Paranormal Book Club: Unearthly

Welcome to another Paranormal Book Club post! The Paranormal Book Club is a casual book club I do with my friends Rachel, Kristin & DJ, and it came into being because we decided we wanted to revisit (or experience for the first time) a few older YA paranormal/fantasy books together. Rachel, DJ & I picked up Unearthly as our most recent reread. It's been a hot minute (read: almost a decade) since the first and only time I read this series, so I was interested to see how I would like it now.

Summary: After learning about her part angel heritage, Clara Gardner begins to receive visions of her purpose, the thing she was put on earth to do. The clues in her visions lead to a move with her mother and brother to a new town and a new school where she begins to see the elements of her dream in real life. But as Clara hurries to figure out her vision and learns more about her angel heritage, she encounters more than she bargained for and finds herself questioning all she knows about her life and her destiny.

What were your initial thoughts about the book? Were you excited to read it? 

I was looking forward to revisiting Unearthly when we chose it as one of our book club reads for the year, as I hadn't read the series again after the first time I devoured the trilogy back to back. Luckily, the book held up pretty well! It was a bit slower paced than I remembered, but the novel in its entirety - the characters, the setting, the story, the lore - all come together beautifully.

What was your favorite quote or passage, and why did it resonate with you? 

“So often we only do what we think is expected of us, when we are capable of so much more.” When I read this line in the book, I felt a very strong personal resonance to it. It's such a simple statement, but it rings with such honest truth. We all are capable of so much more than we can imagine; it's just that we sometimes lose sight of that in the grand scheme of our lives and busyness.

What character did you relate to the most, and what was it about them that you connected with?

Clara, primarily because I find her struggle to figure out, understand and fulfill her purpose so relatable. She really experiences the whole spectrum of emotions - joy, fear, doubt, anger, denial, awe - and I feel like I, along with many others, have the same experience at many points in our lives.

Was there anything you wanted to see more of in the book, like more page time for a secondary character or a plot point you wish was explored more?

Since I know that this one is a series and that we do get more of the things I want (like Christian and the angel lore and Tucker), I'm going to say no, it's great as it is.

What are your final thoughts? Would you read this book again and/or continue with the series? Would you read another book written by the same author?

I'm so glad that we decided to revisit this book because it was a wonderful story to sink back into. I would definitely continue with the series (especially since I actually don't remember the details of the other two books, save for the romance and how that concludes), and the only reason I didn't was because I have a massive TBR threatening to topple over. I've actually read quite a few books by this author, and would certainly read more!

If you're interested in finding out what the others thought, check out their posts below:

Life in Fiction

Hello, Chelly