“'I love you,' he murmurs.
'Can you feel that?
You.
Not some destiny I think I'm called to.
You.
I'm with you.
My strength. My soul. My heart.
Feel it.'”
Feel it.'”
--Cynthia Hand, Boundless
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Harper Teen, 448 pages
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013
Goodreads Description
The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.
Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.
As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.
Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.
As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.
My Thoughts
Shell shocked. Wow. I cannot believe this series is over. Not only am I crying right now but my entire head and chest hurt as well. Uggggh, these books are so incredibly good I am so sad to see the end of them. Finishing a series is so bittersweet because you NEED to know what happens but you are so sad to see some of your favorite characters go. *sigh* Where to begin? Happy Valentine's Day by they way my lovelies!! I had to rearrange some of my posts because I wanted to post a special one today :)
First and foremost, if you HAVE NOT READ UNEARTHLY AND HALLOWED BESIDES GOING TO GET THEM IMMEDIATELY YOU SHOULD STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT THOSE BOOKS SPOILED. THANK YOU.
Ok. So overall I loved this book. Clara is still amazing. She is at Stanford with Angela and Christian and trying to lead as normal a life as possible for as long as she can. She is struck with a vision of darkness that has been coming to her since summer but she has no idea what it means yet...go figure. The growth of Clara's character over these three books is phenomenal. She has developed into this deep and mature woman who really listens to her heart and does what she believes is right, even when other people might not agree with her. She has convictions. She has a point of view and a moral compass not to be messed with.
The dynamic between her and Christian in this book made my heart absolutely melt. They truly do make a phenomenal team. They are each other's best friend and would do absolutely anything for one another. The love between them, platonic or romantic I'm not telling, is beautiful. There were a few personal problems I had with some of their interactions but I cannot air them here in case you haven't read Boundless yet. I will say this though, I cannot understand how anybody reading these books could deny the obvious chemistry and perfection that these two characters have. I just...I can't. I love them. Sorry not sorry. Find me on Twitter if you wanna chat :)
Tucker is not as present in this book as in previous ones but his appearances hit you in the side of the head like a freight train. Clara is trying to move on knowing that Tucker deserves a normal life but every time she sees him she just ignites inside. Where this comes from...I don't really know. I tried you guys, I tried so hard, to feel the emotional connection to Tucker at these moments and I just couldn't do it. I'm sorry, I don't know why. I wish I could.
Love. That's what life is all about isn't it? These book are such a profound interpretation of so many kinds of love that I am just bursting with happiness when I read it. Family, romantic, friendship, parental, sibling, and complicated are just a few different types to be represented here. There is so much love between these characters that my heart felt about ready to explode half the time while reading it. Some of my favorite moments of the series though have to be between Maggie and Michael. Falling in love with an angel? I mean, c'mon, it doesn't get any more romantic than that. Their love for each other is so obvious that if it wasn't so darn cute it would be vomit-inducing. The fact that Clara's mother fought it for so long and ended up with him in the end anyways and so sublimely happy that it makes you realize that the idea behind their purpose can't be all smoke and mirrors. It is real. This leads into my one irritation about Clara from the previous two books. In Hallowed she really never gave Christian a chance. She sees what her parents have and how her mother initially fought it but I don't think she ever realizes that maybe she could have that with Christian, too. If she stopped fighting it. I mean c'mon, Clara! Is this not directly a mirror image of your situation?! Your mom fell in love with Michael and he was her whole world in the most perfect way. Why can't you see beyond your own stubborness to just give it a shot? Annoying.
Overall the entire book was phenomenal. The plot takes us places I never thought we would go (pun intended for those of you who have read it). While re-reading Unearthly and Hallowed I definitely did see some of the plot twists coming that I never would have had I not re-read them. Point for me. But there were a lot of things I never saw coming. With that said the only gripe I have is with the absolute very ending of the book. I had a gut feeling I knew what would happen but it just didn't end as completely as I would have liked. Who she ends up with in the end I agree with based on Clara's character and I completely agree with what Nereyda said, whether or not I agree with her decision, she did what whe thought was right for her. If I am being honest though, one part of the ending is still really bothering me. Those who have read it probably know exactly what I'm talking about...*cough Book Rock Betty cough*. I just...that one part didn't feel right for me...but it is what it is and I can imagine what happens after the epilogue however I want :)
Like I said, the entire series was just amazing. Besides my one irritation the final book was great. The loyalty these characters have to one another is brilliant and beautiful and honest and real. Ok, I'm officially crying again about these books. Goodness, I think I need therapy. I just love the love these characters have for each other and I will definitely be thinking about these books for awhile :)
Like I said, the entire series was just amazing. Besides my one irritation the final book was great. The loyalty these characters have to one another is brilliant and beautiful and honest and real. Ok, I'm officially crying again about these books. Goodness, I think I need therapy. I just love the love these characters have for each other and I will definitely be thinking about these books for awhile :)
Favorite Quotes
“I should have fought for you, Clara, even if I would have had to fight you to fight for you. I should have never let you go.”
“We think of happiness as something we can take. But usually it comes from being content with what we have, and accepting ourselves.”
“What we have is divine. It's beautiful and good and right. I feel it..." He presses his his hand to his chest, over his heart. "I feel it all the time. You're in here, part of me. You're what I go to bed thinking about and what I wake up to in the morning.”
“I can't leave you," he says hoarsely.
"I can't leave you either," I say, shaking my head. "I can't."
"Then don't," he says, and grabs me behind the neck and kisses me again, and the world is tilting, and everything goes black.”
"I can't leave you either," I say, shaking my head. "I can't."
"Then don't," he says, and grabs me behind the neck and kisses me again, and the world is tilting, and everything goes black.”
Okay again. So Boundless was my favorite of the three because by this time I had given up on trying to figure which boy I wanted Clara to end up with and I decided that I just wanted to love them both. And it made the book so much less stressful, and I loved the heck out of it. I *do* think that there are some loose ends or rather some unanswered questions that I have with a couple of the characters, but OH WELL. The end is the end. Not having a favorite boy, though, meant that no matter which boy she chose was going to GUT ME and MAN OH MAN it did. Can you say KLEENEX PLEASE. It wasn't pretty. It was the ugly cry. The actual ugly cry. But I would've had the ugly cry if she'd have chosen the other guy too.
ReplyDeleteSamjeeza, my favorite favorite. I KNEW IT. I don't want to spoil things for people that may read this but I LOVED the way things (mostly) were done with him. WHAT AN AMAZING CHARACTER. Good golly.
Also, I never liked Angela that much. I just couldn't FEEL for her, but especially in Boundless. But the feelings of love and family and all of that, YES. This is one heck of a series and even though I have some things I wish were different and a few unresolved issues with the end, I enjoyed it. Another also: I RARELY read the end of series, and since I never read series back-to-back, I think that says something big about this one.
This: "While re-reading Unearthly and Hallowed I definitely did see some of the plot twists coming that I never would have had I not re-read them." --> You know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Re-reading, so this is kind of awesome to know. I just bought the books a couple of weeks ago (after I read them all from the library, haha) so I definitely want to re-read them one day. But it'll be a while! I need a break. They were a bit exhausting. I can't imagine having read them with a year between each of them, though.