Unmarked: Review

Synopsis:

The heart-pounding sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, Unbreakable, by New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures co-author Kami Garcia.

He is here... and he could be anyone.

Kennedy Waters lives in a world where vengeance spirits kill, ghosts keep secrets, and a demon walks among us–a demon she accidentally set free.

Now Kennedy and the other Legion members–Alara, Priest, Lukas, and Jared–have to hunt him down. As they learn more about the history of the Legion and the Illuminati, Kennedy realizes that the greatest mystery of all does not belong to any secret order, but to her own family. With the clock ticking and the life of someone she loves hanging in the balance, Kennedy has to ask the question she fears most: what is it about her past that has left her Unmarked?

***

Unmarked is still surprisingly good for a sequel, but not in the way Unbreakable is. If Unbreakable is the action-packed one, Unmarked will be more heart-wrenching. It's still filled with nice plots, but the emotional ride is much more intense than its prequel. However, I like the first book better, because there are some things that I'm not satisfied with.

The biggest is the whole "pain and fury" part. It's masterfully written, but it's a little bit overdone. The problem is that Kennedy realizes a lot of things that do not go into her favor. Or worse. I'm guessing the author is trying to make the situation dire. But Kennedy has gone through too much that it's hard to think that there will be a surprise ending for Kennedy. If there are little hopes being diminished, I think the book will become more interesting that way.

However, other than this problem, there are little problems that do not worth mentioning, and do little to ruining some part of the book. This book really builds you up in a surprisingly ordinary way. Of course someone close to Kennedy will be in danger, and a deadly one. Taunts are really the best part of the book, because you can't help but feel bad for Kennedy and the people suffering. I won't expect myself to like the taunts and teases in the book, because I know they will just pisses me off most of the time.

I can't wait for the next book. It's one of the better sequels I've ever read.

Rating: 8/10

Unbreakable: Review

Not the one by Elizabeth Norris (though I really like that one). But by Kami Garcia, one of the authors of the bestselling Caster Chronicles series.

Synopsis:

Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code in this action-packed paranormal thriller, the first book in a new series from New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia.
I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

***

Warning: This will contain a few spoilers from Unbreakable. 

The only reason I read this book was because this is by Kami Garcia, one of the authors of the Caster Chronicles series and I'm really curious to see her writings ALONE. I was all like "meh" when I discover this is about ghosts. Well, I have to eat my words right now because this is a surprisingly nice start of a series. And I can tell you this book is more than just about ghosts floating around trying to kill people. 

The characters are... surprisingly normal enough. Kennedy Waters is just you average high school girl. Not especially badass or delicate or have any outshining personalities. But it's comforting. Her behaviors are what others usually behave. Not too smart-ass or calm. The twins, Lukas and Jared are like two sides of a coin in a way. Lukas is the light while Jared is... kind of a darkness in comparison. I like them. My favorite character is probably Alara. She's badass, brave and caring. I really wish I have her as a friend :)

One of my biggest concern before starting this book is whether or not will I get bored at some point in the story and the answer is no. Which is a huge relief because recently I've been coveting something dangerous and exciting to read. Another big concern of mine is whether or not this book will annoy me at some point and unfortunately the answer is... yes. Not entirely, but still yes. (Spoiler!) Because of the love triangle. AGAIN. First I'm not going to do a Team Lukas or Team Jared thing because I don't really care about who Kennedy ends up with as long as I get a good story. But there are some bitch-out sections between the brothers that have me faceplanting on the desk and saying, "come on guys, can't you just bromance it out?" (End of Spoiler). 

Despite some little hiccups, Unbreakable is doing good. I'd like to see what will happen in Unbound, the sequel of Unbreakable.

Rating: 7.5/10

Teaser Tuesday: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

This weekly bookish meme is host by MizB @ Should Be Reading

To participate you:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3.  Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4.  BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5.  Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

***

This week I choose Unbreakable (Legion #1) by Kami Garcia

The girl in the graveyard wasn't hazy or transparent like the ghosts in the movies. She had looked like a regular girl.

Except she was floating.

Wasn't she?











Add Unbreakable on Goodreads:

Legion: Unbreakable and Unbound Info

Like her co-writer Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia will also write a series on her own after Beautiful Redemption!

Series: Legion

Book 1: Unbreakable

Summary:

Kennedy Waters’ entire life changes when she finds her mother dead and discovers she is a member of a secret society formed two hundred years ago to protect the world from a powerful demon determined to find a way out of his dimension and into ours, and from the dangerous spirits he controls.

Well, I think it will be a good story. But it's not as thrilling as Icons for me. I think the short summary is a little bit like Mortal Instruments. And I LOVE Mortal Instruments. I think Icons is more random, and more unique on its own. But still, I look forward to see how they work on their own.


Expected Publication: 2013



The Sequel of Legion, Unbound, will be released in 2014.