewhere. Whatevs." So, that kind of pissed me off. But, oh well.

Over all, I thought this was a great conclusion to the series, which was both heartfelt and exciting. I really enjoyed reading it, and I'm eager to see what Cynthia Hand does next!

[Nina ♥]

2013?!



*ahem* Anyway, I kind of have a feeling Clara will still end up with Tucker even after everything that is revealed and happens in Hallowed. *shrugs* I'm Team Christian myself, but since I like Clara so much, I know she wouldn't make a stupid decision (whether she chooses Christian OR Tucker). For once, I'm not going to let the love triangle thing bother me, and I'm sure I will enjoy this book just as much as I enjoyed Unearthly and Hallowed, because Cynthia Hand is a great writer, and even though it will break my heart and crush my soul, I'll try to get over it. And also because they're both really hawt great guys.

[Jessica (Goldenfurpro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Reading:
It's difficult to say what I think about this book.
I made it quite obvious that I am on Team Tucker.
So if I start ranting and bursting into tears Although I did burst into tears when Cynthia Hand almost pulled an Andrea Cremer (you probably have no idea what that is...) you might assume that Clara chose Christian.
If I get all bubbly and happy, you might assume that Clara chose Tucker.
Let's just say that this book gave me all the feels.
There were times of crying, times of ranting.
There were times where I wanted to hug everyone, times of laughter.
But it wasn't one or the other! I had all those feels!

This was an amazing series that I have a feeling that I will re-read again and again.
Get all those feels again and again.
Am I happy about how it ended? Maybe. Like I said, my feeling towards the end may tell you who Clara ends up with (and I don't want to ruin it for you!)
But I am sad that it ended.
There will be no more Unearthly books...
but every series must end at some point and in a week or so I might get over this loss...maybe.
But I thank you, Unearthly, for giving me the feels.
And I thank you, Cynthia Hand, for writing such an amazing book.
So, now I must say... Goodbye, Unearthly.

Before Reading:
*Ahem*
Clara, Tucker, you guys are really annoying me.
stop with the whole breaking up thing and get back together (and excuse me for being cliche) but you guys belong together.
And Clara, forget about Christian. You guys have nothing (no offence to "Team Christian") you just think you belong together because the big guy up there seems to be steering you in that direction.
don't listen to him
HE CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!!
*looks up at the sky*
no offence big guy
But Clara, the laws of the universe are clearly saying that you belong with Tucker and not Christian.
THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE DO NOT LIE!
You and Christian probably wouldn't be interested in each other if it weren't for your "purpose" (and yeah okay, the half angel thing might have something to do with it too but that's not the point!)
Anywho....
Tucker not Christian

Oh and.....
WHY MUST THIS COME OUT AFTER THE WORLD ENDS?!!!
*cries*

That is all

P.S. I don't usually pick "Teams" so i'm also not usually like this...

EDIT: YAY! There's a title now and an actual release date! (sorta)
*jumps up and down with happiness*


EDIT: OH MY! OH MY! OH MY!
That cover!
It's so beautiful!!
I'm actually having tears of joy from seeing this cover!!
It's just so amazing!!
and we're getting one step closer to the release!!

ANOTHER EDIT:
FALSE ALARM!!!
The world didn't end!

Come to me January!!!!!!!

EDIT NUMBER 3:
Okay..okay...okay...
I was going to buy this THE DAY IT CAME OUT BUT...
Now i'm having seconds thoughts.
I'm so so so scared of what might happen in this book!
WHAT IF CLARA ENDS UP WITH CHRISTIAN?!!!!

I'M SERIOUS!!!
I. AM. FREAKING. OUT. RIGHT. NOW.
If Clara ends up with Christian I don't know if I can take it!!!!
What would happen is that I will end out hating the book and continue my hate onwards to THE WHOLE SERIES!! I wouldn't be able to look at an Unearthly book without either glaring or bursting into tears!!
Please please PLEASE don't choose Christian, Clara!!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to read the book.
But i'm going to play it safe by checking it out of the library...

P.S. DO NOT CHOOSE CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!! ARE YOU HEARING ME, CLARA? CHOOSE TUCKER!!!!!!!!!

[Zemira Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tucker all you need to do is forget about Clara and find yourself a nice girlfriend and everything will be OK.


Oh,my. This book was such an emotional roller coaster. It made me tear up a couple of times. I can't explain how much I loved it. And it's finally finished. There won't be anymore Tucker and Clara barn and fishing scenes, Christian acting like a knight in shining armour, Jeffrey going on my nerves and being a watchdog, Angela's big mouth, broody goth we call Samjeeza and scenes from the past with Clara's mum and dad.

Well done dear author. You wrapped it up all so nicely.

[Mizuki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pre-review:

I have been wondering forever why everyone else seems to love this series so much. For god's sake, Clara is a Mary Sue and she's too airhead not to be annoying; the love triangle is ridiculous, the bad guys are laughing stocks at best, and there's nothing new or angelic about those holier-than-thou angel-bloods (half-angels).

