BOOK REVIEW 'Unbreakable'

Unbreakable
By: Kami Garcia
You may have noticed I was on a short leave of absence, I was in Disney World and then I was on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean and without internet for five days so book reviewing was pretty hard. In the world that I live in, that being the real world or not, it is customary to bring plenty of reading material wherever you go, especially when cut off from the rest of world. This week’s review is the result of my reading while cut off cell service.
About a year ago I reviewed novels from the Beautiful Creatures series, and as much as I enjoyed those books, the Caster Chronicles have since ended and both of the co-authors have moved on to take on their own series. Margaret Stohl’s novel, Icons, came out first and I started reading it last summer it but never finished it because I disliked it so much but we can save that story for another time because that is not the book of the hour. The other author, Kami Garcia, started a series called The Legion, with the first novel entitled Unbreakable. I picked up the title not entirely sure what to expect because of how well the other solo attempt went and ended up completing it with about as much mixed feelings as I expected.
The story is told from the perspective of Kennedy, a teenage girl who I didn’t even figure out the name of until about halfway through the novel because it’s almost never said. Kennedy lives with her single mother because her father left when she was young. I’m almost positive there’s more to that story because it’s strongly hinted at and you have to think about the genre you’re reading and the main character’s almost constant string of parent issues. Kennedy comes home one day to find her mom dead from what she is told is a heart attack, but of course it’s not, with the house cat sitting mysteriously on her chest. About a month passes and she is forced to choose between leaving for a boarding school or staying with her aunt she barley knows. It’s her last night in her house before it is sold and her last chance to sleep in her own bed. She wakes up in the middle of the night to find her cat on her chest just like when her mother died. She feels like her breath is being stolen away and she can’t breathe. She also sees someone, a girl, floating at the end of her bed. She’s about to pass out from lack of oxygen when two guys burst into her room and save her. The twins, Jared and Lukas, are described to have rugged good looks with the kind of detail that an author would only use for a potential love interest and this love triangle is a consistent theme throughout the remainder of the novel.
The two brothers are members of The Legion, a group that devotes their lives to fighting restless spirits and undoing the damage caused by the demon Andras. Kennedy’s mother was supposedly a member and once she died, Kennedy inherited the responsibility. The three of them, along with the other two members, Priest and Alara, embark on a mission to track down the pieces of the Shift, which is supposed to help them defeat Andras. Along the way they must fight restless spirits to retrieve the pieces and those fight scenes are what makes the book for me. They are pretty well written and entertaining to read and the back stories on the ghosts they are battling are detailed and enjoyable to hear about. Other than those parts, I’m conflicted about what to think.
My biggest complaint with this novel is the pacing and plotting. Something about the plotting just didn’t sit well with me. It seemed awkward and a bit rushed at points and she never really gave the characters time enough to develop and grow to the point she needed for the things she wants them to do. The relationships between characters just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Overall, even not factoring in the characters, the novel just seemed rushed and too short. Unlike most plotting issues this author could use a bit more drawing out when she plots the second book in the series.
Will I read the second book? I plan on it. Though am I waiting with baited breath because I need to know what’s going to happen? Not exactly. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a pretty entertaining read and not have to think too much about it. 
Pages: 305
Read In: 1 week
Rating: 6/10
Ages13+ up
Four Categories: death, paranormal creatures, romance
A side note: I tried posting this last week and I tried posting it using a few different devices and I didn't realize it never posted.