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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars, though I debated if I should rate this up or down. This book wasn't what I was looking for in this book, but this will be what a lot of people like.
I was looking for a book about the traps/puzzles/exploration, which are just the kind of books I like. Instead, this book was typical YA, about the FEELINGS and the budding romance and the UGH!!
I LIKED what parts were actually about the exploration, which they didn't even get to the temple until 25% in. It got interesting for a while 50% in before they got all mushy and sentimental again.
It wasn't a bad book and I did like it, I just didn't love it and I didn't really like most of it. I really liked probably about 30% and the rest was just not what I was hoping the book would be about.
So, long rant short ~ if you want this for the adventure, look elsewhere. If you want a budding romance mixed with hurt feelings and mushy feelings, then have at it. It was good, not great. Oh, and cliffhanger ending, just for an FYI. Dunno if I'd read the next one, probably not.
I was looking for a book about the traps/puzzles/exploration, which are just the kind of books I like. Instead, this book was typical YA, about the FEELINGS and the budding romance and the UGH!!
I LIKED what parts were actually about the exploration, which they didn't even get to the temple until 25% in. It got interesting for a while 50% in before they got all mushy and sentimental again.
It wasn't a bad book and I did like it, I just didn't love it and I didn't really like most of it. I really liked probably about 30% and the rest was just not what I was hoping the book would be about.
So, long rant short ~ if you want this for the adventure, look elsewhere. If you want a budding romance mixed with hurt feelings and mushy feelings, then have at it. It was good, not great. Oh, and cliffhanger ending, just for an FYI. Dunno if I'd read the next one, probably not.
I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner was one of my most anticipated reads for 2018. I was really looking forward to it, I couldn’t wait to get started. But there are a lot of problems with this book that I couldn’t get over. And when I say problems, please remember it’s my opinion. Some readers may enjoy what I found wrong with the book.
Unearthed follows two main characters and alternates POV between them as the story unfolds. One character is a scavenger, uneducated yet street smart and quick thinking, and on Gaia to make fast cash to save an illegal sister. The other is a scholar, an academic who breaks the law to uncover the truth and dangers awaiting the society on the newly discovered planet Gaia. In theory this all sounds intriguing, yet it didn’t play out that way. The two characters were so stereotyped that it’s laughable. I don’t even have to say names or differentiate between them because all you need to know is in their stereotypes. It’s kind of sad.
Jules, the scholar, and Mia, the scavenger, meet up by chance on Gaia’s surface and their relationship is built on a mutual need for survival and lies. Yet somehow these two fall in love? Sorry, I’m not buying it. Jules flat out lies to Mia about his identity and why he wants to travel to a smaller temple. Mia lies about….well just about everything. It’s her job. The romance felt forced and fell flat on the pages. I didn’t buy any romantic chemistry between them, but when they were antagonizing each other that was believable.
And then there’s the plot. For about the first three quarters of the book, the plot moved at a snail’s pace. There was a lot of repetition that wasn’t needed, and mostly it was Mia and Jules exploring this temple of the Undying on Gaia. Now I’ll admit I was really curious and intrigued by the Undying and how humans discovered and traveled to their dead planet. But all of that is skipped over in favor of solving some grand puzzle the Undying left for only those that were “worthy.” Again that was intriguing, yet like the romance it fell flat on the pages. I found myself skimming most of the book and just wanting to reach the end.
However the last quarter of the book picks up with a rather intriguing and horrifying revelation. I couldn’t read this last section fast enough and honestly it is the book’s saving grace. I don’t want to say too much about it because SPOILERS but I will say that if you have started the book and are feeling how I felt the majority of the book to stick with it because it pays off in the end.
Overall, Unearthed was just an okay read for me. I could have lived without reading it, but the ending redeemed the slow pace and has me itching to get my hands on the second book. I think one of the things that intrigued me most about the book is the dystopian element hinted on by Mia and Jules. It doesn’t play out in this book, but I’d like to learn more about Earth during their time and what humans have done to make society collapse. If you enjoy sci-fi and puzzles, I think you’ll enjoy this book. Just be sure to read to the end 😉
Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner was one of my most anticipated reads for 2018. I was really looking forward to it, I couldn’t wait to get started. But there are a lot of problems with this book that I couldn’t get over. And when I say problems, please remember it’s my opinion. Some readers may enjoy what I found wrong with the book.
Unearthed follows two main characters and alternates POV between them as the story unfolds. One character is a scavenger, uneducated yet street smart and quick thinking, and on Gaia to make fast cash to save an illegal sister. The other is a scholar, an academic who breaks the law to uncover the truth and dangers awaiting the society on the newly discovered planet Gaia. In theory this all sounds intriguing, yet it didn’t play out that way. The two characters were so stereotyped that it’s laughable. I don’t even have to say names or differentiate between them because all you need to know is in their stereotypes. It’s kind of sad.