A friend of mine stated that most people who gave four or five stars rates/reviews to this book because: (1) they had just suffered the horror of Hush, Hush, Halo or Fallen; (2) the supposedly 'good' writing (okay, I admit it really is better than Fallen, etc) tricked them into overlooking all the flaws: the cliches, the lack of action, the annoying love triangle and the Mary Sue main character. And goodness, the writing isn't that good nor interesting to me anyway.

Edited@13/01/2016

I am half way through the book now, and I found something really hateful and ugly in the story:

For the second time in this series, the author tells me a certain young girl's one true and sacred purpose in life is to get herself knocked up and give birth to a....you guessed it! a male infant!

Holy mother fucker. The first time shits like this happen is when the author reveals Clara's mother's one true and sacred purpose in life is to get herself knocked up and give birth to Clara. I can't even.

Secondly, another young woman predictably turns out to be a villain because....you just know that having tattoos on her skin, dressing in revealing outfits and having an open attitude toward guys usually signals that she is a bad female.

Actual review starts here

I almost wanted to give Boundless two stars, but after taking the slut shaming, the Mary Sue heroine, the extremely poorly done mythology, the plot holes, the insufferable conservative messages and the anticlimactic ending into consideration, I decided nothing more than 1 star should be given.

Let's do a breakdown here:

(1) the Mary Sue heroine: she is beautiful, she is good at everything she does, she hasn't even gotten ill in her life, she has two hot boys drooling over hear, her father is Arch Angel Micheal, for crying out loud, she has power which hardly anyone else can wield, even her mother told her how special she is.

I want to throw up.

(2) the paper-thinned mythology: we are just supposed to accept that God and angels and demons exist, and the whole Christian mythology about heaven and hell is true. The God/angels are good and the demons are just bad and evil. We should just swallow it all down, no question asked. Hardly anything gets an explanation.

In this book, Hell/underworld is mentioned, but once again we learn barely anything about it and the description of angels/demons/Hell is mind-breakingly flat and unimaginative and down right boringgggggg.

(3) the holier-and-better-than-thou-lowly-humans-angels/half angels: Not only the angels and their offspring are beautiful, smart and good at everything they do, and they can't even get sick! Plus each of them has a special, God-given holy 'purpose' they need to fulfill.

What are those holy purposes? Ending world hunger? Bringing peace to the world? Protecting humans? Nap. From what I can see their purposes directed them to hook up (God obviously loves match-making a lot) and have babies together, or to be a good citizen to their community.

Yes...very holy, special and important purposes indeed. Not to mention female half-angels' purpose in life are to hook up with guys so they can make babies together!

(4) The slut shaming: As mentioned above, wearing revealing clothes makes you a bad female.

(5) The Love Triangle: Oh yes the love triangle......and this time Love Interest No. 2 Tucker is out of the picture for most time.

(6) The lack of explanation: Why would the arch villain wants Angela's baby so much and go into such length to catch him? It isn't even explained!

(7) The insufferable conservatism: 3 books go by, and I can't remember seeing one black angel or an Asian one (Okay, I could happen to overlook them, because the main crew is...white?). Not only this, I can't remember seeing an angel/half-angel who is anything less than middle classed. None of them do grass-root job for a living, no one lives in a poor community. I mean, screw all the 'staying with the poor and the weak' dogmas!

(8) ...and the heroine just let her 16 years old brother live by himself? I mean, they are now without parents! Their mother had just freaking died! But Clara the heroine just up and goes to college and let her troubled and sad younger brother live by himself and drop out of school!?

I don't think this is an awful book, it is only an awfully forgettable and unimaginative YA paranormal book about a Super Special Mary Sue, A Bad Love Triangle, A Bunch Of Very Special White Middle Class PeopleAngels and Villains Who Hardly Do Anything Scary.

Review for Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's over.. Sniff

I really liked this ending. Though I found the beginning to be really really slow, it started to pick up in the middle and things finally moved along. Clara finally decides who she wants and it's no surprise who she picks. I did like the fact that she knew who she really wanted even though she tried giving the other one a chance. This is one of those better love triangle romances that I didn't mind who she ended up with. Also, the ending had some twists and turns and I was really scared when one part ended.

So many feels, this trilogy is written well and I can't wait to read Cynthia's next project.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers for Unearthly and Hallowed. Do not click on the spoiler links unless you've read Boundless.

Once again I find myself having mixed feelings about an Unearthly book, although this time my feelings were much clearer than with the last. In my opinion, this was the weakest of the series, though Cynthia Hand's engaging narrative style still makes it a quick and enjoyable read despite its flaws.

While I certainly found myself much more frustrated with Clara in this book than in the first two, I can't help but love her voice. She's still very relatable, and I adore her humor and moments of self-deprecation and self-awareness, which is lacking in many YA PNR heroines. I also rediscovered my love for Jeffery in Boundless. I concur with other reviewers that he would make for a good spinoff character if Hand wants to revisit the Unearthly universe at some point. Clara's relationship with her mother, which is consistently awesome in all three books, is still compelling. Maggie would also be another good choice for a spinoff character. I would love to learn more about her life and her relationship with Samjeeza.

