Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) – Sarah Rees Brennan

    Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.
    But all that changes when the Lynburns return.
    The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

I’ve been meaning to read UNSPOKEN for quite some time. I actually purchased it based on some great reviews a while back but somehow got pushed to the side time after time until we finally decided to pick it up as a group read for On the Same Page!

UNSPOKEN just felt like a me book. I instantly connected with it, I think in part because the characters are just so wonderful. Kami was such a delight. I loved her humor and really every aspect of her character and the detective/reporter side of her personality really allowed her to push the plot along and dig deeper where the more faint of heart would shy away. Kami’s interactions with everyone, really, are just fantastic. She’s a very dynamic character but so her friends and family and it’s so wonderful to see these characters play off of each other and really help each character develop. And Jared… Jared was awesome in a different way. Moody. Broody. Quite the opposite of Kami at times, but they have such a history — well, their whole lives, really — that it’s wonderful to observe and experience their connection.

I think the great thing about UNSPOKEN was that I was never really quite sure what was going to happen. Sure, I had some expectations and I had my guesses but I guess I felt like anything could conceivably happen at any point in time and I loved that there seemed to be endless possibilities when mysteries arose. I had a few twists sneak up on me that I didn’t expect. I like to go into books blind and I think I really allowed myself to enjoy this one to its fullest potential by doing that with UNSPOKEN.

Everything about the book really just came alive while reading! The secondary characters really helped shape the story and add to the atmosphere with each personality and side story really showing without stealing the spotlight. The setting in the book seemed to come alive as well. There was a definite ambiance and I loved how everything came together to feel incredibly cohesive. Several little questions pop up throughout the book to keep that underlying mystery and sense of wonder (and a little bit of creepiness) running throughout the whole book and even when things are resolved… They’re not. I had heard several reactions of surprise surrounding the ending and now I understand why! It definitely made me want to pick up the next book right away!

THE VIEW FROM GOODREADS

“The View from Goodreads” is a new featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Kami // Character Obsessions: Reporting, detective work, Jared.
See, normally when I include a boy in the obsession list, it’s because of a love interest… and that’s not to say FEELINGS don’t arise, but Kami and Jared have this connection… They’ve just always been inside each other’s heads so it’s almost not just an obsession with Jared but a need to have him there. When he’s not there, it’s like a piece of Kami is missing. Totally cool.
I also just loved her personality. She was so fun and spunky. I always appreciate when humor and sarcasm are woven in between dark and spooky.
Jared // Character Obsessions: Brooding, Kami, riding his motorcycle.
Woo, Jared! I loved his brooding. There were just a few things that totally floored me, not to mention the awesome chemistry he has with Kami. I definitely loved him! Always a sense of mystery with that boy…

Kept Me Hooked On: Gothic horror. A bit paranormal with a gothic feel…  I totally loved it. The FEEL of the book was one of the things that really hooked me throughout and made me fall in love with it!
Left Me Wanting More: Family history. Everything was really perfectly laid out, but I was just craving that family history the whole book! Although that was something that definitely had me turning the pages so I’m certainly not complaining! I can only assume we’ll be getting more of that in book two as well.

Addiction Rating
Read It!

This book was so enjoyable. I really loved the overall feel and that just totally sucked me in. The characters were so strong too and only enhanced the book even more!

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(Click the cover to see my review!)

This review was a part of the On the Same Page feature for July! Don’t miss the other two posts featuring UNSPOKEN from Alyssa and Amy!