Untold is the second book in The Lynburn Legacy series and so this review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series Unspoken.
Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release: 29th August 2013
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, YA
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads Summary:
"Free from bonds, but not each other
It’s time to choose sides… On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.
But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?"
Review
Unspoken was a book that I read when I was unwell last year and so what this series is actually about was a little foggy in my mind on picking up Untold. I did however remember that painful ending (how could I forget!?) and was eager to get stuck into Untold to see what would happen next. The book begins with an extract from Kami’s newspaper ‘The Nosy Parker’ and provided a clever and subtle re-cap without interfering with this story which I greatly appreciated. We are then thrown into a deliciously creepy first chapter full of gothic horror and witty banter between the characters which reminded me of what I loved about Unspoken.
The Lynburn Legacy books have some of the best dialogue and character interaction that I’ve ever come across. Each character is bright and brilliant, even the secondary characters feel well developed and perform their lines to perfection. I love the relationships between Kami and her friends and their lively and intelligent exchanges with one another. I was completely charmed by every single one of them and loved how we got to see from everyone’s point of view at some point during the book.
Although I loved all of the characters Kami and Rusty are my absolute favourites. Kami is such a strong, resourceful, funny and intelligent heroine. She’s just your normal everyday girl yet she’s just as capable as any other paranormal heroine proving that you don’t have to have superpowers to be brave and stand up for what’s right. Rusty is a laugh a minute and lightens the dark and foreboding mood when needed with his wit and hilarious one liners.
Kami and Jared are without doubt one of my favourite YA book couples. Sarah Rees Brennan has the ability to turn me into a puddle of goo – I just can’t handle the adorbs! Despite Jared being a moody moo pretty much all of the time I can always understand him and his actions. Kami and Jared have a really special and unique relationship and they understand one another like nobody else. They know each other so completely. I swoon when they’re together and my heart breaks when they’re apart.
This series is very much character driven. The premise isn’t the strongest or the most unique nor does it have the fastest moving plot but it’s intriguing enough to hold my interest and the characters keep me turning the pages and are what make me want to continue on with the series. Once again Sarah Rees Brennan deals us another torturous ending (I’m pretty certain that she’s evil at this point) that’ll have readers desperate for the third book. Overall Untold was a solid and satisfying sequel that has once again left me wanting more.