Many of the issues I had with Boundless began in Hallowed and either continued on or became more extreme. Although the Unearthly trilogy has had an element of wish fulfillment from the beginning, it was tempered in the first book by Clara's relative inadequacies and weaknesses. In Hallowed, these weaknesses were minimized with the revelation that she's a Triplare and the daughter of the archangel, Michael, but at least she still had to struggle with her powers. In Boundless we learn that not only is Clara a Triplare, she's even powerful for a Triplare. She masters new skills much more easily than other angels, and when her powers fail, it seems more like a plot contrivance than a genuine struggle because of how easily they came to her in the first place.

I also felt that this book had more of a moral agenda than the previous two, although it was much more subtle than in other books like Halo. As the trilogy has developed, the mythology has relied more and more on Christian theology. In the third book one message that is telegraphed very strongly is the importance of believing in God. Evil corrupts one character by getting him/her to stop believing in God and he/she literally ends up in hell because of it. There is also an unplanned pregnancy in which there are implicit messages about how it should be handled and viewed. The entire pregnancy storyline really put a bad taste in my mouth. Once again we have another example in YA lit where a girl gives up her future to have a child and ends up content with the outcome despite her drive and ambition. There's also some subtle messages about sex. In one example, Clara becomes outraged at the suggestion that she might sleep with Christian on their first date. She emphatically lets it be known she's not "that" kind of girl, which reeks of judgment.

The mythology continued to be an issue, starting with Glory, which becomes much too convenient. It can literally be anything the angel/angel-blood wants it to be, and it can be channeled and localized taking away its only weakness, which was that it could expose those who used it. Then there's the whole idea of ambivalent angels introduced in Radiant. How can an angel be ambivalent? Being ambivalent in and of itself is going against God. It suggests angels have free will, which is what is supposed to separate angels from humans according to Unearthly. And how exactly is Phen ambivalent if he's working for the Black Wings? Further, why does he not become a Black Wing after he sleeps with Angela and gets her pregnant out of wedlock? It's a sin for angels to sleep with humans, except when ordained by God (Michael and Maggie, and apparently Maggie's mother and Uriel) and at least in the case of Michael and Maggie, they were married first. I also don't understand why the angels aren't fighting this battle with the Black Wings. Why send angel-bloods to do what a full-blooded angel could do much more efficiently? It's not as though the Black Wings aren't getting involved and angels have been known battle evil (Michael is the Smiter after all).

Finally, the love triangle was a huge disappointment, not because of who Clara ends up with but the journey she takes to get there. I came into this book with neutral feelings about the triangle, and I thought that I would be fine with whoever Clara ended up choosing I was almost certain after Hallowed that it would be Tucker, so it wasn't a huge surprise. As stated in my reviews of the previous books, I liked both love interests and I thought Clara had amazing chemistry with both of them. Hand could have easily written the love story in such a way that I would have been happy with either choice. Instead, it was written in such a way that it didn't matter who she ended up with, I would have been unsatisfied. Clara's back and forth between Tucker and Christian was very frustrating, especially since I thought it was clear very early on who Clara would end up with. Clara only thinks of Tucker (and dreams only of him) and shows no romantic feelings for Christian. This didn't make much sense given her overwhelming attraction to Christian in the previous books. It's odd that she fails to overcome her feelings for Christian while she's with Tucker but once she's single, she can barely muster even a spark. And despite the prominence of the love triangle, there weren't any real swoonworthy scenes between Clara and either boy. I thought the chemistry was lacking with both of them.

All three characters suffer because of the love triangle. Clara's refusal to make a decision and let either of them go, thereby hurting them both, reflects poorly on her, and neither Christian nor Tucker holds her accountable for her actions. Christian ends up looking very pathetic and I felt sorry for him. It was painful to watch him get rejected over and over again. I feel really bad for the Christian/Clara fans. There was no payoff for that ship. Tucker ends up being little more than a love interest, and an overly perfect one at that. Even though Clara has broken his heart and cheated on him, he isn't angry with her for it. Instead, he's angry because she doesn't want to have contact with him. And when she very rudely tells him they can't be friends he responds by saying she deserves to be happy. No matter how many times she rejects either of them, they both go crawling back to her. As for the resolution itself, I thought things ended a bit too neatly for Clara and Tucker. He is saved by Clara's love, a played out YA trope, and gets to be "slightly more than human," which means magic has cured him of his sickness to her glory and it allows him to live a longer than normal life so the age difference won't be an issue. It's all too convenient for my tastes. It also annoyed me that Christian spends the rest of his life in love with Clara, unable to move on (or so it's implied).

Even though I was unhappy with the direction this series took, I still enjoyed myself. It was a quick read and I would recommend it to others with reservations.

Nitpicky issues:
1) It bothers me that Tucker attends UC Santa Clara, a school that doesn't exist, when all of the other characters attend real colleges. It's not as though there aren't other universities near Stanford, namely San Jose State.
2) Angela's bright white wings are never addressed. Were they an illusion? It's explained that Christian's wings have black in them because his Black Wing father marked his soul, but Angela's are bright white even though they have the same father.

