Title: Unbreakable
Author: Kami Garcia (Twitter)
Publisher: Little, Brown BYR
Publish Date: October 1, 2013
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher

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.

Kennedy's life has gone from bad to worse as of late. Once a normal girl, everything changed the day she found her mother dead. Now, Kennedy's life is thrust into a world of supernatural creatures - spirits, demons and deadly forces that want nothing more than to kill her. From everyday schoolgirl to a member of a demon-fighting Legion, Kennedy must take up her mother's cause and continue her mission...and everything along the way is new, dangerous and deadly to her.

Before I review this book, I must say that I wasn't the world's biggest fan of Beautiful Creatures. It just felt like something was missing to me, so I really did have pause when this one showed up on my reading radar. That said, I do believe that Kami Garcia has a great mind and a fantastic author's voice, plus I was very intrigued to read a paranormal story for a change. Unbreakable seemed like the perfect story for me because it's devoid of the typical werewolves and vampires. Rather, we're offered a menacing demon, a mystery in which to become invested and a race for survival.

For all my hesitation going into reading Unbreakable, I have to say that I was pretty darn pleased with the writing of this novel. It has a strong, fast and extremely solid pace, and it really felt as though the plot was steady throughout. Furthermore, I thought that Kennedy was a great protagonist in whom to become invested. Though devastated, she had a strength and resilience about her that was both endearing and believable. Above all else though, she was a strong female character, and that's such a necessary element for me in paranormal tales these days. In addition to Kennedy, we get an ensemble cast including Priest, Jared, Lukas and Alara who match her evenly and never really take a back seat. I really enjoy it when secondary characters bring their own arcs to play, as well, and the supporting characters of Unbreakable definitely did. I did have a bit of an issue with the ease of the mystery though. As the teens search to find the missing pieces to this weapon that can destroy the demon once and for all, they find them with relative ease, and they're all extremely centrally located. If it was such a formidable weapon, I would really have loved to see them struggle a bit more to find the pieces. I would assume that this weapon would be scattered, rather than held in one veritable stronghold. There is also, unfortunately a love triangle in this novel, and while I liked that Kennedy had to choose between two equally great guys, it did get a bit cloying and overwhelming as the story went on. Without that, I think I could have dealt with a single relationship instead.

Overall, I think that Unbreakable was a pretty strong and intriguing start to a new series. Despite the few issues I had with it, I'll definitely continue on. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to fans of YA and paranormal stories.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: Enthralled
Author: 14 Authors
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: September 20, 2011
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 443
Source: Publisher

A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today's hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they're writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in "Enthralled" will leave you moved.

This is a new one for me, and it's not something I can follow my normal reviewing process on, as Enthralled is an anthology of 14 unique stories from a wide range of YA talent today. The authors include Rachel Vincent, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jeri Smith-Ready, Mary E. Pearson, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jessica Verday, Claudia Gray, Jackson Pearce, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Kimberly Derting and Ally Condie. Needless to say, with talent like that, this anthology is a powerhouse of great writing, fresh ideas, dynamic characters and short stories that pack a powerful punch.

I've never reviewed an anthology before, so you'll have to bear with me as I navigate the full range of short stories that Enthralled carried. There were definitive standouts in the anthology, and I'll be honest and say there were a few stories that fell a bit flat for me. I'll also say that, at times, I think writing a short story might just be more difficult than writing a full-length novel. An author needs to encapsulate an entire novel in a just a fraction of that space without losing depth, intrigue and that emotional connection. It's because of this that I can honestly state that Sarah Rees Brennan's story, "Let's Get This Undead Show on the Road" really stood out. It had absolutely fantastic characters, hilarity and a fun/ironic setup that managed to execute a seamless story in a small amount of pages. Speaking of the characters, by the way, I want Faye's pumps that had stakes for heels, please. 

Unfortunately, with every gem, you'll have a few stories that fall short and leave something to be desired. In Enthralled, both "I.V. League" by Margaret Stohl and "Red Run" by Kami Garcia, unfortunately, fit that bill for me. Both stories lacked memorable characters, and the plot holes were severe, often leading me to become lost in the few pages I had to read. In the same vein, I struggled with Ally Condie's "Leaving." It felt a bit weak when I compared it to others and, to be honest, it felt like a tiny version of Matched. Thankfully, Jackson Pearce kicked Enthralled back up a notch with her story, "Things About Love." In a short story, a theme resonated above all else, and it left me thinking - a feat some of the other stories failed to accomplish.

Overall, Enthralled was a fun-filled anthology. While some stories far exceeded the limits of other stories, it was a good, cohesive read. If nothing else, I was given a chance to test the waters with some authors I've yet to try, and will absolutely read more of in the future. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all YA fans, especially those who enjoy paranormal stories and are fans of the authors listed above.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.