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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This young adult adventure novel was tons of fun and packed with action! Set on another planet, this story centers on two teens—one a promising student/self-appointed archaeologist and one a scavenger sent to the planet to steal the treasures of past civilizations (in other words, alien tech). When both of their original plans fall through and they end up on the same side of a sticky situation, they team up to go after a special temple that is lesser known but—according to the amateur archaeologist—more important in value. Many complications ensue, including lots of alien booby traps and “testing” of the worthy to receive their inheritance. VERDICT: This book is a fun ride, but I wasn’t quite as impressed with this series as I was with the authors’ BROKEN STARS trilogy, which I absolutely LOVED. There were some pacing issues and the romance was a little too instantaneous, but I still enjoyed the book a lot. I give it four out of five stars for a clever plot, solid characters, and that special Indiana Jones spark. The narration by Steve West and Alex McKenna is excellent.
This was one pulse-pounding read! The adrenaline stayed up from start to finish. I enjoy well-crafted sci-fi, and this had twists and turns all the way through.
This was way more YA than I was expecting.
The story was fine, if nothing to write home about, but was weighed down by two boring, cliche', and downright cringey protagonists.
One is a stodgy, straight-laced student from Oxford who curses in Latin and plays water polo. Dear God. Cliche' much?
The other is a scrappy, tough as nails street kid who constantly underestimates herself because she's actually both tougher and smarter than her male counterpart. (Cue eyeroll).
This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the atrocious dialogue and narration. I know they're supposed to be teenagers, in the throes of their newly-amped up hormones, but the two are constantly in a state of "Oh God, do they like me?" This would be fine if it was peppered sparingly throughout the book, but the authors have decided to have this take up almost as much space as the actual plot. The result is that the plot crawls along at a snail's pace, while we're being treated to such brilliant lines as "I like this girl!" and "He's so hot!" all while the two characters are supposedly in a life or death situation.
Maybe YA just isn't for me.
The story was fine, if nothing to write home about, but was weighed down by two boring, cliche', and downright cringey protagonists.
One is a stodgy, straight-laced student from Oxford who curses in Latin and plays water polo. Dear God. Cliche' much?
The other is a scrappy, tough as nails street kid who constantly underestimates herself because she's actually both tougher and smarter than her male counterpart. (Cue eyeroll).
This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the atrocious dialogue and narration. I know they're supposed to be teenagers, in the throes of their newly-amped up hormones, but the two are constantly in a state of "Oh God, do they like me?" This would be fine if it was peppered sparingly throughout the book, but the authors have decided to have this take up almost as much space as the actual plot. The result is that the plot crawls along at a snail's pace, while we're being treated to such brilliant lines as "I like this girl!" and "He's so hot!" all while the two characters are supposedly in a life or death situation.
Maybe YA just isn't for me.
The writing is quite good, the world building exceptional, and the characters are nice and well rounded. Teenage Me would have loved the book.
Adult me, however, is kinda... eh, it was alright. There's way more YA dramatics (albeit no love triangle) than I have patience for and a whole lot riding on two teenagers who bit off waaaaay more then they intended, but I think fans of The Hunger Games would like this one. Not as much horrible death, but loads of action and a puzzles that have to be solved in order to avoid a horrible death. Kind of like a less light-hearted Goonies meets Teenage Indiana Jones, but on a desolate planet on the other side of the galaxy.
Adult me, however, is kinda... eh, it was alright. There's way more YA dramatics (albeit no love triangle) than I have patience for and a whole lot riding on two teenagers who bit off waaaaay more then they intended, but I think fans of The Hunger Games would like this one. Not as much horrible death, but loads of action and a puzzles that have to be solved in order to avoid a horrible death. Kind of like a less light-hearted Goonies meets Teenage Indiana Jones, but on a desolate planet on the other side of the galaxy.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun YA SciFi set on another planet which might have as many problems as earth, but mostly due to all the terrible humans clomping all over it looking for resources to pillage. Fun tension between an idealistic scientist and a motivated scabber just looking to make a better life for her sister. It has drama, romance, and nerdy puzzles.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Wasn't feeling the vibe also read a review that said the two characters fall in love instantly and I don't love that trope
Onward if you dare
MEAN AND AMAZING BUT MEAN BECAUSE WHY DONT I HAVE THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY *cries*
Oh pretty, shiny, twisty, ouchy, awesome book.
Unearthed is amazing as I new it was going to be, seriously?! Alien planet, a thief and an academic, booby trapped temple, maths and ancient language translations, conspiracies ready to spike you fastr then the traps, a race of "people" that know impossibly to much about earth, and that END
Earth we didn't get to see but we heard about, the earth is dying, the politicians are discussing instead of helping, it's over populated, there's not enough fresh water or supplies, basically something needs to happen and happen fast so off to a new planet to find tech that may save humanity it is.
Amelia - Mia - Badass- Blue and pink haired sneak - I love her
Jules - Genius - soft - intelligent - deeply thoughtful - I love him
Told in alternating points of view Jules and Mia save each other from being shot in the face and join forces, both using the other to get to their end goals. Mia's quick and street smart, having grown up barely scrappy by will do that. Jules is smart and sheltered but he has integrity even if it is sometimes misplaced.
It's a survival story, it's a mystery, it's a journey through a new planet with two suns and structures unlike our own that sucked me right in and gripped me till the end.