[Ida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm crying happy, fat and semi-ugly tears right now because I can't believe this beautiful series is over.

See this?



That's me pretty much the whole way through the book.

And this?



At ALL some parts.

I can't count how many times this book has brought me to a near heart attack. My anxiety level just went all over the place. It was so erratic, I just want to roll around in the floor like a dog and never stop. Yeah, that's one pretty picture.


I honestly don't know how I'll review this book without spoiling itbecause I'm pretty sure that I will.

So I'll just leave you with teeny tiny tidbits about it that you can look forward to.

1. The love triangle is resolved.
2. There were a handful of gut wrenching, heartbreaking and utterly beautiful scenes.
3. Tons of twists and turns and loops and more loops and more baby loops on the loops.
4. Get ready to be emotionally beaten up. (Your EQ will be greatly tested...and improved after you survive this book)
5. I think you would be happy with the ending.


And a little bonus for Team Tucker(Oreos).

Tucker is repeatedly(almost everytime) described as smelling Oreos. Eeeepppp! I know, I'm just totally obsessed about him like that. XD

Indeed without a doubt, an amazing conclusion for one of the best YA series out there.


-------




Updated 06/24/12

IT HAS A COVER AND A TITLE!!!!!!!!!!



Updated 01/17/12

THIS.

Peas or Carrots? : (showing dimples). Carrots. - Tucker

I CANT!!! SOMEONE HOLD ME!!!


I seriously can't handle all my feels for this Tucker interview! He's so freaking sweet!

Full interview: http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com/201...

[Booknut 101 · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which I discover that cliches do exist, as do exceptions to every rule and girls always pick the guy they can't be with.

Because the females of the fictional world seem to be lacking in logic. But they make up for it with enough scruples, near-death experiences, daddy-mummy issues, conflicted pasts and plain old everyday drama to fill a land fill.

So you see that our lovely angelic girl-wonder has come back from a trip abroad. And you're now thinking that this sounds great, right? Wrong.

Because as you continue into this book, you will be constantly wishing that Cynthia Hand had spent 438 pages describing Clara's Italian Holiday, than describing Clara's American Love-wreck.

Christian appears:


And damn, that boy could make hippy clothes look good. He's so sweet, kind, thoughtful and downright adorable, and Clara (as per usual) is...

Moping.

Why? Because:
- Tucker
- Tucker
- Tucker
- Tucker
- PMS Tucker

Nevermind that Christian basically puts everything on hold to be with her, make her happy, protect her and be the man at her side. Clara likes guys who feel sick at the sight of her (literally, btw - her glory stuff makes him queasy), could get killed if they hang out with her, aren't going to live for as long as she will and like horses.

Now, I'm a bit of a horse girl myself (and Tucker is basically a hot, strapping ranch-raised lad right off The Saddle Club) but even I can take a hint when everything is shouting at me that YOU AND THIS BOY ARE NOT MEANT TO BE TOGETHER, GIRL!

Now...if Clara was ME, she would have realised that Tucker's 'edgy-bad-ass-I-hate-you-leave-me-alone' act is just that...an act. He's trying to play hard to get! And it doesn't help your 'women's lib' goals when you TELEPORT INTO HIS BARN EVERY SINGLE DAY. By 'accident'. Really, Clara? And like Tucker could stay grumpy at you for that long. The guy's a softy! He's totally putting on an act and you, Clara - you fell for it hook, line and sinker.



Actually, about Clara for a sec, and her constantly mentioned 'women's liberation' attitude...

Uh, where is it exactly?

Christian mentions that he's 'paying' for dinner and a movie and for her to let him even though he knows she wants to be an 'independent woman'.
Clara is mulling over her relationships (note the plural, because she is so, so CLINGY) and then berates herself for not being more 'women's lib' on the issue.
Clara likes to badmouth 'men' (as a whole) with her friend who basically hooked up with a BAD ANGEL, got knocked up, hides the truth about the kid's real parent and yet even after hooking up with the BAD ANGEL goes and hooks up with a different dude, so she's totally one to lay the blame of stupidity on the opposite gender.
Clara's daddy teaches her to swordfight. So she can defend herself!
Clara doesn't need no man. She can watch movies on her own-wait a second, she wants to call Christian over for company...hang on, Tucker's at the door! So much for that.

Clara. Is. Annoying.

Which is the biggest shame of them all! I LOVED Clara in the other two books. But from book two to book three, for me, it felt like she needed to seriously sort out her priorities. Yeah, her life's hard. But she needs to stop abusing what she has. For e.g., her brother comes to see her after chucking a disappearing act. DON'T YELL AND BERATE HIM YOU IDIOT!! Because THAT always works well, doesn't it Clara? No wonder he left. Clara tries too hard to be in charge, that she alienates other people. She makes decision on behalf of Christian. IMPORTANT decisions. LIFE OR DEATH decisions. She has an on-off relationship with Tucker that SHE controls whether it's on or off.

