Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on
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
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 September, 2012: Finished reading
- 1 September, 2012: Reviewed