Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Published: Harper Teen (Jan 4, 2011)
Source: Bought


Summary from Goodreads: 

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Thoughts: I thought Unearthly was an outstanding book and one that I really enjoyed reading. The angel lore was interesting and different from the other angels books I have read. Granted, that would only include The Mortal Instruments series--so for all I know it's the same as a million other books. :)

I did love the fact that there was no big reveal about the fact that Clara is an angel--she knows, she lets the reader know... there's no "OMG I'M AN ANGEL, now I have to cry and be angsty for several chapters" moment. It was quite refreshing. It let the book glide into the real plot--should Clara follow her heart or her purpose?

Speaking of heart, Tucker is an absolute doll and one of my favorite male leads this year. I want to spend the entire summer fishing, swimming and living on a boat. Love him.

Unearthly was a great opening for what I believe will be an amazing trilogy--I'm really interested in seeing the development of the story line!

Anthology

Last September I attend an event at one of my local libraries to hear Phyllis Reynolds Naylor speak. The author of Shiloh, Naylor has also written one of my favorite book series to date. The Alice McKinley series. The event had advertised that books would be available for purchase, so I left my copies of the books at home and was hoping to fill the gaps of my collection.

As I surveyed the selection before me my heart began to sink. No Alice. I toyed with the idea of picking up  one of her new releases. The following caught my eye:

I loved the cover, the yellow flowers and rain boots. Lo and behold, after I opened it, I discovered that it was actually these books

packaged into a new cover. So I happily got my Alice book for one of my favorite authors to sign.

But having the anthology has always set a little funny with me. I love books and the thought I put into them makes my nerdiness meter go through the roof. While I'm sure to buy more anthologies, I think I will always prefer having a copy of the individual books. Sure the anthology was sold at a great price (3 books for the price of a book and a half) and the cover was much better then the series' cover. But there is just something about looking at a row of book in a series, you know? 

So which do you prefer? Does it matter to you? I know some book bloggers buy finished copies of books they already have and some who replace slightly damaged ones. What are your thoughts on the way books look?