She has the guys whipped!

And her treatment of Christian can be summed up as so: manipulation.

Why?
Because it just is.
Because the poor guy risks everything.
The dude goes out of his way.
He protects her.
Loves her.
Saves her.
Worries over her.
Is by her side 24/7.
Never ever leaves her when she needs him.
Aids her.
Would follow her to hell!



And yet...and YET...she never ever says, "Look, Christian, I really love Tucker and I think it's going to be hard for forget him. If possible, can we please still be friends. I don't want you getting the wrong idea, or feel like I'm leading you on or anything. You're important to me and I couldn't make it through half these obstacles without you. But I love Tucker. Even though we're over."

Instead, she allows him to take her on dates, to near-kiss her, to feel as if he has a chance...! When she's secretly teleporting into Tucker's barn (BY ACCIDENT), pining over Tucker, crying over Tucker, dreaming about Tucker...I could go on. But I won't. Because I am now quivering with indignation over Clara's treatment of Christian!!!



I need another book. You know...when Tucker's out of the picture (*cough* dead *cough*) and Clara is maturer than she is now and Christian is able to have his knight-in-shining-armour moment. I'm not going to tell you who she finally chooses (of IF she chooses), but what I will say is that this book could have been brilliant if Clara had developed more as a character. The signs of development were there, the plot developed (really well too, actually) and the other characters developed (NB: Christian, Angela, Jeffrey).

But Clara still needed a bit more...something. I can't put it into words. That something was there when she used her glory sword on a very, very bad fallen angel who shall remain nameless so this spoiler isn't TOO spoiler-ish but it needed to have appear more often, in my opinion.

[Emily May]

Sooo...

I felt only so-so about Unearthly.
And I just couldn't get into Hallowed.
So I'm not actually going to read this but...

Can someone please spoiler tag me who Clara ends up with? I'm still curious how this ends.

[Celine]

*Tears streaming down face*



Why is this taking so long...? :(

[Eunice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, after days undergoing the five stages of loss and grief, (Uhmm, I think I still haven't gotten that close to the fifth step) I'm calm enough to form some coherent thoughts and explanations about what I think of this final book of the Unearthly series. This still has some major ranting but I really did try to be objective here. So here we go.

Spoilers ahead.

After reading this I have to say that this series will always be one of my most favorite angel books even if it cause quite a major heartache on me (later on that). Each aspects of the story - the character developments, the emotional depths, the plot line and the world-building were just fantastic! I finished this in one day, I couldn't really put it down. I adored almost every part of it. And Hand's writing is definitely exceptional especially since she never failed to reach me in an emotional level that mostly only contemporary books could do. I felt the hurt, the love, the regrets, the happiness, the loss, the acceptance in each of every characters. Despite its paranormal setting the emotional situations were very realistic. The development of the characters and their relationships (especially the parental love) was something I have to give Hand a very great credit for. It was wonderful and full of profound and poignant insights.

However as much I loved almost everything about it there is this one aspect, a pretty big aspect in this book that I think Hand wasn't able to completely handle very well: the romance. The reason that left me feeling conflicted, unsettled and hurt after finishing the story.

I am on the other team. Yes, the team whom Clara didn't choose. But I am not complaining because of her choice or more likely, Hand's choice. What made me disappointed and sad was the way it was handled. I have encountered countless stories with love-triangles, may it be a novel, a movie, a tv series, an anime or manga but never did I feel so bitter and broken than I had in Boundless. I could be really accepting and understanding if convinced, if it gave me reasons to believe that it has to be this guy and not the one I want. However that's where the problem in Boundless came. Hand failed to convince me and make me believe that Clara did the right decision by choosing Tucker but successfully and completely sold me to the idea of Clara and Christian together (and it isn't just me but a whole lot of readers too).

The first question that popped out on my mind after reading this was what was all that about then? Hand took a lot of time polishing, emphasizing and building up Clara and Christian's relationship in this novel. And that's what I wish she never did. 'Cause you see what was the point if in the end it they wouldn't be together? (Unless Hand plans to write something about them like 80 years later). What's worse was that she actually made a great job with it, it was very convincing that personally I think even the Tucker fans could accept the idea of Clara and Christian. And that if she went straight in that direction I can see that she'd be able to pull it off and make a really wonderful conclusion.

I wish she didn't make Christian a very great guy, always so supportive and understanding. I wish she didn't make Christian say all those wonderful words of adoration and love. I wish she didn't make him the perfect hero for Clara. Because seriously, all of it were pretty pointless when I reached the ending. I don't get why she has to do that. Look, I don't have a problem with Tucker. He was a great and wonderful character too, it was just that I wish Hand put a lot of more effort in him, in making me see that he had greater connection to Clara and that he was indeed her "home" so at least my heart, my poor, fragile heart wouldn't have been too hopeful and confident.

