Sarah Rees Brennan

Loving a boy she has never met but with whom she has communicated telepathically all of her life, Kami Glass investigates screams heard in the woods and sees lights in an empty manor house only to discover that a murderer is hiding there.

Unspoken

"Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met--a boy she's talked to in her head since she was born. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she has learned ways to turn that to her advantage. Her life seems to be in order, until disturbing events begin to occur. There has been screaming in the woods and the manor overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. Now Kami can see that the town she has known and loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets--and a murderer. The key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy she thought was imaginary is real, and definitely and deliciously dangerous"--

Monicap

Plot: 4/5
Okay, lemme start this off by saying, MAJOR Beautiful Creatures vibe here.
Small town in the country, mystery fueled by a magical history in the town, war between good and evil magic users… yeah, I’ve heard this somewhere before.
Also, the Kami-Jared connection is somewhat reminiscent of the Ethan-Lena connection. (view spoiler)[Magic user is inexplicably connected to a mortal, but the mortal somehow boosts the magic-users power through this connection, and has some sort of control over the magic-users power (hide spoiler)]
But this book IS very different for Beautiful Creatures, in many ways.
For one, the setting. The setting of this book made it feel more modern, yet with so many more possibilities for the history.
And the pacing. This book goes by quicker than Beautiful Creatures, and the story unfolds differently (obviously. Otherwise I’m sure copyright laws would’ve kicked in). It’s been awhile since I’ve read Beautiful Creatures, but remembering my level of enjoyment while reading that and comparing it to my level of enjoyment reading this… this one was better.
Also, I think Jared and Kami’s connection was structured better than Ethan and Lena’s.
You know, just better.
And, OMIGERHD, I need the next book, because, hello? (view spoiler)[I’m expecting a WAR between the sorcerer’s to see who gets control of the town (hide spoiler)] Just, ah! Want. Next. One.

Characters: 4.5/5
Kami: is a strong character, and she’s smart. Strong is all well and fine and good, but honestly, it’s characters with the basic smarts that come along with life that do it for me. (Some main characters are just sooo stupid, you know?)
Angie: Omigod, I love her reactions to everything. (view spoiler)[btw, I saw the whole lesbo thing coming when I was about 50% of the way thought the book, and when Kami was getting all paranoid towards the end about Holly and Angie, I was like, “No, Kami, they’re not sorcerers, they’re just lesbians! (hide spoiler)]
Holly: I really liked her. She added the most normalcy too the group, and then, ironically, out of the three of them (Angie, Kami and her) she was also the one who knew the most about the magical history of the town.
Ash: “I didn’t sleep with our personal trainer! We don’t even have a personal trainer!” Need I say more? I really hope we get to know more about him in book 2, BUT ONLY IF WE’RE CLEAR ON THE FACT THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO SMOOCHIES BETWEEN HIM AND KAMI. 
Jared: I love Jared. I want him and Kami to be together forever. (Imagine there is a gif here of someone bursting out into tears). 

Romance: 5/5 (plus tears at the end)
Jared and Kami! (view spoiler)[ Oh, my god, Kami, I TOLD you Not. To sever. The connection. Didn’t I? I swear I did. Okay, I know that Rob was there, with a knife, all ready to kill you, but you could’ve stalled for two more seconds, couldn’t you have? And Now look what you’ve done! If you had stalled, Jared would’ve arrived, with the others, he’d have had your special source power boost, they probably would’ve beat Rob, and Jared wouldn’t be such a jerk! (That’s obviously what I’m really upset about here) Speaking of which, WHAT THE HELL, Jared? Please tell me you were acting for the camera’s on those last three pages, cuz if not, I’m—I’m—gonna go cry. And fantasize about Faith handing Connors ass to him (different story) because only that will comfort me. (hide spoiler)]
On that note, I really need to learn how to use gifs.
 
Overall grade: 13.5/15

Colleen

Unspoken is paranormal, Gothic YA novel about a girl who has heard a voice in her head all her life then finds out that it belongs to a real person. This book delivered a lot of what I was hoping for (but didn't get) in Beware the Wild. 

What I liked:

It was a paranormal YA that had absolutely no vampires or werewolves! Hurray for something with a unique concept! And it balanced the character development with the unraveling of the mystery quite well.

