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I’m going to give you a fair warning, this review is likely going to be a sobfest. It may even sound like I’m ranting towards the end, and if that happens then I promise it’s a good type of rant. Unbreakable broke my heart, you see, and then tore it out and stomped on it for good measure. It’s been a while since a book made me feel this way, and I hope it never happens again. (That was a lie, I love it when books hurt me like this.)
I adored Unravelling when I read it last year, and I had been dying to get to this one to see what happens with Janelle, her world, and Ben. I was especially looking forward to having Ben and Janelle find each other again. I adored them in the first book, so the wait between books was rather excruciating. Unbreakable totally surprised me, though, because I actually found myself liking a different couple this time around, and I wasn’t able to stomach Janelle and Ben when they were together. That’s because Janelle and Barclay totally stole the show.
Barclay and Janelle were so freakin’ awesome together. They made such a great team, and I loved how they looked out for each other. They started off hating each other in Unravelling, and in this one we see a bond form and their relationship – very gradually, I might add – grows from there. I could read about those two all day.
Janelle’s changed a lot since her world was almost destroyed thanks to her boyfriend and his friends. She’s bloody amazing and I love her. She’s so badass. I love how she was willing to do a hell of a lot in order to save her friend, as well as people she doesn’t even know because they’ve been kidnapped by a human trafficking ring.
Barclay… I don’t really know what to say about him without spoiling things or going completely OTT with my fangirling. I am in love. That is all. Barclay made me see Ben a totally different way, and now I’m over him and his cheesiness. It’s all about Barclay! And his rock solid chest. Ehem.
I love the world that Norris has built here. Parallel universe/multi-verse stuff is AWESOME, and I find it all really interesting. There were a lot of different universes featured in this book, which was great because we only got to see a couple in Unravelling. There are so many possibilities for companion books and spin-offs as well, since the universes are in such different states. There are some that are abandoned, some that are still stuck in the Middle Ages, and others that are really advanced. I might actually have to resort to begging Elizabeth Norris on Twitter to get her to write more books in this world.
So, I’m sure you’re curious about why this book broke my heart. Well, the reason for this is… a spoiler. Let me just say that Norris spent the whole book building something up only to tear it away from me. Then I was given a moment of hope, only to be punched in the gut and thrown off a building shortly afterwards. Thanks for that. Thanks a lot.
Basically I will never read anything Elizabeth Norris writes again in case next time really does kill me.
Obviously that is another lie because I FREAKIN’ LOVE THIS SERIES and I will buy everything she ever writes because what’s the point in reading if you’re not going to be emotionally scarred.
In summary:
Personally, I love anything that breaks my heart too. Because of that, I’m kind of torn with wanting my favorite characters to suffer or achieve happiness. Still waiting for “Unraveling” to pop up in my bookstore.
People think I’m weird for it, but I looooove it when books give me so many feelings. I can deal with a bit of suffering. Or, rather, I cannot deal at all and I have outbursts on Twitter! 😀
Your review gave me the biggest smile for some reason. XD I love that you loved this book so much! But I was absolutely gutted when… that thing… happened, as well. GAH. All the Feels, seriously. When a book can do that to you, you know it’s left its mark, and those are the good ones. 😉
I’m glad, because that was my intention 😀 The ending… I wasn’t expecting it at all! No way could I have called that because I thought it was all building up to something different.
you scared me! based on your twitter outbursts I assumed you hated Unbreakable and I was so bummed, but I am so glad you loved it!! I think I will have to be mentally prepared to start this.
great review!
– Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf
Hahahaha, I think I scared most people because I sounded like a crazy person. It’s AMAZING, prepare tissues and comfort food. I had to lie down afterwards.
I can’t wait to read this now!!!! 😀 Thanks so much
YAY! Prepare yourself! 😀
Totally agree! I read Unraveling after your emotional tweets last week and loved it, so I grabbed Unbreakable right away, and the Tenner/ Barclay dynamic totally made it for me! So much so I was almost willing to say bye bye to Ben (even though I loved him in the first book)
Overall I preferred Unraveling to Unbreakable but they made for a great series, so thank you for your passionate tweets that gave me the push I need to read them – haha!
And Liz Norris is a cruel author ps, she certainly is not afraid to upset her readers!
I only skim read your review because I still have my review of this book to write but I loved this book so much. Both books in fact. Cried like a baby both times..