A review by zoesnicholson
Unearthed by Meagan Spooner, Amie Kaufman

3.0

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.