Review by Meyerhe -- Unbalanced by Courtney Shepard

[Meyerhe]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Unbalanced" by Courtney Shepard.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I really enjoyed the book Unbalanced written by Courtney Shepard. It was adventurous, action packed, and enjoyable through and through. There was never a dull moment and all the main characters that are introduced are unique in their own way, from tough, calculated, and mistrusting to upbeat, funny, and too trusting for the environment that they have to live in. I was very disappointed when it ended because I so wanted to read more.

Unbalanced is an adventurous tale about four sisters who have never met but all of them have a unique elemental power. They’re identical, but because of the close ties that they have to their elements, their eye and hair colors are different. The tale begins with Asha, who wields fire and has a personality to match, embarking on a mission that her guardian has specially designated to her. Her comrades who were supposed to be her back up, seemed mistrusting of her when she describes the looks on there faces. The looks deepen especially when her guardian tells them what they should do for said mission, but she ignores it and focuses on the task at hand. She concluded that their mistrust may have a lot to do with her age and possible inexperience. Her plan however, was to show that she was capable to take care of anything that was thrown at her and that she had been through worse than what she had to do that day. Moving through the plan as instructed and being told that it was for a good cause, she learns in the end that she wasn’t doing what she thought she was. Taking this new found knowledge, she breaks ties with with her guardian and everyone that knew. She expected that she would be hunted and brought back to a lab for what she could do. However, several years later, she had formed a place for people who needed help in order to make up for what she did in her past, only to find that she was being hunted. She just wasn't hunted by who she though she would be: a man who had conflicting feeling of loving her and having to kill her. The story then jumps to Eva who is remarkable at bending the earth to her will. Her life, you learn, is not as chaotic as Asha’s. However, that soon changes when she discovers her guardian’s fate and that she has 3 sisters that are just as special as she is, and that they are all in as much trouble. From there, the book carries on in a series of events that show what each sister is capable of and a mystery unravels before them as they begin to wonder who they can and can’t trust, who is actually there to help them, and who has an ulterior motive that has yet to be revealed.

I really loved the adventurous side of this book and how the author always keeps you on your toes wondering what is going to happen next and how all the characters are truly connected. Sometimes I thought I knew how the characters where going to react to certain things and then surprised when they reacted completely different than what was expected. You are always left wondering who is actually loyal to who and just when you think everything is running smoothly and you have everything worked out, something happens and people you thought were friends and possibly becoming more than friends, suddenly start attacking each other because they believed they were betrayed. By the end of the book, you really begin to wonder what everyone’s true connection is.

Where the book ended would be the only thing I could truly say I disliked something. It leaves off on a major cliffhanger and leaves so many unanswered questions. I understand why it was done the way that it was, but at the same time, I don’t like being left wondering if everyone makes it out alright and why such and such behaved the way they did at such a critical moment. I felt like the author could have stopped it somewhere else instead of right after revealing how powerful their true enemy was. Truth be told though, I would rather there be no cliffhanger at all. Also there were a couple places that I had to reread a couple times because there would be so much going on that it was a little hard to follow. The upside to that particular thing though, was after all the happenings, the results of what happened are pretty clear that you can figure out what happened on the especially busy parts.

A lot of times I look for books that follow story lines that are like this: lots of action, clear scenes that aren’t overly detailed, romance that grows over time with that constant push and pull vibe, adventurous, and a lot of mysteries that make you think why things are happening as they are. After reading this, I feel like I have just hit a gold mine. I can’t wait till the author makes the second book for this and I hope that it ends with no cliffhangers if they decide to continue it. So it’s perfect for readers who like these kinds of books. However, it might not be for people who don’t like to read about graphic scenes with blood and violence. They are short scenes however, but I did think that a couple scenes were a little gruesome. It could have been because I wasn’t expecting it though. Overall, I rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars even with the abrupt ending a couple blurry spots. After all, when is battle and panic a clear picture and doesn’t a cliffhanger make you look forward to the next part all the more?

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Unbalanced
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