Authors: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Series? Unearthed Duology
Pages: 384
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: I received an egalley of Unearthed via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.
For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.
In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...
I was ecstatic when I was approved for Unearthed; I loved Kaufman and Spooner's other collaborations, and the Illuminae Files (that Kaufman cowrites with Jay Kristoff) is one of my favorite series. I'm sad to say though, that I was disappointed by Unearthed. While the book was okay, it was not as compelling as prior works. I had high expectations going into Unearthed, but I whole-heartedly believed that they would meet them.
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| my initial thoughts after finishing the book! |
Having more time to look back, I would say that my initial thoughts still hold true.While the plot was intriguing, the pace was it's downfall. I felt as if nothing was really happening until the third act. Yes, there are action sequences here and there, but I was never thrilled until the last 50 or so pages.
The saving grace for this book were the characters and the ending.
Mia and Jules are on opposite ends of the spectrum for why the travel to Gaia, a planet with hidden technology that can help save the Earth from environmental turmoil. Mia is a scavenger; she comes to Gaia in order to scavenge the planet and make some money. Jules, however, is a scholar that wants to study the ancient race that used to live on Gaia before they became extinct. I loved that Mia and Jules didn't change their morals for the other person. They have conflict with each other, and I appreciated that the two didn't just swoon at the sight of each other. As two separate entities, I really liked Mia and Jules. As a couple, however, I did not like them.
There just wasn't anything about the couple that was compelling. I felt like it was inevitable, and didn't frankly care too much if they got together or not. Also, I just wasn't convinced. I wasn't enthralled with the romance. I'm a reader who loves romance, and it was disappointing that the pairing didn't work for me.
On the flip side, the ending of Unearthed was fabulous! To be honest, the ending almost made up for everything. All of a sudden the potential for the book was actually met. I was struck dumbfounded, and I wanted more. So while the book as a whole was a 3 to 3.5 star read, the ending was a five star.
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| the first line of Unearthed! |
While Unearthed was a solid read, the romance and the pace of the novel were it's downfall for me. Mia and Jules as individuals, however, were compelling and the ending left me needing the second book, despite it's faults.
With that, I give this book
3.5 out of 5 Stars!
Are you looking forward to Unearthed?
Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!
Happy Reading!
Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!
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