Untold

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Untold is a fantasy novel by Sarah Rees Brennan. This picks up right after the first installment, Unspoken. In this, Kami Glass must deal with the repercussions of her actions at the end of Unspoken, as well as work to uncover more of Sorry-in-the-Vale's secrets, that go down to the roots of the town itself. Meanwhile, she must try to untangle her complicated relationships with Jared Lynburn, Ash Lynburn, and her own family. This is the second in the Lynburn Legacy, the first being Unspoken, and the third novel Unmade set to release later this year.

Ugh.

If you've read this, you know exactly what the above ugh sounds like. It sounds like despair, sadness, emotional exhaustion, and the overwhelming remains of giddy happiness. In short, this book is Unspoken on crack in terms of emotions.

Okay, so let's start at the beginning, rather than ping-ponging my thoughts onto the Internet. Spoilers if you haven't read Unspoken.

Kami: Lovely as always. She has a lot to deal with in this installment, least of which re-finding herself. With the bond broken, she has to redefine herself around the empty spot where Jared used to always be. Without his indefatigable support in her odd ways, she now experiences feeling of insecurity and loneliness, something she was lucky enough not to have to deal with essentially her entire life.

Jared: Dear god, this boy will be the death of me. He has plenty of silent, sulky, infuriating brooding occurring here, but you're able to see that there is plenty of thinking going on behind that furrowed brow of his, as well as a metric ton of vulnerability he's willing to reveal to no one. Almost no one.

At one point, possibly one of my favorite parts of the book, he even shows CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Praise God, and Sarah Rees Brennan! (Note: his inability to get over himself is not something I disliked about the writing itself, it was merely my own frustration at his personality. I had no problem with it taking this long in terms of the story, merely in terms of Jared standing in the way of his own happiness.)

And then he goes and f***s it up again, per his own tragic prerogative.

Lynburns: Further development on them. Some people disagree with me, but I happen to love Lillian. She's a class-A elitist pompous snob, but she has reasons, and she's undeniably strong in her convictions, which I respect. Ash still isn't my favorite person, but that's due to my own personal preferences with character traits. We get to see reasoning behind some of his actions and thoughts, and realize that he's got just as much going on as everybody else; he just doesn't let it show as easily.

Glass Family: Claire is impossible for me to deal with. Ten and Tomo made me squeal and nearly sob. Jon is perfect.

The story itself is a lot darker; there's less of a mystery aspect, and more of a ticking time bomb. Brennan is not afraid to break a few eggs for this omelet.

And of course, we finally get to see what Brennan means by book two in a trilogy being the "Make Out" book. Fans who endured snippets, you will be rewarded.

This book is utterly fantastic, I finished it in less than three days, and I will now return into hibernation until the final book comes out.

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