Saturday, August 18, 2012

Book Review: The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: Aug 14, 2012
ISBN: 9781442444980
Pages: 320
Series: None
Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:
In an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in a museum, two teens find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, deception, and danger.
Vespa Nyx wants nothing more than to spend the rest of her life cataloging Unnatural creatures in her father’s museum, but as she gets older, the requirement to become a lady and find a husband is looming large. Syrus Reed’s Tinker family has always served and revered the Unnaturals from afar, but when his family is captured to be refinery slaves, he finds that his fate may be bound up with Vespa’s—and with the Unnaturals.
As the danger grows, Vespa and Syrus find themselves in a tightening web of deception and intrigue. At stake may be the fate of New London—and the world.


My Review:
I was really excited to read this book once it arrived in my mail. The cover is just so pretty and the synopsis was something different. Once I started reading it, it wasn't quite what I expected. The idea of the story is really good. It's a Steampunk novel with so much creativity and such, but I just found it lacking in character development.
Vespa, the main character had so much potential, but it just didn't cut it for me. She was a museum worker who loved all things Unnatural. She was young and loved doing what she did. And maybe seeing as she was only 15, she didn't have all this worldly character to develop though at times it was hard to believe she was that young. And if that is supposed to be Vespa on the cover, it's not at all how I picture her. Syrus on the other hand was a fun character. There was something about him that I really enjoyed reading. Syrus is a Tinker who was sent to warn Vespa and together, along with Bayne are responsible for saving the world. Bayne was another lovely character. His experience and secrets make him intriguing. I thought Nainai was wonderful. I loved her knowledge and her stories of the old ways. Though I did think she would have been a key character to the story.
While the story was lacking a few key points, it started looking up near the end and I was eager is finish it. (But never once did I want to give up on it altogether, if that makes sense) I just wish that Trent put more time in some of the characters and added a bit of background to some of the characters. Tiffany is able to paint this glorious looking world with these Unnatual creatures and all the mythwork. It was really neat and there was so much potential for the story, I think that it could have been expanded a little bit and it would have been awesome.  That being said, I would recommend The Unnaturalists because of its unique premise and amazing creativity.

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