Book Review: UNMADE by Sarah Rees Brennan

If you’ll humor me for a moment, before I get to today’s book review.

A little backstory on Reader Monica: I don’t read Stephen King. It isn’t because he isn’t fabulous at what he does. Duh. He’s STEPHEN KING! But the two King books I have read scared the living bee jeezus out of me, and I don’t so much like having the bee jeezus scared out of me. So I leave him for the readers who appreciate and enjoy his work. I was thinking about my relationship with Mr. King, as I was reading the book I’m reviewing today.

Now, having said that, I can review this week’s book: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan. Unmade is the third/last book in the Lynburn Legacy trilogy. Here’s a little about the series, FROM GOODREADS: On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back…A darkly humorous take on Gothic romance, Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy weaves together the tale of a heroine desperate to protect those she loves, two boys hoping to be saved, and the magical forces that will shape their destiny.

 I loved the first book, Unspoken, its very original premise, its setting, and the budding love story, and couldn’t wait to read the next one. {Premise: Kami has had a voice in her head her whole life—a boy she’s talked to through their thoughts, and whom she has fallen in love with. Then one day she finds out he’s real—when she meets him! So cool!} While I still enjoyed the second book, Untold, some of the reasons I loved the first book were missing in the second, but I was so attached to the characters I read it with glee. However, a dark edge was creeping into the second book that was starting to make me squirm a bit. Still a great story, and still some of the best character development out there, but with that dark edge to the story. That creeping darkness blooms into a full on shadow in Unmade, and my increased squirming caused me some troubles. But that being said, it’s a great book, a fantastic conclusion to an imaginative series, and readers who enjoy the darker side of paranormal will love it. While the Reader Me may have struggled with the evil that plays a large role in the book, the Writer Me appreciated that this is a wonderful book with excellent writing.

Even though I had my Creeped Out moments, there were some things I loved about this conclusion to the trilogy. First, throughout the three books there are wonderful moments of clever comedic relief. The protagonist Kami, her father, and one of her best friends are funny in all of the books, but perhaps as a balance to the uglier stuff in this last book, the comedy reaches a new level of Laugh Out Loud Funny in Unmade. Those lines of funny dialogue are like little moments of respite from some of the other things going on in the book—a little like the last two Harry Potter books. Second, Sarah Rees Brennan keeps the reader guessing and turning those pages as she keeps on tricking you and going places you weren’t expecting. Third and most important, the ending is gratifying and happy and just what you may have been hoping for when you read the first book. I know it’s what I was hoping for. In fact I would have been mighty upset had it ended any other way.

Paranormal readers, you should really check out The Lynburn Legacy trilogy if you’ve somehow missed it!!