Radiant (Unearthly Novella)

I'm torn between giving 4 or 5 stars. I loved it so much. First Destroy Me and now Radiant! You people are trying to kill me!

This is mostly Angela’s story but we also have Clara’s POV. We get to see how they spent their summer in Italy before heading out to college. I liked Angela since Unearthly. There is just something in me that makes me love reading about goths and practically everyone who stands out.

Clara is still dealing with her mother’s death, her brother’s disappearance, and her breakup with my fictional boyfriend, Tucker while Angela sees her secret boyfriend, Phen (Penamue). IMO, they make an interesting couple. Since Clara is an empath she gets a glimpse into Phen’s soul and doesn’t like what she sees not because he ‘bad’ or ‘good’ but because he is an angel and apparently angels are incapable of loving people (cause they are God’s creation and they are meant to serve only him, something like that), but they do care, just not enough. So Clara thinks he should stay away from Angela because he will break her heart in the end. Phen is a Intangere (angel with a purpose, dunno exactly what it means) and he basically inspires people to write, compose, draw, etc. He is a nice guy/angel and he is described as looking like Orlando Blood *drools*. He has that Dimitri Belikov quality about him I find incredibly appealing and you can feel that he is helping Angela to grow up as a character. Since Clara doesn’t think hooking up with an angel is a good thing this sets a strain in their friendship so they spend the rest of the summer practically not talking to each other. I am looking forward seeing how will they work things out in Stanford, or will it set them farther apart.

This novella also features a prologue and the first chapter of Boundless which will probably blow my mind away. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Wendy bringing Clara’s stuff back from Tucker and inside the box there was a copy of Vampire Academy. VA is basically the reason I got into books. Before it, reading was just an obligation. I never knew there is a thing called Young Adult fiction. Well, I did read HP and Twilight but I thought that was just a one/two time thing.

I did read this one before I picked up Boundless, but I decided to review it after I read it, so I could comment on their tie-in. Well, it’s not essential to read this first, but I do still think it would be good to do it anyway. Radiant follows Clara and Angela during their Summer in Italy. Secrets come out, intentionally and by accident. I had already figured out Angela’s secret, involving her mysterious Italian boyfriend, but I was shocked when she let one of Clara’s secrets slip. I had a feeling that was going to play a pivotal role in the final book, and it kind of did.

My favorite part of this novella was getting into Angela’s head. She’s always been a little mysterious, so it was interesting to see things from her perspective. She’s been preaching “No secrets in Angel Club,” and yet she’s harboring the biggest secret of all, and it has some major consequences which we get in Boundless. Angela plays a much larger role than she has in the past, and this trip to Italy is only the beginning.

There’s references to this Summer early on in Boundless, but it’s nothing that will have you scratching your head in confusion. Details are revealed as necessary, so you could get away with skipping this novella. However, I liked knowing exactly what happened and seeing how it affects Clara and Angela’s first year at Stanford as well as the rest of their lives. It’s definitely a worthy read for all Unearthly fans.

This is the 1st e-book I’ve ever read on my Nook. It’s only a novella, but still, my first step into the world of digital publishing. This was a change from the last too book. No Tucker and no Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but I loved it all the same. I love Clara’s narration, and it was awesome to have Angela narrate too. I love that it’s set in Rome, Italy. It’s a place to easy to image even though I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen the Lizzie McGuirre movie a bunch of time (like, years ago) and I took Art History, so when Clara and Angela do the “Touristy Stuff,” I had no problem picturing it. And that hot Italian boy-friend of Angela named Phen. He was hot. Just wait until you find out who he is. He reminded me so much of Damen from the Immortals series, but a little older looking probably. Dark curls, brown eyes, olive skin. Hot. I want a hot Italian boy! (Even if he’s not really Italian, still…) And this also reminded me of the Until I Die series. I compared him to Vincent. I was nice to get to see Angela’s story. She told us about what she did in the past summers she spent in Rome. How she met Phen. I am so happy I got to read this. I really want a copy of Boundless now, please! There’s a preview of the Prologue and chapter 1 after the e-novella’s over. Enjoy!
Cover Art Review: Not much of a cover since it’s an E-book, but I do love the typography of this whole series’ titles. Radiant is an awesome title. Love the clouds. Wish they had Rome on the cover.

~Haley G

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http://breathlessbookreviews.blogspot.com/