The ending is mean, I was so focused on the story I felt like I was booted from it WHERE'S THE NEXT BOOK I SEEM TO BE MISSING A FEW PAGES AHEM.
theories for future Casey
- Jules and Mia get caught again because when do they not
- the aliens are actually the people they sent up in the space ship that all died? hence the name undying
- They meet an alien that doesn't want to take over the earth and help them
- Seriously I DONT EVEN KNOW?! Anything can happen
- Nothing better happen to Mia's sister
- OH they brake Jule's dad from prison so he can be super smart and work out all the things
- HOW DID EARTH GET TAKEN FROM THEM?
- AND WHEN?
- The radiation flares that makes Gaia uninhabitable? Does it just cause tall people coz they seemed pretty human to me.
- Earths dying? Will the undying help with tech? make it livable while sneaking into human lifestyles? Will they kill all the people? be upset at the state Earth is in?
- Just all the questions
Thank you so much Allen & Unwin for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
MEAN AND AMAZING BUT MEAN BECAUSE WHY DONT I HAVE THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY *cries*
Oh pretty, shiny, twisty, ouchy, awesome book.
Unearthed is amazing as I new it was going to be, seriously?! Alien planet, a thief and an academic, booby trapped temple, maths and ancient language translations, conspiracies ready to spike you fastr then the traps, a race of "people" that know impossibly to much about earth, and that END
Spoiler
take back earth?! YOU'RE GOING TO LEAVE ME LIKE THAT HUH OH I SEE HOW IT IS KAUFMAN AND SPOONER I SEEEarth we didn't get to see but we heard about, the earth is dying, the politicians are discussing instead of helping, it's over populated, there's not enough fresh water or supplies, basically something needs to happen and happen fast so off to a new planet to find tech that may save humanity it is.
Amelia - Mia - Badass- Blue and pink haired sneak - I love her
Jules - Genius - soft - intelligent - deeply thoughtful - I love him
Told in alternating points of view Jules and Mia save each other from being shot in the face and join forces, both using the other to get to their end goals. Mia's quick and street smart, having grown up barely scrappy by will do that. Jules is smart and sheltered but he has integrity even if it is sometimes misplaced.
Spoiler
the best kiss scene I've read in a whileIt's a survival story, it's a mystery, it's a journey through a new planet with two suns and structures unlike our own that sucked me right in and gripped me till the end.
The ending is mean, I was so focused on the story I felt like I was booted from it WHERE'S THE NEXT BOOK I SEEM TO BE MISSING A FEW PAGES AHEM.
theories for future Casey
Spoiler
- Jules and Mia get caught again because when do they not
- the aliens are actually the people they sent up in the space ship that all died? hence the name undying
- They meet an alien that doesn't want to take over the earth and help them
- Seriously I DONT EVEN KNOW?! Anything can happen
- Nothing better happen to Mia's sister
- OH they brake Jule's dad from prison so he can be super smart and work out all the things
- HOW DID EARTH GET TAKEN FROM THEM?
- AND WHEN?
- The radiation flares that makes Gaia uninhabitable? Does it just cause tall people coz they seemed pretty human to me.
- Earths dying? Will the undying help with tech? make it livable while sneaking into human lifestyles? Will they kill all the people? be upset at the state Earth is in?
- Just all the questions
Thank you so much Allen & Unwin for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This was a freaking amazing book. Love love love. I feel like Mia and Jules were such beautifully constructed characters, and the plot was bloody fantastic. I’m still in awe of the ending. I love these two authors so much, and was not disappointed when reading this after finishing the star bound series (loved it). I cannot wait for the sequel !!
Reread:
This book was as a big of a hecking oof as I remember it. I was a bit worried rereading this that it wouldn’t be as good as I remember it, but damn was it still as good. I’ve tried to reread this book so many damn times, but for some reason I could never fully get through it, but ya girl stuck through it and I’m so glad I did. I just needed that refresher before I take on Undying and it was beautiful. The
Majority of this reread was done by Audible, as I packed to leave college for home, and while the voices were okay they weren’t my favourite. I felt as though the people talking, as adults, were too old to be Mia and Jules, but i still enjoyed the retelling. Simply put, this is a good book. It’s got the romance, the action-packed sequences, the drama, the aliens and adventure, the dynamic duo. Just purely good young adult sci-fi. On top of that, the descriptions of gaia’s surface was so beautifully written, of the sunsets and of how haunting the undying were. And that ending, Phewwwewweww, I vaguely remember what happened but damn was it a punch to the gut. I have undying in my bag right now and you best believe I’ll be starting it straight away.
Reread:
This book was as a big of a hecking oof as I remember it. I was a bit worried rereading this that it wouldn’t be as good as I remember it, but damn was it still as good. I’ve tried to reread this book so many damn times, but for some reason I could never fully get through it, but ya girl stuck through it and I’m so glad I did. I just needed that refresher before I take on Undying and it was beautiful. The
Majority of this reread was done by Audible, as I packed to leave college for home, and while the voices were okay they weren’t my favourite. I felt as though the people talking, as adults, were too old to be Mia and Jules, but i still enjoyed the retelling. Simply put, this is a good book. It’s got the romance, the action-packed sequences, the drama, the aliens and adventure, the dynamic duo. Just purely good young adult sci-fi. On top of that, the descriptions of gaia’s surface was so beautifully written, of the sunsets and of how haunting the undying were. And that ending, Phewwwewweww, I vaguely remember what happened but damn was it a punch to the gut. I have undying in my bag right now and you best believe I’ll be starting it straight away.