"I realized that sometimes we have to step outside the walls and fight. Sometimes the armor we thought was protecting us was actually weighing us down." (Kennedy Waters)
After being disappointed by Unbreakable, I didn't expect Unmarked to blow me away. But now, I'm saying, "Are these books even from the same series?"
Unmarked kicks off right where Unbreakable ended. Kennedy has to deal with the aftermath of releasing Andras from his imprisonment, being separated from the Legion and being sent to a school for young, rich, troubled runaways.
"My mother used to say that girls should be seen and not heard. I say we should be seen and feared." (Faith)
Unmarked isn't one of the most original books on the planet. The ghost hunting, demon possession and end of the world plot is formulaic, but this book was quite entertaining. It has an urban paranormal fantasy feel, great world-building with a rich heritage and writing that creates an eerie atmosphere. The plot was predictable as it was easy to figure out what was going to happen in the end and by the middle of the book, I knew the role that Kennedy played in all of it, but the questions and answers about Kennedy's family and heritage was filled with twists and turns.
The aim of Unmarked was not to move the plot forward, but it was to ask questions and answer some of them, character development, angst and drama and to lay a foundation for the third book. The plot involving Andras was repetitive and I felt that he was made out to be such a big threat, but his bark was worse than his bite. This could be due to the limitations that he had in this book and I hope that the third book makes him a stronger villain.
The secondary characters make this book! The members of the Legion: Alara, Priest, Lucas, Jared along with Kennedy and her best friend Ella, became a little family of misfits and their interaction were endearing! The secondary characters might look stereotypical, but they certainly didn't act stereotypical. There are also many new characters that are introduced: Faith, Dimitri and Gabriel. These new characters were fleshed out in no time and I'm really interested in knowing more about them. In Unmarked, Gabriel was my favourite character. He's one of those angry characters with questionable morals, has one of the most interesting weapons, is probably paying a hell-of-a-price for it and is a character that I'd love to read more about... also characters who are named Gabriel are usually my favourite ones.
"But you still fight. You still hope. Because there's a chance you might win. And even if you don't - you fight for the people you love especially when they can't fight for themselves." (Kennedy Waters)
Kennedy and Jared are the main characters and they are also the most stereotypical characters! Kennedy is a typical female protagonist, who is plunged into a world that she doesn't know about, always makes sacrifices and takes the moral high ground, acts self-pitying for almost the whole entire book and ends up being the chosen one who can save the world. Jared is the typical male love interest. He's all tough on the outside and doesn't let anybody get close until he meets the girl of his dreams and starts writing moony-eyed poetry about her. The romance between Kennedy and Jared had no chemistry and was over-the-top and angsty.
Thankfully, the love triangle from Unbreakable disappeared in Unmarked. However, while I don't object to the developing romance between Lucas and Elle, the discarded part of the love triangle becoming romantically involved with his ex-potential love interests best friend is cliche'.
Unmarked was an entertaining read and was definitely much better than Unbreakable. There was an urban fantasy feel, great secondary characters and what will hopefully lead up to a action-packed conclusion!
"May the black dove always carry you.
And the white dove set you free."
(Faith)