Jules, the scholar, and Mia, the scavenger, meet up by chance on Gaia’s surface and their relationship is built on a mutual need for survival and lies. Yet somehow these two fall in love? Sorry, I’m not buying it. Jules flat out lies to Mia about his identity and why he wants to travel to a smaller temple. Mia lies about….well just about everything. It’s her job. The romance felt forced and fell flat on the pages. I didn’t buy any romantic chemistry between them, but when they were antagonizing each other that was believable.
And then there’s the plot. For about the first three quarters of the book, the plot moved at a snail’s pace. There was a lot of repetition that wasn’t needed, and mostly it was Mia and Jules exploring this temple of the Undying on Gaia. Now I’ll admit I was really curious and intrigued by the Undying and how humans discovered and traveled to their dead planet. But all of that is skipped over in favor of solving some grand puzzle the Undying left for only those that were “worthy.” Again that was intriguing, yet like the romance it fell flat on the pages. I found myself skimming most of the book and just wanting to reach the end.
However the last quarter of the book picks up with a rather intriguing and horrifying revelation. I couldn’t read this last section fast enough and honestly it is the book’s saving grace. I don’t want to say too much about it because SPOILERS but I will say that if you have started the book and are feeling how I felt the majority of the book to stick with it because it pays off in the end.
Overall, Unearthed was just an okay read for me. I could have lived without reading it, but the ending redeemed the slow pace and has me itching to get my hands on the second book. I think one of the things that intrigued me most about the book is the dystopian element hinted on by Mia and Jules. It doesn’t play out in this book, but I’d like to learn more about Earth during their time and what humans have done to make society collapse. If you enjoy sci-fi and puzzles, I think you’ll enjoy this book. Just be sure to read to the end 😉
I finished it in time for tonight's event! :D
I really liked this. The characters are fleshed out and well-developed, the writing is good and the plot is fascinating. I love the cross between archaeology and history and space and the cliffhanger was great. I cannot wait for whenever book 2 is released.
Super pumped!
I really liked this. The characters are fleshed out and well-developed, the writing is good and the plot is fascinating. I love the cross between archaeology and history and space and the cliffhanger was great. I cannot wait for whenever book 2 is released.
Super pumped!
Yup. Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in Space - The Teenage Years.
I need more.
I loved this. I read most of it in one sitting and when I got to the end, I thought I had missed something because the next page was where the acknowledgements started. And I was not ready for the end. I need book two now. 😭
I loved this. I read most of it in one sitting and when I got to the end, I thought I had missed something because the next page was where the acknowledgements started. And I was not ready for the end. I need book two now. 😭
4.5/5, A
Loved this so bloody much; these authors together to just write magical books. Epic concept and great execution
Loved this so bloody much; these authors together to just write magical books. Epic concept and great execution
When we allow ourselves to explore, we discover destinations that were never on our map.Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's Starbound trilogy is one of my favorite series, so I was ecstatic to find out they were writing another science fiction series. Unfortunately, however, Unearthed doesn't quite live up to the brilliance of their debut series.
Decades ago, Earth decoded a transmission from a long-lost alien civilization on the planet Gaia. They are thrilled, thinking that this save the Earth from being destroyed by global warming completely.
"Mia" Radcliffe and Jules Addison travel to Gaia for different reasons, but they form a hesitant alliance. Together, they must solve the aliens' riddles and traps, but what they find might change the course of humanity.
Mia lives in a dystopian Chicago. She travels to Gaia illegally, hoping to steal some of the aliens' technology and use it to free herself and her sister from indentured servitude. Mia is fierce and street-smart; the type of character you can't help but love.
Jules is a British scholar and the son of the man who deciphered the original transmission from the aliens. Jules travels to Gaia to avenge his father, who was renounced for his discovery. He is extremely intelligent and studious, but, unlike Mia, he is a bit oblivious to the harsh realities of the world.
A romance eventually develops between Jules and Mia, but it wasn't as well-developed as it could have been. The chemistry between the two wasn't as clear and evident as it could have been, but it was entertaining and interesting to read regardless. This was especially disappointing considering how well Spooner and Kaufman wrote romances in their Starbound trilogy.
Many elements of the story felt too predictable. While on Gaia, Jules and Mia travel through the aliens' temple to figure out what made them so desperate that they felt they needed to contact Earth. However, the clues and puzzles scattered throughout the story were rather simplistic and predictable. The ending of the story also felt extremely anticlimactic and predictable - despite the major plot twist.
Despite the intriguing concept, Unearthed left a bit to be desired. Nonetheless, I'm curious to see where Kaufman and Spooner decide to take the story with the sequel.
4.5 Stars
I FLEW THROUGH THIS BOOK.
Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner did me dirty with that cliffhanger.
I FLEW THROUGH THIS BOOK.
Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner did me dirty with that cliffhanger.
I called the big twist about a third of the way through the book but it still has me super excited for the sequel! Great characters, although the love story can get a little over dramatic. Definitely excited for where this series goes.