Unspoken (Lynburn Legacy, #1)

by Sarah Rees Brennan

A modern, magical twist on the Gothic Romance and Girl Detective genres, this book will appeal to fans of both Beautiful Creatures and the Mortal Instruments series. Reviewers have praised the take-charge heroine and the spellbinding romance.

Bound together. Worlds apart.

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.

"A sparkling fantasy that will make you laugh and break your heart." --Cassandra Clare, New York Times bestselling author

"A darkly funny, deliciously thrilling Gothic." --Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author

"Readers will laugh, shiver, and maybe even swoon over this modern Gothic novel." --Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author

"Breathtaking--a compulsive, rocketing read."--Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author

"Captures the reader with true magic."--Esther Friesner, author of Nobody's Princess

"A laugh-out-loud delight." --Publishers Weekly

• ISBN10: 0375871039
• ISBN13: 9780375871030
• Publish Date: 10 September 2013 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ember
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780375871030

Reviews

[Angie]

I absolutely loved the sound of Unspoken, but unfortunately, it just did not work out for me at all. Kami has heard Jared in her head all of her life. Most people just thought she was a kid with an imaginary friend. But then one day, Jared moves to town along with the rest of the Lynburn family. There are a lot of secrets surrounding that family and the town, and Kami is determined to find out what they are. Especially since her family is involved as well.

Unspoken is really boring. That’s honestly all I thought about while reading it. The beginning was quite annoying, as it’s just Kami and her friend Angela talking, and talking some more. Then talking with Ash and Jared. Then more taking with Angela, who likes to take naps (my name is also Angela and I like to take naps, and I would not make an interesting book character). It wasn’t until two-thirds in that I became even slightly interested in what was happening, because Kami finally learns the family secret, and there’s a murder, and magic. Sadly, it was already too late and I’m definitely not curious about what comes next.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Mary-Allyn]

This book took a piece of my soul with it.

[wyvernfriend]

NOOOOOOOOO!!!

This was a very enjoyable story of a half-Japanese girl in the small English village of Sorry-in-the-Vale. She starts a school newsletter and is curious about the Lynburn family who were prominent in the village. Rumour has it that some of them have returned and some of them to the school too.

Also, all her life, Kami has had a dialogue in her head with a boy. She believes he's imaginary, but actually he's one of the Lynburns. Jared is a bad boy with bad attitude and everyone seems to distrust him. Kami starts to investigate the Lynburns and her life will never be the same again.

I had some ideas about what was going on, it is very reminiscent of gothic novels and I've read a fair few over the years. The characters were quite well drawn and I enjoyed the read, the only thing I didn't like is the cliffhanger at the end. I wanted to know NOW what happens next.

[jnikkir]

I was completely caught up in this book from the beginning. Something about the tone and setting and characters were all so well-described and so real, I couldn't help falling into that world, the town, the school, all of it. Brennan seamlessly wove a somewhat light and often quirky tone alongside the darker elements of the plot, and it was this mastery of balance that kept me so enthralled.

I do think that things got a little too confusing at times, even beyond the "well the mystery hasn't been solved yet so of course it doesn't make sense" level. But I really couldn't be bothered to care while I was reading it, because I was so engrossed in the story. Actually, I think I like that about the book, because it's something that will make me excited to reread it before [b:Untold|15801763|Untold (The Lynburn Legacy, #2)|Sarah Rees Brennan|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|21525150] comes out. Now that I know how things worked out, it will be really cool to go back and understand some of the things that threw me during my first read.

My only genuine complaint is that I am extremely nervous about what happened between Kami and Jared at the very end, especially Jared's reaction, which I find intensely frustrating. I understand it, sort of, but I don't have to like it.

This book still deserves 5 stars, though. Definitely one of my favorites of 2012.

[Linda]

I actually have a lot of trouble rating and reviewing this book. On one hand, I love the author, her sense of humor and her writing. On the other hand, I had a very hard time connecting with any of the characters here, even though they all had both positive and negative character traits.

Full review can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Unspoken sounds awesome, which is one of the reasons I picked it up, however, as I wasn't the biggest fan of The Demon's Lexicon, I was slightly wary. Was I not going to like Unspoken either? Now I've read it, and I'm not sure if I am a fan or not.

Unspoken is addictive reading. The mystery aspect of the book definitely keeps you turning the pages. Why has Kami had this telepathic link with Jared since birth? Why have the Lynburns suddenly returned, and why is everyone so scared of them? What does it mean? What are the strange things that are going on in the woods, and who's behind it all? Who is keeping secrets and who can be trusted? What the hell is up with Sorry-in-the-Vale? So many things to think about, and you're dying to find out! All questions we find our answers to eventually, but it takes a while to get there.

Unspoken is not a fast paced novel, but I have found mysteries tend not to be, they're just questions followed by more questions until the answers are revealed. In my experience, that's the genre. But I would have thought more would have happened. It seemed to me that the questions sprang from conversations, thinking, and mis-trust, rather from a huge number of weird things going on. Sure, some of those things are quite big - can you get worse than murder? - but there seemed to be a lot of time going by between those things. I think I just expected a bit more.

The Lynburns were a strange family, but, apart from Jared, I didn't find them all that interesting until the climatic chapters at the end - even after a certain revelation. There was arrogance, there was weird and cold, and there was nice and normal. There was just nothing about their personalities I found all that interesting. Jared was the one who held my interest the most because of his behaviour. We get to see inside his head through the link, but his thoughts and his actions just seemed slightly at odds. Though he is quite an emotional guy, and so I think I can understand certain things he does. Jared was the highlight of the book for me, because he had this kind of bad boy thing going on, but there was more to him in this kind of completely lost way. He's a very complicated character, and I really enjoyed getting to know him.

