Name: Danny Werhane's review of Unearthed by Meagan Spooner
Item: Unearthed
Rating: 4
Author: Danny Werhane

Meagan Spooner

Amie Kaufman

From the New York Times best-selling author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner comes a "literally breathtaking" new sci-fi series about a death-defying mission on an alien planet. When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution humanity has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and their message leads to the planet Gaia, a treasure trove waiting to be explored. For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an ancient alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study . . . as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Despite their opposing reasons for smuggling themselves onto the alien planet's surface, they're both desperate to uncover the riches hidden in the Undying temples. Beset by rival scavenger gangs, Jules and Mia form a fragile alliance . . . but both are keeping secrets that make trust nearly impossible. As they race to decode the ancient messages, Jules and Mia must navigate the traps and trials within the Undying temples and stay one step ahead of the scavvers on their heels. They came to Gaia certain that they had far more to fear from their fellow humans than the ancient beings whose mysteries they're trying to unravel. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more Jules and Mia start to feel like their presence in the temple is part of a grand design -- one that could spell the end of the human race . . .

Unearthed

Danny Werhane

The concept for this book is very unique and original. The general story line was a little predictable and clique with the romance. It definitely didn’t measure up to Starbound, but overall I really liked it. And that was. . . an ending. Definitely going to read book 2. Maybe a 3.25

Lara Croft and Indiana Jones join forces - in space! This December, discover the newest series from New York Times bestselling duo, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Jules Addison and Amelia Radcliffe join forces in a tomb-raiding race on a newly-discovered planet to unravel the secrets of an ancient, long-extinct civilization--only to uncover a revelation that could spell the end of the human race... We are the last of our kind. We will not fade into the dark. We will tell our story to the stars - we will be Undying. When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo massive environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, the Undying's former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered. For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Despite their opposing reasons for smuggling themselves onto the alien planet's surface, they're both desperate to uncover the riches hidden in the Undying temples. Beset by rival scavenger gangs, Jules and Amelia form a fragile alliance... but both are keeping secrets that make trust nearly impossible. As they race to decode the ancient messages left by the alien race, Jules and Amelia must navigate the traps and trials within the Undying temple and stay one step ahead of the scavvers on their heels. They came to Gaia certain that they had far more to fear from their fellow humans than the ancient beings whose mysteries they're trying to unravel. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more Jules and Amelia start to feel like their presence in the temple is part of a grand design - one that could spell the end of the human race...

Julia Lotz

HAT ES MEINE ERWARTUNGEN ERFÜLLT? Meine Meinung zum Buch gleicht einer Achterbahnfahrt! Auf der einen Seite konnten meine Erwartungen erfüllt und übertroffen werden, an anderen Stellen wurde ich fast schon enttäuscht.

WAS HAT MIR GUT GEFALLEN? Ich liebe die Idee: Auf einem neu entdeckten Planeten treffen zwei Jugendliche zusammen. Der eine ist Teil eines Forscherteams, das Zutritt zum Planeten hat, die andere ist eine Plünderin, die unerlaubt dort ist. Die beiden verbünden sich aus der Not hinaus und arbeiten gemeinsam, um dem Geheimnis auf die Spurt zu kommen. Das besteht aus einer Nachricht der Unsterblichen, die auf der Erde empfangen wurde und die der Erde helfen soll, zu überleben. Wahnsinnig spannend und bietet so schon eine Menge Stoff. Mir als Linguistin haben außerdem die vielen linguistischen Bezüge sehr gefallen und ich war verliebt in dieses spannende Höhlenabenteuer, in das sich die Geschichte sehr schnell entwickelt. On top fand ich die Protagonisten toll. Vielschichtig und nicht 0815. Beide waren sehr besonders und bleiben so im Gedächtnis. So freut man sich aufs weiterlesen.

