ARC Review of Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

by: Sarah
Author Website/Goodreads/Amazon
Release Date: September 11th, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 370 pages
Series: The Lynburn Legacy #1
Rating: ★★★★★/ 5 out of 5

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Well well well. Where do I even begin? For a long time now I've been saying to myself that I wouldn't hand out a 5 star rating until a book really wowed me. I've been very picky, probably a little too picky, but here we are you're hearing straight from the horse's mouth this book is indeed a 5 star chick. Why? I thought you'd never ask!

Unspoken was quite a slap in the mouth as I went into it not really knowing what it was about. I saw ooh pretty cover and something about a girl loving a boy who exists in her head and  I was sold. Vital information: mind relationships really do it for me. Anyway, so the book starts out with a very quirky, funny and likeable heroine, Kami, and her persistently pessismistic best friend, Angela. You know how books and movies do that thing where they make the best friend character an insufferable asshole to make the main character seem all that much better in comparison? Yeah, Angela does not fall into that category. She is a fierce warrior princess and currently at the top of my list of favorite characters. And just when I thought she couldn't get any better SPOILER(highlight to read):it turns out she's a LESBIAN ....or at least is attracted to girls:SPOILER oh my GOD Sarah Rees Brennan I REQUEST THE HIGHEST OF FIVES! I literally had an out of body experience when that happened I rolled off my bed and collapsed in a heap on the floor. But I digress, back to the plot of the story. Kami Glass is just your average teenage girl trying to make it in this crazy world, aside from the fact that ever since she was a child she's heard a boy named Jared's voice in her head. She assumes Jared is a figment of her imagination until surprise! Turns out he's real and he happens to be related to the cute guy at school, Ash, who's been given Kami some unprecented attention. Both of which are members of the mysterious Lynburn family! The espionage! I can't!

Now at this point I was like euuuuuuuuhhm get outta here love triangle I'm not here for this. But it wasn't really so much as a love triangle but rather a love fucked-up-a-gon. There are several boys in Kami's life that care for her and instead of Kami being like oh woe is me which one do I pick she was more like I'm just gonna do me and see what happens. YES KAMI. KAMI YOU ARE GIVING ME SO MUCH LIFE RIGHT NOW. So Kami and our rag-tag group of supporting characters live in a lovely English town called Sorry-in-the-Vale, but creeeeeeepy stuff happens in Sorry-in-the-Vale. Animals are being sacrificed, Kami is being mysteriously targeted, somebody might get dead, and  it's up to Kami and her friends to solve the mysteries surrounding the town and their own family's secrets. But as Kami soon comes to realize, she doesn't know who she can really trust. Not even the people she thinks she knows the most.

You: Okay Sarah we get it, it was a good book I'll look into it okay

Me: 

This book is written superbly. I haven't been sucked into a story the way I was with this one in quite some time. The storytelling is lush and exciting. The characters are well developed and interesting, even the minor ones, and that is something that always gets a book on my good side. There's nothing I hate more in a story than throwaway characters. There are none in this book. Even the characters that were only there for a few pages brought something funny or a little bit interesting to the table. And can I just say how amazing it is to have a ~bad boy~ type male lead that's actually interesting, complex, and a little messed up but not a romanticized abusive or manipulative asshole? *Commence Slow Clap*

If I had to pinpoint one downfall of this book, it is that it does suffer from what I like to call Everyone Is Witty Syndrome. In this book, pretty much every character has the perfect quip or joke ready on hand 24/7, and usually that makes me so irritated I want to cry, but in this book the dialogue was just so on point and consistently funny that I didn't even care. And when I thought about it, me and my circle of friends are pretty hilarious all the time, so it's not completely unrealistic....right?

Another thing that bothered me was Jared's behavior toward climax of the book, but for the most part, I understood it was part of his character's journey, and I must say I am steadily aboard the good ship Kami/Jared. (Kared? Jami? Let's settle this now..I think I like Jami... Kared sounds like Carrot) Though sometimes their relationship did feel a little insta-lovey and inappropriately dramatic, the reader must remember that they've technically known each other their entire lives. They've formed an impossibly close bond. I'd probably be a little crazy over the thought of losing that person too. SPOILER(highlight to read): The end broke my heart! I was rooting for you Jared we were all rooting for you!!!! But whatever, be a sad bad boy. You'll get over it in the sequel.:SPOILER

Tl;dr: This book is a wonderfully refreshing and entertaining young adult fantasy/paranormal novel (not to mention the delightful elements of romance and mystery) with a cheeky contemporary feel. So much of my favorite things ever going on here. I already want to go back and read the beginning and giggle to myself because I know what's going to happen. I'm having a hard time expressing all my feels. Maybe I should just revert to primitive language at this point. Book. Good. Go. Buy. Now.

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Review also on goodreads