The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Unbound is Victoria Schwab's sequel to her novel The Archived. Following the events that occurred in the first book, Mackenzie is not doing well. Her dreams terrorize her into barely sleeping, and as a result her nightmares are bleeding into real life, just as her life of the Archive is slipping into her "normal" life. What's more, her relationship with her best friend and Keeper partner Wesley is more complicated than ever, and her secrets threaten to put the people she loves in danger.

The Unbound is an incredible sequel that may even surpass its predecessor, The Archived. I ate this book up in less than forty-eight hours, and I'm still thinking about it. Victoria Schwab's writing is so unique, and I can only describe what I feel by quoting another book (Catcher in the Rye): “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” It happened here, and it's practically a problem, because all I want to do is rant at her about how much I love it, but then you seem like a stalker, and there's legal intervention, yada yada yada. Oh well. I guess I can just list all the things here for her to see:

-Mackenzie's nightmares. It's weird to say that a supernatural story is handled so realistically, but it fits Mackenzie has dealt with trauma after trauma, and to have her walk away without so much as a mental scratch wouldn't be very realistic. I felt for her, and I wish she hadn't had to experience it, but it is what would happen.

-The private school trope was quickly rejected here for something fresh and original. Usually when a protag (who usually doesn't come from money) enters a private school, it's all about the drama between her and the stuck-up students. That didn't happen here. The most drama was between her and Safia, and it wasn't any more dramatic than it would have been in real life. Cash is preppy, but he's not egotistical or jock-ish.

-Her and Wes. OHMYGODCANYOUNOTWESLEYAYERS?! Once again, I liked how the relationship was handled. He likes her, and it's highly likely that he's aware of her feelings for him, but because of events, he doesn't try to take things any further. That being said, their relationship that's not a Relationship is very sweet. They both care about each other, and even if there wasn't a romantic element going on, I suspect they'd still act that way towards each other, because their friendship is that naturally strong.

There's not much more to say, except GIVE ME THE NEXT ONE and also GIVE ME THE WESLEY POV SHORT STORY PLEASE AND THANK YOU. January can't come soon enough.


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