WAS HAT MICH GESTÖRT? Manchmal hatte ich das Gefühl, dass Amie Kaufmann und Megan Spooner den Pfad verlassen haben, den die Geschichte meiner Meinung nach hätte nehmen sollen und irgendwie was anderes gemacht haben. Etwas, was ich dann irgendwie langweilig fand. Ich bin mir sicher, dass es bei vielen für Begeisterung sorgt und die Geschichte dadurch abwechslungsreicher wird aber für mich hat es einfach nicht gepasst. Ganz einfach dadurch, dass dieses geile linguistische Höhlenabenteuer so häufig unterbrochen wurde. Ich freue mich zwar auf die Fortsetzung, gerade aber weil das Buch zum Ende dann im Setting komplett umschlägt, bin ich gespannt, wie ich diese dann finden werde.

FAZIT. Zwei meiner liebsten Autorinnen konnten mich gleichermaßen begeistern und enttäuschen. Ein Buch, das durch ein tolles Abenteuer, linguistische Themen und tolle Protagonisten durchaus punkten und begeistern konnte, mich an anderer Stelle aber auch enttäuscht hat. | ★★★★☆

Amanda

This was amazing! and that ending.. do do really have to wait for the next one!! 

video review to come!

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution humanity has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and their message leads to the planet Gaia, a treasure trove waiting to be explored. For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an ancient alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Despite their opposing reasons for smuggling themselves onto the alien planet's surface, they're both desperate to uncover the riches hidden in the Undying temples. Beset by rival scavenger gangs, Jules and Mia form a fragile alliance... but both are keeping secrets that make trust nearly impossible. As they race to decode the ancient messages, Jules and Mia must navigate the traps and trials within the Undying temples and stay one step ahead of the scavvers on their heels. They came to Gaia certain that they had far more to fear from their fellow humans than the ancient beings whose mysteries they're trying to unravel. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more Jules and Mia start to feel like their presence in the temple is part of a grand design--one that could spell the end of the human race...

Amie ONeill

WOW 
To be honest I went into this with the lowest of expectations but I actually loved this book. 
I couldn't give it a full 5 stars because I felt like some of the decisions made were a bit out there and didn't make total sense.
The characters did their job and I liked them when they were supposed to be liked and disliked them when I was supposed to.
The plot had me hooked from pretty much the start 
The writing was really good and easy to read.

Overall a really enjoyable experience. I will be reading the sequel very soon.

Sofie

** spoiler alert **
           Spoilers! And a question!

So if the undying are so advanced, why did they need the humans to enter the coordinates for earth? Could they not have flown the ship there themselves, especially if they are human as Mia suggests? The portal obviously is 2 ways, since the ship went through it to get back to earth once everyone evacuated.

I love that one of the main characters has the same name as me.
I love that this is space archaeology -- two of my favourite things.
I love Jules Addison.
I loved the fast pace of this story.
I love that there's a sequel coming.

laura

I gave this book 4.5 stars for review.

I think the summary of this book was on point. Lara craft tome raider in space is literally how I would describe this book. I really love both characters in this novel and also both POV. I grew to adore them both and really adored jules he is def my new book boyfriend. I thought the plot was very fast moving and I was really engaged in the story. I sometimes struggled following the details of the various situations there were in. But the ending was so intriguing I need the second book NOW! I really loved this book and so excited to re-read this book and also read the sequel year!

Emily C Peterson

Shirley Krijnen

Actual rating: 3.5

I really enjoyed this book. 



  
    “When we allow ourselves to explore, we discover destinations that were never on our map.” 
  



The part of me that loves Indiana Jones, and solving puzzles in temples and crypts, and a race against time to get an ultimate goal, adventure books was so so happy to be able to embrace this in a YA style! It was fun, it was entertaining, there were boulders and spikes and explosions and aliens. there was no way I could hate the book. 

BUT.

For everything that it was, it was also the slowest-paced adventure book I think I've ever read. 

Maybe it was because there is a lot of info dump conversations, because we need to know the whole background about the aliens and human life and why the hell two kids are traipsing around a planet by themselves.

Maybe it was because there was a lot of physical ground to cover because they basically walk across half the freaking planet. 