The dialogue was quick-witted and had just enough snark. I was surprised at how often I was chuckling. And it wasn't cheap, trying-too-hard comedy either. It was clever, witty banter that you don't find in too many books now. Cami's conversations with her father were some of my favorite.

The characters were loveable. I was seriously routing for these guys! It was sweet without being sappy. And it wasn't trashy romance either. There may have even been a couple butterflies in my stomach as I cheered them on. (Maybe. I won't confirm or deny.) The characters also had more complexity than you see in most YA books. Cami was a fun heroin to follow along with. It was refreshing to see a young women not ditch her friends or forget who she is just because she met a guy. Here is a quote: "She didn't want to be the girl who just believed in the guy she liked...She didn't want her feelings to blind her. She did not know what her feelings were, or what his were, or how to separate the two. She did not want to drown in what was between them and lose control, or lose who she was."

I also really like that underneath the main plot and delightful romance there were comments on real issues such as racism and the difficulties that can come with living in a small town. Although it was a very small part of the book, I really appreciated that by viewing her thoughts though Jared, Cami realizes that she has been harsh and callous towards another girl who just wants to be her friend.

What I didn't like:

I thought Sorry-in-the-Vale was a silly name for a town. It kind of went with the Gothic theme though. But I couldn't help rolling my eyes a little.

The setting and characters didn't feel very British. Granted, two of the main characters are from America. But there was almost no discernible difference in their dialogue other than a couple words (such as lift versus elevator). It didn't detract from the story overall, but you could have changed a few words and set this in a small Americana town just as easily.

I didn't like the ending. The last chapter or so held a big curve-ball followed by an abrupt, cliffhanger ending. Clearly Brennan was setting up for the sequel. But even in a series, a book should be able to stand by itself and be satisfying. If the, um, situation rectifies itself in the next book, then I will be very happy with the series. If not, I will probably sulk and lower my rating. So for now, four stars while I see if the sequel is any good.

Jasmine Patel

Savindi Jinasena

Cover Gushing Worthiness: The cover of Unspoken is beautiful. I really like the colour combination of pink and black. Interestingly it also reflects the personality of Kami really well. Also the image on the cover reflects Kami’s inquisitive nature too. The gold writing is also a nice addition since it reflects power and symbolizes the Lynburns in the story. My verdict: an awesome cover :).

Review: I heard about Unspoken after reading Keertana from  Ivy Book Binding's Wonderful Review of it.

I admit the cover appealed to me, but most of all the plot with the imaginary friend-turning real concept was what caught my attention. This was my first experience reading one of Sarah Rees Brennan’s works and I’m still unsure if I’m going to read any of her previous works.

The plot of Unspoken really is one of a kind; I’ve never read anything like it before, but it failed to amaze me like I thought it would. I think my main problem with the plot was it tried to cover too many story lines in one book. While as a reader you knew the story was supposed to be about the Lynburns, I felt like I was suffering from information overload. While the Lynburns are present throughout the book, I felt like they truly only appeared in the last 100 pages or so. Until then it was as if they existed in the shadows while Kami and Jared were trying to figure out their relationship. What I really did like about Brennan’s writing were her descriptions. I thought the descriptions in Unspoken were beautiful. While I was reading some of the descriptions I could feel my spine tense and shivers going down my body, especially during the descriptions of the woods and Aurimere House. I also have to give credit to Ms.Brennan for creating a great atmosphere in Unspoken. It was dark, eerie and suspenseful.

As for the characters I can honestly say this book was a book where the secondary characters outshone the main protagonists and I actually had no problem with it. I know a lot of fans of this book loved Kami and I understand why, but she failed to captivate me. I know Rees Brennan was trying to create a female protagonist who wouldn’t stand any nonsense or succumb to the feelings of the guy who is interested in her, but in the end Kami became everything her character wasn’t supposed to be. Personally I found Kami to be shallow, judgmental and bossy. To be fair, I liked her in the beginning of the book and then less than half way through the book she started to annoy me. Don’t get me wrong I know characters have flaws and I like that, but with Kami I found her need to point out flaws of others annoying without considering how flawed she was as a person.

I know I’m going to get death glares for saying this, but I’m afraid like Kami Jared failed to woo me. I found him to be whiny, obsessive and possessive. It felt like he had no life other than talking to Kami in his head and failing to separate “mind conversations” from reality. He definitely did not come across as a bad boy, more like a lost puppy. I found it really hard to sympathize with Jared and therefore found myself not particularly caring or being interested in him.

