Sunday, January 17, 2016

The Unearthly Series by Laura Thalassa

5 supernatural stars!

With her series of 5 books, ‘The Unearthly,’ Laura Thalassa has managed to combine many different types of supernatural beings into one coherent YA love story between supernatural soulmates and the devil that seeks to tear them apart.

Though the tale begins in a familiar way; our leading lady, Gabrielle, has strange dreams and is about to begin a mysterious boarding school for supernatural beings, author Thalassa skillfully takes us in a new direction.  At the school’s Awakening, each students’ inherent powers are revealed; there are seers, fairies, demons, conjurers, witches, nymphs, shifters, werewolves, ghosts, mediums, incubi, fates, vampires, and Gabrielle, the last of the sirens and the first vampire to ever have been born rather than turned. 

After the Awakening, it is revealed why the 700+ year old Andre, gorgeous, international celebrity, and King of Vampires, is so drawn to Gabrielle; they are soulmates.  The challenge for Gabrielle isn’t so much in dealing with an old-fashioned chivalrous vampire as it is fending off the Devil who seems to have the hots for her as well.

Unearthly’ sets the stage and identifies the major players for the series, and establishes the tone of spunky and modern-woman Gabrielle’s relationship with the rich, handsome, and used-to-getting-his-way Andre.  Gabrielle’s friends at Peel Academy, a responsible seer and a hysterically loose-lipped fairy, make highly entertaining secondary characters.  Wonderful supernatural YA fun! 

~~ Spoilers for books 2-5 below. ~~

‘The Coveted' follows Gabrielle as she works with the supernatural police, the Politia, to solve a string of murders occurring near Peel Academy.  Being both a siren and a vampire means she is a suspect in the eyes of the public, and so to keep the uneasy truce between vampires and the Politia, she must reach out to Andre for help.  Gabrielle has learned, the hard way, that avoiding your soulmate for two months is no picnic.  Their reunion, and investigating the crime spree, is great fun for readers. 

‘The Cursed’ brings Gabrielle to Romania to investigate another string of murders while Andre answers to his vampire coven in Romania for his actions in the first two ‘Unearthly’ books.  Andre has been hiding the fact that Gabrielle is his soulmate, in order to protect her from the vampire covens’ wrath, meanwhile Gabrielle must deal with demons and other dark supernatural beings as they refer to her as the Devil’s Consort.  While ‘The Cursed’ is more of an action adventure than the prior two installments, the YA love story and humorous friends remain.

After her last interaction with the Devil, Gabrielle becomes ‘The Forsaken.’  She and Andre are on the run as the entire supernatural community chases them, seeking to kill Gabrielle.  The ‘good guys’ believe she is evil and want her dead, the ‘bad guys’ want to deliver her to their boss, the Devil.  All sirens seem to have short lifespans to begin with, but now Gabrielle’s vampire traits are more predominant and her human body is slowly breaking down.  She knows that death will be upon her soon, and with death comes the Devil.  Even as Andre pulls every supernatural string at his disposal in attempt to save her, death is unavoidable.

Gabrielle has become ‘The Damned.’  Though dead and bound to an eternity in hell as the Devil’s consort, Gabrielle soon learns that death is not the end.  Just as the three sisters who embody Fate prophesized centuries ago, she is Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and spends only half her time in hell.  For the other half of each day, Gabrielle is back on Earth, back with Andre and her friends, and unwillingly and unknowingly aiding the Devil in his devious plans. 

Fate insists that she has a choice; between good and evil, between the Devil and Andre, between saving the whole world or saving herself.  This book follows her discoveries and adventures as the battle between angels and demons takes shape.

The complete Unearthly Series is currently available as part of the Kindle Unlimited Program.

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