Review: Unspoken - Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, published by Simon and Schuster on 13th September 2012

Goodreads synopsis:
Kami Glass is in love with someone she's never met - a boy the rest of the world is convinced is imaginary. This has made her an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale, but she doesn't complain. She runs the school newspaper and keeps to herself for the most part - until disturbing events begin to happen.

There has been screaming in the woods and the dark, abandoned manor on the hill overlooking the town has lit up for the first time in 10 years. The Lynburn family, who ruled the town a generation ago and who all left without warning, have returned. As Kami starts to investigate for the paper, she finds out that the town she has loved all her life is hiding a multitude of secrets- and a murderer- and the key to it all just might be the boy in her head. The boy who everyone thought was imaginary may be real...and he may be dangerous.

Review:
I was really looking forward to this new release by author Sarah Rees Brennan. I loved the sound of the plot and the cover art is so gorgeous that it drew me in before I’d even turned the first page. I was therefore extremely disappointed when this book didn’t turn out to be half as good as I was expecting.  This has actually proven quite a difficult review to write because I've found it hard to put my finger on exactly what let me down about the story. 

As I've mentioned before, one of the main things that makes a book into a winner for me, is a central character who I can engage with and care about. I felt neither of those things for Kami Glass, the main protagonist of ‘Unspoken’. I’m not sure if it’s the way she talks (she sounds much older than a typical teenager) or the way she acts but I couldn’t identify with her at all.  She's quirky and different and I initially liked the bond she had with the voice in her head but as the story went on and she met him in real life it all seemed to fall a bit flat.  

On the plus side there is some eye candy to enjoy in the shape of bad boy Jared. He’s both hot and gorgeous and I enjoyed seeing his character develop throughout the story.  He has many secrets which he's hiding but that just meant that it was all the more intriguing waiting to find out what they were.  I would have liked to have seen more of a sense of romance between him and Kami but they have a rather strange first meeting which puts them on the defensive against each other from the start. 

Overall, I thought the story started well and I enjoyed the opening but it seemed to drift a bit as the plot got more convoluted.  All the ingrediants I look for in a good story were present with plenty of magic, mystery and intrigue, but not enough to really keep my attention. 

The sequel 'Untold' is due out in 2013. 

Review: The Demon's Covenant - Sarah Rees Brennan

The Demon's Covenant (The Demon's Lexicon Trilogy #2) by Sarah Rees Brennan, published by Simon & Schuster

Goodreads Synopsis:
Mae Crawford's always thought of herself as in control, but in the last few weeks her life has changed. Her younger brother, Jamie, suddenly has magical powers, and she's even more unsettled when she realizes that Gerald, the new leader of the Obsidian Circle, is trying to persuade Jamie to join the magicians. Even worse? Jamie hasn't told Mae a thing about any of it. Mae turns to brothers Nick and Alan to help her rescue Jamie, but they are in danger from Gerald themselves because he wants to steal Nick's powers. Will Mae be able to find a way to save everyone she cares about from the power-hungry magician's carefully laid trap?

Review
This is book 2 in Sarah Rees Brennan's trilogy which began with 'The Demon's Lexicon' and will conclude in 2011 with 'The Demon's Surrender'.  The striking front cover was the first thing to attract me initially.  I love the picture of the girl's face with her red hair, half in shadow, with something lurking in the shadows behind her.  It's an attractive cover which really catches your eye.

One of the things I also loved about this book is the fact that it's set in my home city.  As I was reading, I kept coming across references to places, landmarks and sculptures that I walk past every day on my way to work and which certainly helped me to visualise the story even more clearly.  Sarah Rees Brennan must surely have spent some time in my home town!  I think this is actually the first book I've read that's set here which is pretty thrilling!  Also, the characters go to Tintagel which is one of my favourite places.  I almost felt like I was there right along with them.

In the first book Mae discovers that her brother Jamie is a magician.  He's in danger from the Obsidian Circle and their new leader Gerald, who want him to join them.  Mae's determined to do everything in her power to stop them, so she calls upon Nick and Alan for help, although they too are dealing with their own set of problems.  Unfortunately, Mae soon becomes embroiled in the affairs of the two brothers with potentially dangerous consequences. 

One of the main things I did like, was the element of family which lies at the heart of the book.  Nick and Alan, along with Mae and Jamie, are siblings who would do anything to protect each other, even when they are pushed to their limits.  The bonds they share are stronger than any of the parental relationships featured or mentioned.  Interspersed throughout are excerpts from Alan's father's diary, reflecting on his son's childhood and relationship with Nick.  I particularly enjoyed these passages and I think they shed quite a bit of light on the characters of Alan and Nick and why they are so close.

'The Demon's Covenant' is fast-paced, dark and gripping.  The story was thrilling and exciting and I loved the whole idea of demons and magicians living among humans.  The only problem I had was that because I haven't actually read the first book, it took me a little while to pick up the whole thread of the story and what had happened previously to all the characters.  I don't really think it can be read as a stand-alone book because there are so many references to things that happened earlier in the series.  For that reason only, I found the start a little slow going but the pace of the story soon picked up and the climax comes at you head-on.