Recent Reads: Unblemished by Sara Ella

Source: From Booklook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Unblemished by Sara Ella
Series: Unblemished #1
Publisher: Thomas Nelson/ HarperCollins
Publication Date: October 11, 2016

 

Format: Hardback

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

Eliyana has always recoiled from her own reflection in the mirror. But what if that were only one Reflection—one world? What if another world existed where her blemish could become her strength?

Eliyana is used to the shadows. With a hideous birthmark covering half her face, she just hopes to graduate high school unscathed. That is, until Joshua hops a fence and changes her perspective. No one, aside from her mother, has ever treated her as normal. Maybe even beautiful. Because of Joshua, Eliyana finally begins to believe she could be loved.

But one night her mother doesn’t come home, and that’s when everything gets weird.

Now Joshua is her new, and rather reluctant, legal Guardian. Add a hooded stalker and a Central Park battle to the mix and you’ve gone from weird to otherworldly.

Eliyana soon finds herself in a world much larger and more complicated than she’s ever known. A world enslaved by a powerful and vile man. And Eliyana holds the answer to defeating him. How can an ordinary girl, a blemished girl, become a savior when she can’t even save herself? 

Review: 
Ah! I didn't realize that this was the beginning of a series and now I need more! It took me a little while to pick this one up but as soon as I did it was a pretty quick read. It is pretty fast paced throughout and the world building is very engrossing. The story follows Eliyana, a girl with a mark on her face, as she learns that there is another realm and that she has a very large place in it. There are loads of bad guys trying to capture her and there are a few love interests as well. 

Eliyana is used to being in the dark, hiding, and when her mother passes away that changes almost instantly. Then she is pulled into a war that she didn't even know existed but she is strong and she is capable and all she wants is to figure out the answers. 

The plot was pretty normal - good versus evil, light versus dark, a second world and the people in it have abilities that vary, and a kind of love triangle as well. So that was pretty straight forward but at the end of the book there were a lot of twists having to do with the characters and how they are involved that really grabbed my attention. I really liked all the characters even though there were a lot of tropes used and I think that if you are a fan of fantasy this would be a lively read for you.