Review: Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:


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 fulfil 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.


My review:

Today I have the not-insurmountable task of reviewing the third book in a trilogy...spoiler free.

Possible, I'm sure, but it's not going to be easy.

*throat clears* Right then. Straight into it.

I stumbled onto Unearthly and remember only about five seconds passing from the end of that book until I was hitting up Google, looking (praying) for a sequel. Only to find that while one was planned, it was at least six months off.

I was a sad panda.

Then last January, the post-Christmas doldrums were wiped away for a brief time with Hallowed...and an ending that left me an even sadder panda.

Cue the past month and the run up to Boundless. Granted, it wasn't the insanity that was waiting for Breaking Dawn, or Mockingjay or even Harry Potter 7. I was still on pins and needles, though. I wanted things right for Clara after the loss of her mother, I wanted more about Sam, about her Father, about Jeffrey, about why Clara was so much more gifted than the others seemed to be, I wanted...(spoiler block) I wanted so many things.

All of which means, when the book arrived overnight on the 22nd and was waiting patiently for me on my Kindle...I immediately started reading (don't tell my boss.) I could only do so much and still put in a productive day, but I was sneaking pages on my iPhone app all day long. Then I got home, fed my family, and read until I was finished.

My husband asked me if everything was okay since I was so quiet. Thankfully, 20 years of marriage means all I had to say was "last book in the trilogy" and he understood fine. He knows how I get.

So, did I get what I wanted from the story?

All that and more.

Every question I had was answered. Loose ends were tied up just enough to leave me satisfied, but not so tightly that there isn't room to revisit this series at some later time, maybe years in the future.

The writing remains solid and descriptive without delving too incredibly deep into long exposition about the way the wind moves through the trees - it does what it needs to do. She sets the scene, and then lets the scene itself tell the story. The characters, their expressions, their actions, their words. It's a thrill when I find an author that knows, and embraces, the "show, don't tell" method of writing.

And God, did she ever show.

So much so, I've got a wicked book hangover going on and will probably reread the series now - start to finish - rather than pick up a new book.

I have to at least touch on the triangle. I spent years in the Harry Potter shipping war trenches as well as the Team Edward/Team Jacob madness. I don't so much steer away from books with triangles/boy choices now, but I am usually leery of them. I've had a few hits and some spectacular misses, some in which the ultimate choice has colored the whole series for me with the whole box of blare crayons.

That said, I think this instance was very well handled. There was no clear "good" or "bad" choice; all of them made mistakes, all of them thought they were doing what was right - for them and for others - and it was heartbreaking in so many ways that by the end, I think my heart was mostly superglue. And even then, she wasn't done with me. End result - satisfying.

For this book, and this series, the first 5+ star rating. The uber-squee.

View all my reviews