In the end, more questions just arose in me. More notably is What really is Christian to Clara? Her assistant? Her freaking sidekick? Someone who'd lend her power? Her personal body guard? Well, I sound bitter on that but I just can't help it. Clara and Christian had a really strong and firm connection. Putting everything together from the first book to Boundless, it just didn't make any sense. With the way everything turned out and with that convenient twist in the last part it seems really unfair for Christian. He went from being a very major character, a very essential one to someone who wasn't even present on the supposedly "happy" epilogue.

While I enjoyed most part of this book I can't say that I was satisfied with how things turned out. At some point, during those days I was processing what I really feel about this book I wanted to shout that this book is a freaking tease! Haha! Or maybe it really is. The ending did blow in my face like a sucker punch. I wish Hand could come up with another novel or even a novella just to explain everything and hopefully could give us our much needed closure.


Initial Thoughts After Reading

I wouldn't question the brilliant level of poignancy and profundity in this book. I was touched and moved in so many ways while reading this. The emotional depth of this story was just plain wonderful and downright amazing. However, I couldn't help feeling some qualms and apprehensiveness about the authenticity and the naturalness of the things that happened around the last parts of the book (yeah, I'm talking about the romance). It left me conflicted and had me questioning what were the purpose of some things. Like, what were all those build-up and convincing (from a lot of characters actually) for? It makes me think that they were pretty pointless with how things turned out. So you see, I really have this one big question popping out of my head after reading this book.

So what was all THAT for?

To those who've read this you know what I'm referring to. And I'm being pretty objective here. I really like this story and I consider this one of my most favorite angel-book. It's just hard not to wonder why the sudden left turn when more than half part of the book is pushing and taking us in a straight direction? And because of that the last part kinda felt a little forced for me. *sigh* I really don't know if I'm making sense. But yeah, I guess I need to process thoroughly everything out first.

This review is also posted at Book Overdose

[Sofii♡ (A Book. A Thought.) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

I'm a little disappointed right now, as usual a book is not finished as I wanted haha and that leaves me a little bit lost about how I feel for it. But here we go...


Although that I could change the ending for a thousand ways to make it so wonderful for me, I think that ending was really sweet, I'm filled with moments of love, struggle and discovery, especially friendship, I think is the main word for describe it, FRIENDSHIP.





I can say that the main characters in this story, love each other like a family and that's been lovely to read, Clara grew a lot in this last book, we see a more powerful Clara, always hesitant but more warrior than in previous books


I want to tell you that I'll always love Christian, Team Christian forever. YAY! .
The writer gave me much hope, that is, I was thinking that they end up together and everything would be great, because for me Tucker not even appeared enough to feel more stuff for him, but hey I'll have to get over it.

“I love you," he murmurs. "Can you feel that? You. Not some destiny I think I'm called to. You. I'm with you. My strength. My soul. My heart. Feel it.”

It made me feel a lot on more than one occasion especially that scene about Clara and her mother was so beautiful !

“But now...it's like when part of you stops hurting and suddenly you're yourself again, healthy and whole, and only then do you understand that you've been in pain for a while.”

But even though I'm not entirely satisfied with the end, this book is super addictive and easy to read, and the truth that I've enjoyed , I can say that is my favorite of the three, would recommend, of course, to people who love good love triangles, a very complete story about angels and this whole thing about heaven and hell. It was a journey of discovery and destination, wonderful :)

[Mitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, I tried, but I just don’t get the appeal. I’ve heard lots of good things ever since Unearthly and I certainly understand the praise - in an angel paranormal landscape littered with train wrecks like Silence, Halo, and Hush, Hush, Boundless is far from terrible. Still, when I’m looking at the story, all I see are the same generic concepts as pretty much every other book in the genre, just better done. That’s great for people who actually enjoy reading about romantic woes, love triangles, and a smidge of plotting just so we can say there’s a story beyond just the romance, but I don’t think I can ever get beyond the fact that this is still really just a romance masquerading as an angel plot.

And ultimately, that's my problem. Say what you will about how great Boundless is, but, at the end of the day, it still has more in common with its oft ridiculed peers than with a true angel book. Sure, the girl is a little less angsty and not quite so insecure, the love triangle isn't nauseatingly vomitrocious, and the plot is a bit more than just your average good versus evil angels capped off by your typical fight to stave off the end of the world as we know it, but in the end Boundless is still working with the same ingredients that made all those other angel books 'bad' - can I really say this is 'good' when it's the book equivalent of making the same shitty stew but using slightly better quality ingredients? Why does Clara have to spend fully half the book doing random college stuff with Christian while her father conveniently withholds the vital stuff that moves the plot along in the second half until the midway point of the book? Why does she spend so much time obsessing over her failed relationship with Tucker to the point the actual plot involving the threat to her life feels more like a minor inconvenience? Why does the climax of this book fail as much as Unearthly - when Clara basically just ripped off some dude's ear? If I can make a comparison to Heaven, another angel book with a superficially similar plot, yeah, at least Hand's protagonist isn't shallow or sanctimonious and her depictions of college life aren’t nearly as laughable, but when all’s said and done I don’t think there’s really anything here I haven’t seen before there.

