Review & Giveaway: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 1, 2013

Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code in this action-packed paranormal thriller, the first book in a new series from New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia.

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

My Thoughts:

Kennedy has been afraid of the dark since she was a little girl, but that fear is nothing compared to coming home one night and finding her mother's lifeless body on the bed.

Weeks later, on her last night at home before leaving for boarding school, Kennedy woke up in a strangled scream as two guys storm in her bedroom destroying a vindictive spirit that was trying to kill her. The same spirit that may have killed her mother. Kennedy knew that her life would never be the same without her mom, but never in her wildest dreams could anything prepare her for what comes next. 

The Legion is a secret society forged hundreds of years ago. In ever generation there are five members. They were chosen by a previous family member to be taught and trained and vow to protect the world from evil spirits and the demons that control them. Kennedy must follow in her mothers footsteps as she joins Lukas, Jared, Priest and Alara as they look for clues that will lead them to a weapon that will banish the demon, Andras, whom their ancestors had raised long ago.

It's funny, a few years ago you couldn't pay me to get near a book about demons much less actually read one. These days paranormal is one of my favorite genres. I may have come along way since then, but once in awhile a book will come along and still manage to scare the hell out of me. Unbreakable is one of those books.

Kami Garcia is a strong writer. She definitely has some skills when it comes to writing vividly frightening and terrifying scenes. It wasn't so much as gore then it was unnervingly eerie and freaky. I've never had much of a comfort zone for true horror, so it may not be as bad for those of you who don't scare easily, but for me, this was pretty much freezer-worthy stuff. I'm not looking forward to the nightmares that will surely follow, but dame, that sure was some impressive chills. 

The story-line is fast and consuming. I liked the idea behind the Legion and the history of how it started. It's not exactly a new concept, but I liked Garcia's take on demon lore and the way she entwined the spirits with ever new clue and piece found. I also liked the team of characters she put together. Each of them have a special specific skill of expertise to assist them in fights and in hunting, but what I liked the most about them was even though they were all trained to fight off the supernatural (besides Kennedy) they're not overly perfect and still make enough mistakes a long the way. Their flaws make them more real and easy to connect with.

My only real issue with this book was the relationship part of the story. There is a love triangle, but that's not what bothers me. It's the way it instantly shaped. Jared and Lukas are twin brothers who both like Kennedy and she in turn likes them both as well, but here's the thing, it felt liked it moved to fast, giving it that flat and uneven flavor. While I thought some of the moments between our main protagonist and one of the brothers was indeed sweet, it just didn't feel like enough happened between them nor did they know each other well enough for it to be that meaningful and  intense. Add in some jealous-angst,  family drama and a blame-game and unfortunately it ends up being more cringe-worthy instead of swoon-worthy stuff.

With that said, I still really liked all the characters. Kennedy, Jared, Lukas, Priest and Alara are great individually but they are even stronger when together. They have a natural chemistry when they work as a team and the banter and lighter moments reminds us that they are still just teenagers and not just a group of kids who are destined to hunt and kill off paranormal encounters and stop an evil demon who is trying to take over the world.

Everything that Kennedy goes through after her mother's death is all new and shocking and she played that part well. Throughout the entire book she doubts herself and  has a hard time believing that she's even apart of a group of supernatural demon hunters. Unusually I would find that an annoying quality in a character, but if I was Kennedy, I'd probably feel the same way. 

Lukas was very easy to like the minute we meet him. He's an upbeat kind of guy, sweet, positive and reassuring. Sadly I did have some issues with him later on in the story though.

Jared is the opposite of his twin brother, he's more brooding and serious. The guilt of his past still haunts him and he tends to push people away.

Priest was one of my favorites. He has an adorable enthusiasm for his inventions and wants to prove his worth in the group, but I already think of him as one of the biggest assets.

Alara is beautiful and a badass. She has some attitude but thankfully it didn't take her long to warm up to Kennedy, which is a good thing since there's already enough aggression in this book.

All in all, Unbreakable is a promising start in a new thrilling and exciting series. I may not have loved it the way I wanted to, but it definitely had it's moments. That ending was also very different then what I'm use to in other books. I don't want to elaborate to much since it would be a spoiler, but I was genuinely surprised with the way the outcome unfolded. Their ultimate decision added a deeper conflict as they must eventually face the consequences that will inevitably follow. And I'm hooked enough to want to know what happens next!

3.5 Snowflakes 

Thanks to the wonderful people at Little Brown we have one copy of Unbreakable to giveaway to 1 lucky reader!  Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter! 
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