Sadly Ash too met the same fate as Jared. I felt like he was such an underdeveloped love interest. However I did pity him towards the end. I’m somewhat looking forward to seeing how the relationship between Jared and Ash is going to be developed in Untold. 

Moving on to secondary characters I adored Angela and Holly. A part of me feels like the reason I continued to read Unspoken was because of the two of them. Angela’s cynical attitude towards the world and her love for sleeping made me laugh. What I liked most about Angela’s character were the layers of her personality. I liked how fiery and passionate she was and her love and concern for Kami and Holly really shone through. I liked how she wasn’t afraid to admit her dislike for Jared upfront instead of hiding it. At the same time I liked how she kept secrets from Kami. I thought that was fair since Kami seemed a lot more concerned about Jared than her own friends most of the time. Angela’s brother Rusty was a good outlet for humour and I thought his laid back behaviour and personality complimented Angela’s fiery one well.

I liked how Holly came across as a tomboy yet vulnerable all at the same time. Even though she was quite underdeveloped in comparison to Angela I found some of her brief interactions with Jared entertaining. It’s going to be interesting to see how Jared and Holly’s relationship is developed, especially after reading that spoiler snippet.

Getting to the Lynburns themselves I do wonder if they are truly meant to be the antagonists of the entire series. As far as dark characters go I really liked them. I liked how all of them had their own demons and kept their own secrets. While they are mysterious beings I felt like they showed that some humanity was left in them. I wonder where Brennan is going to take their story because there’s so much potential to make it awesome.

As for the Cliffhanger at the end, I know a lot of fans were heartbroken by it and again I wasn't. Maybe because I’m not emotionally invested in the main protagonists.

Overall Unspoken was an enjoyable read. It wasn't amazing by any means, but the concept of the story was original and I appreciate that. I also appreciate the descriptions , the atmosphere and the secondary characters of the book. However I didn't appreciate feeling pulled in all directions nor did I like the main protagonists. I hope that in Untold Rees Brennan will have a plot which is clear-cut and focused. I’m not sure if I’m going to purchase Untold because I was a bit disappointed with Unspoken, but I've got a few months to decide on it.

My Rating: 3/5

Would I recommend it? Maybe.

Jessica Ford

This was a very fun YA book. The main character had me in stitches. I can't wait for the next two books to come out.

Tia Malt 

Camila 

Hace mucho tiempo que tenía este libro en mente y por fin decidí leerlo. 
Las críticas son muy variadas así que no venía con tantas expectativas sobre él, pero definitivamente me voy con el grupo de las críticas positivas. 

Nuestra protagonista, Kami Glass es una chica de 16 años muy divertida y que busa la aventura. Toda la vida ha tenido a este "amigo imaginario" con el que puede hablar hasta que un día lo conoce en la realidad. 
¡Y vaya que tomaron un giro inesperado de lo que creía que iba a pasar!

Hubo muchos momentos en que me perdí con la historia, el mundo, la ciudad donde vivía Kami no estaba muy bien descrita y no podía imaginarme el mundo muy bien y se le suma que Kami es bastante ansiosa por lo que los hechos suceden muy rápido. 

Me gustó mucho el misterio que envolvía la trama, en un momento llegué a tener alguna que otra teoría (debo decir que normalmente acierto cuando leo libros, esta vez no) 

Los personajes también me agradaron, en especial los protagonistas me gustó mucho como se complementaban y... NO HUBO INSTA-LOVE! Probablemente queden juntos en algún momento pero durante todo este primer libro se comportaron como complcies/amigos más que nada. 

Un libro muy recomendable y debido a ESE FINAL!! seguiré leyendo de inmediato su continuación .

Maria

первая трилогия этого автора у меня совершенно не зашла, а эта прям хорошо. немного готично, немного мистично, тайна, магия, вот это всё. симпатичные герои - ну ок, мальчик мог бы считаться стереотипным brooding hero, но по счастью его спасает чувство юмора. 

уже вторая книга для меня в этом году, в которой герои могут общаться телепатически - и не только общаться, а чувствовать эмоции друг друга. но если в предыдущий раз это считалось героями плюсом для отношений, в этот раз героиня воспринимает это как проблему - она не понимает, где кончается она и начинается другой человек, и вообще считает, что мысленная связь делает их чересчур близкими.