Actually, maybe there is one thing, something that's bothered me ever since Unearthly - Hand's excessive use of foreshadowing. Part of it, Clara's vision starting out the prologue and the rest of the book being her trying to figure out her purpose and the end revealing how her initial vision worked out, well, that I get is the hook of the series and have no problems with, but it seems to me like Hand enjoys revealing things with basically the writing equivalent of 'see, see, here's a detail that's going to be important later, so I'm going to make it so obvious you HAVE to notice it' - there was the color of Jeffrey's wings the last two books, and this time around, all the stuff about how something is going on with Angela. But you know what? After all the foreshadowing, you don't just reveal exactly what I've been expecting based on all the hints marked by the big neon signs, otherwise the reveal just becomes anticlimatical, and anticlimatical reveals are boring. My reaction before reading this book was seriously 'you can't muck up the last book in the series with excessive foreshadowing, can you?' - and somehow, I was still bored, because Hand really doesn't deliver with the 'is Jeffrey good or evil because of the color of his wings' plot she's got going on for two books now, THAT was textbook anticlimatical, and Angela's storyline really wasn't any better. I don't think I learned anything about how her relationship with Phen evolves devolves after what happened.

The worst thing by far though, is the love triangle. I'm sure that's a bonus for lots of people, but for me, it's a massive detriment. Why? I don't get the appeal of Tucker. He's just a cowboy who can't do anything because everyone else has angel powers, so Clara's relationship with him is basically 'she's out saving the world while he's back at the ranch doing... manly things?' - so I see all my friends rooting for Tucker and I'm like, 'umm why?' because he comes dangerously close through most of the book of falling into the useless love interest trap, and I have no patience with useless characters. Then again, even though Christian does things, I don't like him either, but at least there I'm not alone. For me, the only thing the triangle does is give a license for all these characters to act like jerks whenever it's brought it, and why is that a good thing? And the other thing about love triangles is that you have to write the ending a certain way, otherwise you piss off your fanbase, so while I think many many people will be very happy after reading the ending - even if many others will be disappointed, it doesn't really make much sense. Not spoiling it, but the whole point of Clara's triangle dilemma is left unresolved except for a massive deus ex machina delivered by Uriel.

Yeah, basically, I'm thankful this series is over because I'm not the kind of guy who enjoys reading about people bitching about their love lives for most of a book that's nominally supposed to be about conflict between Heaven and Hell. A conflict that's not even well done thanks to all the huge hints scattered throughout that left me five steps ahead of Clara and company the entire time.

[ambsreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS WHICH I WONT MARK SORRY AND REALLY CRAP REVIEW BECAUSE I JUST DONT CARE

Boundless was a book I chose to read to get it out of my TBR. Ultimately, it was a re-read of a series once loved and treasured by myself. Now, it's a book I found myself cringing at the idea of even recognising I read - my sincere apologies to the author considering I once did adore these characters and stories.

It's possible I'm falling into a slump though considering my average rating lately has been a 3. If I do fall into the horrific slump I'm blaming The Darkest Minds

I skimmed this book though to be honest. I didn't enjoy it so I didn't want to read it like I would another book, so I don't remember a whole lot from it.

Before we start, some quotes:

“What’s the matter, kid?” she asks when I don’t answer. “Vision got you down?”

I gulp in a breath. “How did you know?”

“I get them, too. Plus I’ve been hanging around people who have visions for most of my life. I recognize the post-vision face.”

Okay, just the one. I thought that one was amusing and gave me flashbacks to That's So Raven. Most of the quotes in this book were eye roll worthy, though this is probably the best book in the series and I'm endlessly proud of Clara for not buying into the soul mate crap with Christian.

Characters

Clara had some great character development. I still hated her, but I found her absolutely infuriating still. She made some dumb decisions and her whole entire mind tended to focus on irrelevant things e.g. boys and her crappy friend Angela (I have a lot of feelings about her which I won't include in this review.)

Tucker has been the most sane person in this whole trilogy. His actions make sense and I wouldn't have been mad if he hadn't have gotten back with Clara because I love him.

Christian may have been better in this book but doesn't mean I didn't want to punch him in the nose like eighty times throughout this book. I mean, he definitely deserved the nose jab too - it would be worth the broken hand.

I don't even want to talk about the world building, plot or writing. I just want to put this series behind me. I'm glad I'm done. I'm upset I didn't connect with these characters as much. I would recommend this series to a younger audience perhaps, but possibly not to an older one. Maybe it's just me.

[Lint]

WHY CHRISTIAN? WHHHYYYYY?
YOU HAD ME!
YOU DON'T NEED CLARA.
YOU BROKEDEDEDED MY HEART :'(

Oh, and Tucker.



GET OFF YOUR ASS AND CHASE AFTER HER.

[Trina (Between Chapters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this was set in college. I liked the emphasis on choosing your own destiny. I liked how it showed the healing power of love (not just romantic love). I like these characters and was really invested in them throughout the series. I also just plain liked the angels and angelbloods.