Maybe it was because a lot of the puzzles kinda sucked? I had high expectations on this aspect from reading adventure books where the puzzles engaged the reader as well as the characters and perhaps that's my fault for pushing my own personal agenda. But honestly, listening to a kid read glyphs in a language I don't understand isn't overly riveting.



  
    “This isn't some after-school feel-good movie special.” 
  



About halfway through the book everything picks up though and you really start to feel the action/adventure side of the book. There were quite a few turns that I did not see coming which is always worth applauding. 

And the ending. While I'm going to brace myself for pacing that may not be my favourite I will be reading the sequel because I wanna know what the hell happens. 

And everything else I enjoyed. It was good and entertaining but for me that was about it.



  
    “We may be the only ones who think that braving a series of crumbling death traps is proof of good decision making.” 
  



I liked the characters a lot more as individuals than I did together. I loved the contrast between their motivations and how there own problems (literally) worlds away still impacted on everything they were attempting to do. 

There was something satisfying about the way the two interacted in the good and the bad. But it also didn't fill me with overwhelming emotions or necessarily have me rooting for them either. I am truly hoping that the characters have a chance to develop into something more intimate for the reader in the sequel. 

All in all, consider me entertained. While some bits were slower than I would have liked, I enjoyed everything that happened and really want to see where Spooner and Kaufman take it next.




Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | Books gnaw at me from around the edges of my life, demanding more time and attention. I am always left hungry. (P. Paul)

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

I really enjoyed this, despite how damned long it took me to read (which is the main reason why it’s 4 stars instead of 5.) 

I loved Mia, mostly loved Jules too, and Javier was like a freaking knight in khaki armour. 
Really liked all the twists and turns, it was a really interesting story, but I did see that ending coming a mile off. But still, it was a good ending. 
Can’t wait for book 2.

Thanks so much Allen & Unwin and the bookstore I work at for the ARC.

Lysh (She/Her)

Feeling up to some YA Sci-Fi Adventure? Look no further than “Unearthed” by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. 

Imagine our future Earth. Pushed beyond the limits of its resources, and humans forced to reach out to space for their salvation, seeking a solution for the damage they have done, and a new home for humans. It’s not too far out of mind’s reach, given our modern day experiences. An International Alliance is formed in an attempt to bring the world together as one, but in the process of searching for their salvation, they receive a message from beyond our world. From a small planet called Gaia. This alien planet is the setting of our novel. 

Released today, this novel alternates between the POV of Jules Addison, a young scholar determined to save Earth from human destruction, and Amelia Radcliffe, a young scavenger hell bent on raising enough funds to save her younger sister from her distressing fate back on Earth. Together these protagonists need to solve puzzles and dodge traps in one of the tombs on Gaia in order to achieve their very different goals. With secrets on both sides, how can they truly trust one another? 

I loved the pacing of this book. It was equal parts adventurous, witty, and romantic. The one element that let it down was the instalove nature of the romance between our two main characters, but the other aspects allowed me to look over this and still enjoy the plot. 

Although I foresaw many of the “plot twists” I was still unsure what was going to happen at any one moment. The ending left me in awe and I can’t wait for the next installment. 

Recommended for 13+ years
Rating: 4/5 Stars
2018: 1/40 books

Anyaconda

I have read this book, because it was all over my favorite booktube channels and sounded interesting. It was a nice read, but for me didn't live up to the hype. At this point I am unsure if I'll continue with this series.

Pamela Alvarado

Ashlee

A fun and fast paced read with lovely characters and a tantalizing mystery to unravel! I’m excited to start Undying to see where this brings us!

Kate

I went into this with zero expectations, having no idea what I was getting myself into and I’m so glad because it surprised me in the best possible way. 

Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones was the perfect comp for this book in so many ways, it had action, humour, suspense, mystery and adventure without a boring moment. 

The audiobook was brilliantly produced (although it had some, erm, interesting british accents?) and had me hooked from the get go. 

I had so much fun with this story and that ending(?!) has me craving book two in a way I haven’t done in a while.

Danny Werhane &
Unearthed by Meagan Spooner

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