я где-то читала, что весь excitement влюбленности и страсти возможен только благодаря ощущению неизвестности, потому что неизвестность рождает предвкушение, а это выброс дофамина. а чем лучше знаешь человека, тем меньше дофамина. с идеей можно поспорить, но если принимать таки ее за правду, получается, что понимание на уровне "читаем мысли друг друга" - антоним возбуждения

Cindy Lee

Rating: D

I must admit, I got pulled in by the cover. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover right? Well, I do. I look at the pretty cover then I'd be like, Ooh, this looks nice; I think I'll read it. The actual story, however, was a bit boring. I actually DNF'ed this when I read it last year but decided to pick it back up again and read it a second time. I made it all the way through the second time but it was still a bit boring at times.

laura

adria

This messed with my emotions from start to finish. Even though i predicted pretty much everything (still super smug about Angela, just saying) I loved it to bits. Kami is the perfect protagonist for me. There wasn't a single moment when I could't connect with her or relate to what she was feeling. Her relatioship with Jared was blissfully, refreshingly platonic, which is the biggest win in my no-instalove-pls book. I'm so hyped up about continuing with this series, and I've got quite high expectations from the sequels.

Andrada D

What was this, what was this? Is my heart broken in two or what?

Unspoken was such a beautiful piece of work that went into such a weird direction while wrenching my heart all along. 

I wanted so much to write a vivid description but the book was a trap for spoilers and I wish everyone to go into it as ironically unaware as I was. 
Just a few ideas:
-this would have worked SO MUCH BETTER as a contemporary romance with a few paranormal moments aka the connection between Jared and Kami. The other fantastic elements seem at times, alternatively, pathetic, suffocating or simply pointless.

-Angela is such a badass I would read an entire series written from her perspective. She could have supported this entire book on her own and I would have never ever got bored...

-Jared and Kami are my OTP, I will go down with this ship etc. They are so beautiful together they kept pulling at my heartstrings and that ending left me feeling destitute and hollow. Their relationship plays a lot with common YA tropes but still feels refreshingly new at all times. I really wanted more of them and less of the other boring supernatural bits.

-The prose is simply superb and absorbing and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I got lost in its beauty so much I sometimes wasn't even paying attention to the actual plot. It punctuates all the important moments while smoothly driving the plot in all the right directions. I loved it. I loved it so much I would reread the book again just to relish in those quotes.

All in all, this book was an amazing read, partially tainted by supernatural intrusions, leaving me wanting for more. Can't believe it took me 7 years to discover it....

Gabriela Roxana 

"You're nothing special" 

Oh dear book, this stands so true for you as well. I am so disappointed because apart from all the other YA fantasy novels written at that time, I actually felt like this one could be special. This book had an awesome premise, it had the chance to work with the Japanese Mythology, and had a mystery to support it. And it still succeed to be odious. I feel like I've watched a bad bad CW supernatural show. And I mean bad, cause they had a few good ones. This book has more originality than most of the novels had at its time, but it fell flat. Because it had all the other silly things that made that period's YA undearable : stupid characters, irrational angst, lame villains, bad writing and laughable romance. I read for myself some spoilery reviews for the future books and I really don't need this kind of lowness in my life. Shame on you, dear book.

Lacey

This book was absolutely amazing! It was full of humor and wonderful characters. I can't believe I didn't read it sooner.
And that ending!! WHY???

Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met - a boy the rest of the world is convinced is imaginary. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she doesn't complain. She runs the school newspaper and keeps to herself for the most part - until disturbing events begin to happen. There has been screaming in the woods and the dark, abandoned manor on the hill overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. As Kami starts to investigate for the paper, she finds out that the town she has loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets- and a murderer- and the key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy who everyone thought was imaginary may be real…and he may be dangerous.

Giulia 

4.5/5

Recensione su Giulia's World

WOW! E' l'unica cosa a cui riesco a pensare. Questo libro è fantastico *_*. Ci sono parti di mistero miste a magia ed altre prettamente gotiche che ricordano il sottile filo di paura che lasciano certe novelle di Poe. Meraviglioso, davvero meraviglioso :')

Unspoken

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