What I didn't really like was how small the battle ended up being. I mean, it's a huge deal for the main character because it's about the people she loves, but I thought this was gearing up for something bigger. Although, I have to be honest, most trilogies that I've read that do try to take on something HUGE fail spectacularly. So maybe it was for the best?

Anyway - not a fave and not without flaws, but I did enjoy this series! I binge read all 3 books in just a few days.

[starryeyedjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My initial thoughts after finishing:

There were moments like this:



and this:



but ultimately, I feel like this:



It's over, and I'm sad about that, but I'm satisfied.

--------------------------------

Full review:

Fair warning:  I'm probably going to ramble -- without spoilers -- in this review and it might get painfully awkward at times.  My apologies in advance.  But when one of your favorite series comes to an end, a fair amount of gushing and tears is expected...deserved, even.  Yes, I'm sad to say goodbye to these characters, but I'm also happy to have met them.

The first thing that always strikes me when I pick up a Cynthia Hand novel is how genuine, how authentic they feel.  Clara's voice is sincere and realistic...she sounds like a real teenager -- not the facade that television or society might think of as one, but an actual teenager.   Clara is tenacious and snarky and completely relatable...aside from that whole angel-blood thing.  The dialogue in these books is superbly done, as if I'm having a conversation with old friends, not just reading about it.  And Clara's interactions with other characters are as unpretentious as always, even when she's dealing with a Black Wing.  If there's one character I wish were real, it's Clara...I'd make her my best friend in a heartbeat.  I've always assumed that Clara was a reflection of the author, so in that case, Can we be best friends, Cynthia?  :0)



Something else to take note of in Hand's novels is the importance of family.  Sure, Clara and Jeffrey's father wasn't around much during the formidable teenage years, but not by choice, and they had the most awesome, caring mother to make up for it.  Maggie is the mother of all YA mothers, and she proves that there doesn't have to be a lack of parental figures in a young adult's life for them to find their share of trouble.  Even Clara's wayward brother Jeffrey plays an important role in this series...he's not just a barely there side character.  In fact, none of the secondary cast of characters is a bit player.  They all have a significant role in how the bigger picture unfolds.

And what a big, beautiful picture this series has turned out to be!  So many things I never saw coming!  More visions.  More danger.  More everything.  The pacing starts off nice and slow, with Clara embarking on her first year of college at Stanford, but for an angel-blood having visions of doom and gloom, life is never easy.  Clara soon begins to wonder if she's been deluding herself into believing that she might be able to lead a normal life.  But just as Clara has discovered with her purpose, things happen for a reason, whether you believe in fate or not.  There were some truly pivotal moments in this final book, some that I can't yet comment upon, but this story is such a thing of beauty.

So much transpires in this novel, so many secrets and hidden truths uncovered, and yet, just as I was figuring things out for myself, so were the characters.  I didn't have to wait 100 pages for them to catch on, which is really refreshing.  Just goes to show how truly genuine the characters and story are...we're always on the same page.

Even with Clara's decision to distance herself from Tucker in order to protect him.  I usually hate when a fictional guy does this to a girl.  But in Clara's case, we already know the danger; we know it's not a gimmick.  The Black Wings are a real threat.  Doesn't make it hurt less, though.  At the end of Hallowed, I couldn't have told you if Clara would end up with Tucker or Christian...and I couldn't have made that decision myself, if I'd been in her shoes.  Both were equally good to her and for her, in their own ways.  In Boundless, that isn't any less true.  Both think that they are each meant to be with Clara.  She's definitely got a difficult road and some tough choices ahead of her.

Lots of changes in Boundless.  Lots of appearances from old friends.  It's a lot to take in.  But it's a satisfying ending to a breath-taking series that I won't soon forget.  I can't imagine having never met these characters or sharing in their experiences as they came to terms with who and what they were.  Full of humor, love, and possibility, this brilliant series is not to be missed.  I can't wait to see what else Cynthia Hand has up her sleeve!

Also, don't forget to stop by The Starry-Eyed Revue on the 24th for a Q & A with the author -- in which she divulges what type of reader she is -- as part of the Boundless Blog Tour hosted by Mundie Moms!



Thanks to HarperTeen for providing an ARC for review!

This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.

[Kaede]

Hey, would you like at that. I'm actually posting something for a book that didn't come out yet. A book I haven't read, but I know I'm going to freakin' love anyway. As long as Clara and Tucker get back together, that is.



Look Clara, screw Christian. (Not literally, please.) Remember that jaw-dropping hot guy named Tucker? You know, the one you Have. To. Love? If you don't, I'll smack you until it all comes back.

Edited: 6/21/12


IT HAS A COVER! And one that isn't a complete change of what we had going on for Unearthly and Hallowed too! I have to say, I'm impressed. The constant changes in YA covers, and with YA in general, has not been impressing me lately. Props to the designer of this series for keeping the theme she/he started, and here's hope that Ms. Hand won't disappoint me.

Now a note for the amazing Cynthia Hand:

TUCKER, TUCKER, TUCKER. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.