Kami, however, I wasn't the biggest fan of. She is very witty, has a ton of smart comebacks, and is exceptionally cheery. This all sounds great, but... she made jokes far too often for me, and most of the time, I didn't find them funny. There was the odd smile, giggle or snigger, but most of the time, I wished there was like a volume switch on her personality, and I could turn her down a bit. Or switch of her sense of humour for a while. I found her a little annoying, really. I just don't think it's my kind of humour, unfortunately. Though I do think some of the time it was a coping mechanism, it just niggled at me a bit.

There were other times when I just wished she was more communicative. Ok, sure, she and Jared share this link and can read each other's minds, but they don't know every single thought that passes through each other's head, nor do they always understand what's behind the thoughts they are allowed access to. Seriously, the girl needs to talk to the guy! Tell him how you feel, all of it! Properly! Make the guy understand, because in my opinion, Kami, I don't think the guy knew whether he was coming or going, even though I knew exactly what you were thinking. You would have thought having a telepathic link would have made all the talking and understanding a lot easier, right? No! Much more complicated!

The mystery was resolved at the end, and I felt a little disappointed. I didn't expect it, but I can't tell you why, because that would spoil the story, but my reason for not expecting it was why I was disappointed with it. Saying that, I am intrigued to see how the story will continue. Two cliff hangers, kind of. I want to know how Kami and Jared's relationship will continue, and what the resolved mystery will mean for the future of everyone. I'm looking forward to picking up book two, despite my few issues with Unspoken.

I do think this is a book a lot of readers will really enjoy, though. The mystery, the possible romance, the strangeness of the imaginary-friend-turned-real-person relationship, the quiet little country town with it's secrets and it's fears, and the atmospheric backdrop of the woods and the gothic manor on the hill, looking down on everything - Unspoken has all the ingredients that make for a great page-turner! There are lots of good points, just a few niggles for me. Through the course of writing this review, I have decided I did, actually, enjoy it, I just didn't fall head over heels. Hopefully you'll enjoy Unspoken more than I did; read a few other reviews before deciding, don't decide not to read it based on my review alone. As I said, I do think many will love it.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Unspoken offers a gothic mystery filled with magic, romance and suspense. The first in Brennan’s Lynburn Legacy series I was drawn into the world she created. With hints of Nancy Drew and a fairy tale feel this novel is sure to appeal to a large audience. Set in a remote English countryside in the tiny cottage town of Sorry-in-the-Vale you will find secrets, powers and mystical creatures.

In a home near the woods lives a strange, inquisitive and outspoken seventeen year old girl named Kami Glass. Ever since Kami can remember she has had an imaginary friend. This has made her a bit of a loner and worries her mother. Especially when at the age of six, she mailed a penny to an address in the States that she seemed to pull from the air. Kami is very careful to only speak to Jared in her head, but this makes her appear like a freak to outsiders. Two things have her very excited, one she got permission to run a school paper and two, the Lynburn’s are returning. For years their monster of a mansion has sat empty. Kami plans to investigate and her first article surrounds the families return. The family is surrounded in legend and mystery, something Kami cannot resist. When a girl at school tells Kami about a mutilated animal, Kami decides to investigate and the tale that unfolds is suspenseful, creepy, and magical.

The characters in this novel are unique and fairly fleshed out but they seemed very young for their age and thus I did not fully connect with them. Kami reminded me of a young Nancy Drew. She has a investigative, I’ve got a plan, follow me attitude. The author chose to make Kami an average looking run of the mill girl and I appreciate this. Her friend Angela was a snarky hoot. Angela joined the paper because the office has a sofa where she can nap; one of her favorite pass times. Holly was cute and desperate for friends. The Lynburn cousins are complete opposites. Ash has prince charming looks, and is outgoing. Jared is the dark bad boy. While he doesn’t have Ash’s good looks, he is quite dashing with his scared cheek and rugged dess. Jared is troubled, unsure and lonely. Ash appears confident and purposeful. Both of the boys show an interest in Kami and sought to protect her. I adored Kami’s family. Her Dad was hilarious and her brothers were cute. I love that the parents were involved it was so refreshing! The rest of the Lynburn’s were creepy and mysterious adding to the legends surrounding their family.

The world-building was fascinating and I loved the authentic feel of being in a small English town. Where sidewalks are called pavements and the speech is just a wee bit different. The Lynburn home is exactly how I would picture a creepy old mansion, steeped in mystery and lore. I loved the woods, and got chills while reading parts of this novel. The mystical creatures, the dark shadows, the sacrifices; Oh my! I enjoyed the author’s writing style and her talent is truly evident as she brought aspects of this tale to life for me. However, parts of this tale dragged and other parts were brushed over. Where I craved detail there wasn’t enough and I felt like some major climatic scenes were skimmed over. Way too much time was spent with Kami analyzing her feelings and this slowed down the flow. The brewing love triangle was in my opinion, ridiculous, and an unnecessary angle to the plot. I did like the humor laced throughout the tale, and it helped break up tension. I love being stumped by a good mystery, especially when the author is able to create twists or give me an OMG why didn’t I see that coming moment. While this tale offered twists and turns, I knew who and why way too soon. The ending picked up speed but foreshadowing made it too predictable for me. Despite issues, I did enjoy the tale and many reviewer's are raving about it.

Unspoken is geared towards young readers who love a good gothic mystery, laced in magic with a smidgeon of romance. While I didn’t flip over this one, I will give book two of this series a go to see how the story develops.

I want to thank Random House for providing this copy in exchange for my unbiased review.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[anne]

Slow start, and many untied aspects at the end, no doubt for sequel, but still a good read.