4.5 Stars

Unblemished has been on my on TBR list for quite a while. It's a book I've been eager to read, but kept getting pushed further and further back in my pile for some reason or another. Since the final book in the trilogy recently released, I decided I HAD to find the time to finally start this series. I'm so glad that I did. It's oh so good, better than I expected it to be. It's super unique and the writing is fantastic. The descriptions are so vivid and El's emotions are so easy to feel, as though they're my own.

The reader is thrown right into this unknown world full of secrets and wonder, right alongside El and learns things right with her. Because of this, things got a little confusing for me, but it didn't bother me too much. It just made me extra eager to figure out what was going on.

There's so many twists and turns. I'd think I had an understanding of things and then, wham... a huge twist would come along and change everything. There were a few times in the beginning that there'd be a shocking reveal and El would kinda brush it off as no big deal, but it was actually a HUGE deal. It was a bit frustrating, but I don't know, maybe it was just me.

Unblemished is a story of good and evil, light and dark, the Verity and the Void. I was entranced by this unique world and the characters in it. It's been said that fans of the TV show Once Upon a Time will enjoy this book and I wholeheartedly agree. I'm excited to dive into book two, Unraveling.

3.25*

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fictionand Netgalley for providing me an advanced reader copy. This has been out for some time already so I'm not sure how much the ARC differs from the final copy.

This book is like Alice in Wonderland meets The Mortal Instruments. Unblemished follows Eliyana or El, a girl who has lived a pretty sheltered life due to a fairly unsightly birthmark on her face and has had a rough go at it because of it. Her birthmark in one world is ugly but in another Reflection or dimension is actually a mark of something exceptional. The plot starts out with a story we've seen before, chosen one has been hidden away until her 18th birthday for her own protection, when all of a sudden crazy stuff starts happening and she has to save the world with her magic. In this story there is a ton of family drama, starting with the death of El's mom and things just kind of get more chaotic from there. Her best friend Joshua ends up being her guardian in both the legal and magical protector sense, and El is dragged quite literally into a world she never knew existed. The unique twist was on the magic system and the world building. I really enjoyed the aspect of the reflections, a kind of multi-dimensional world accessed through Thresholds, where each is kind of a mirror image of the other. I really liked the Callings, some of the people in the magical part of the world whether light or dark has an ability and there weren't too many. I thought that the Verity and Void, aka light and dark, could have been explained a little better. El's whole story is based on her being tied to the Verity and saving everyone, but I'm still a little confused about the whole Verity and Void concept as it applies to the vessels and the Kisses of Infinity. Love plays a big part in the storyline, and I was hoping that El would eventually come to love herself as she was pretty self loathing about her birthmark and the fact that Joshua wouldn't love her back for much of the book. She seemed very love sick and immature in the beginning, but eventually she kind of figured out what she needed to do. I kind of didn't like her in the beginning, she was weak and always having a tantrum, but given all she was going through I guess that was kind of acceptable. She eventually accepted her fate as the savior and grew up a bit, and I ended up liking her by the end. I liked the kind of twist at the end regarding the love triangle where both boys have equal claim, and you just don't know where either of them stand. I know who I want her to end up with and I think I know where things are heading, but I'm not sure where the story is actually going to head. I kind of like that. I'm anxious to get to the 2nd book.

I wanted to like this book much more than I did!! I am not sure what about this book annoyed me a whole but a big part was how accepting she was of the new world she was thrust into! I hate when MC's don't ask questions or just go along with what everyone else is telling them to do and gahhhhh i just couldn't stand it!

This review can also be found on my blog at : http://pattisbooknook.blogspot.com/2016/09/review-unblemished-by-sara-ella.html
*Disclaimer: I was provided an ARC from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

I sincerely feel privileged that Sara Ella put me on the list to receive this Advanced Review Copy. We became friends through Booktube (YouTube channels that feature bookish content) and I've been following her progress. Young Adult and I often have a fraught relationship (which she is fully aware of) so it was a vote of confidence that she still let me review her labor of love! Thankfully, Sara Ella navigates this novel brilliantly, deftly avoiding the tropes I find troublesome with her rich characters and strong writing. Also,God bless her, the girl gave us a map. For those familiar with my reviews, this always gets bonus points.

My mom died of cancer a little over a year after the author lost her mom. The dedication was simple and perfect. I appreciated how the protagonist Eliyana portrays the ever recurring sense of shock at her mom's untimely death. There is a small part of me that legitimately can't come to terms with the death permanence. It seems like mom will have to show up at some point in my life, because the forever-ness of it is too hard to understand. The "every consolation from a complete stranger invites a fresh wave of sobs" feeling- been there, and in some instances, still there.

There was complex world building with parallels to ours. This made the story feel relatable with actual NYC landmarks (one of my favorite places to visit), but also removed enough with the "Reflections" that we can enjoy this world for the Fantasy that it is. I greatly enjoyed the Tromes, and would live in one if someone would be interested in constructing a model for me!

It's evident the author enjoys Fairy Tales and is putting her own spin on the concept of the good vs.evil story. The light being truth and darkness representing evil has Christian undertones. An enormous benefit to this book is that it has NO profane content, so is safe for anyone capable of reading this level of chapter book. The pervasive message of being worth more than your appearance and not undervaluing yourself is such an important theme in Young Adult. I wish there had been this variety when I was a teenager. It makes me happy that young girls will learn these lessons through Eliyana's struggles.

This was a great reading experience. I would recommend this even if I were completely unaware of the author. However, it makes it all the more special to have seen all her "Past the Pages" videos on the editing and writing process, hear about some influencer books, and get little glimpses into her family life. The journey to being published is often arduous (for most anyway!) and I wish her all the success with this series. I hope I don't have too long of a wait for the second installment!

4.5 reasons to come.

I really enjoyed this story of Eliyana! It felt like a modern day fairy tale. I loved the parallel worlds, called Reflections, and hope they get explored even more in the next books in this trilogy.

I enjoyed the storyline, but did get a little confused as the main crisis got closer and closer. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on. I think I got it by the end. It does set up for another book quite nicely and I'm sad I have to wait a while!

There's a love triangle that I think was done well. I kept going back and forth with which one I wanted El to end up with. I did make a choice by the end though. :)

One thing that was a minor annoyance was the expressions Eliyana would use while in the Second Reflection. Statements like "for Verity's sake" just didn't ring true since she'd been there only a few days and had never heard of Verity before that. These statements happen a few times and weren't a big distraction, just something I noticed.

I am REALLY looking forward to the next book!

Solidly good, enjoyable book. For some reason I was thinking this was more of a fairy tale retelling, and while it does have some major fairy tale vibes, it's a fun mishmash of everything. I was a little uncertain about this book at the beginning, especially since urban fantasy isn't usually my thing and I have a love-hate relationship with YA, but Sara Ella threw in some great twists. That ending!

What A Fantastic Story

This story was beautifully written and very captivating! Sara Bella is a new author to me and I truly loved reading her work. She brought colorful word pictures to life. This story was fun of action, adventure, drama and romance. I loved the fantasy of the different worlds, "Reflections. "
If you love reading books like: Lord of The Ring, or Narnia, you will love this book. Like me you'll get captured and carried away into a world you could never imagine, yet once you start reading you won't want it to end.
I highly recommend this book. I'm so caught up in this story I went out and bought the next book. Now I can't wait to start reading it! Enjoy!