PERGITE SI AUDETIS.

The Almighty Duo are back at it again! Kick-ass female protagonist? Check. Awesome as hell male protagonist? Check. Breath-taking, edge-of-your-seat action? Check. Space? DOUBLE CHECK.

Ok, so if you don’t know by now, I’m an Australian book blogger, so I was lucky enough to get my hands on this book last year! I was honoured to be able to attend the Dymocks Melbourne book launch and signing event on November, 27th of 2017…where I met Amie and Meagan (briefly) and they signed my book!!!! *fangirling*.

I remained cool and calm and completely collected.

I thought to wait to review Unearthed until its international release, so we can all join hands and kumbaya together because damn this book held me hostage. I have to preface this review by stating that this book is a fantastic, compelling, deeply intricate and intense read.

Kaufman and Spooner are an incredible writing team, and the writing of this novel is impeccable. The characters, the universe, the conspiracy, and the action, are intricately written with a universe that is multi-faceted, unique and slightly dystopian. The reader is dropped into a universe where Earth is dying, people are fleeing their cities because of lack of resources, and space exploration as one of the only possible ways for humans to continue to exist. With space exploration comes the prospect of space or planet colonisation, if it is found that Earth cannot at all handle human life. Unearthed tells the story of Amelia Radcliffe and Jules Addison, in the aftermath of the International Alliance (IA) intercepting and decoding an alien transmission thought to have been long-ago extinct. As a result, raiders like Amelia and academics like Jules, bombard the planet Gaia as stealthily as possible in order to either get the treasure to gain money or, in the case of Jules, figure out the meaning of the secret message in the alien transmission and what it might mean for the future of Earth.

I am finding it quite difficult to articulate coherently how much Unearthed caught me by surprise and left me in utter awe. Amelia Radcliffe is a very strong and courageous woman who has such an incredible strength of will and conviction. One of the qualities I absolutely adored of Mia, was that she was unafraid to be afraid; she openly states her fear but uses her fear as a strength to continue with her mission and help Jules. She is not abrasive, which I enjoyed, she was strong-willed and believable. I adored her character and I adored the snippets of personal history that is shared, in order to create a three-dimensional, fully developed character.

Jules Addison is the male protagonist in Unearthed and I love him. Where do I start? I might have to say that Jules Addison has now made my top five of the most incredibly adorable male leads in a novel. He is such a unique and interesting character, and I felt that his character development was slightly more flushed out than Mia’s. I would describe him as a quite badass, who loves archaeology, loves history, but most of all, he loves his father. He has such courage that the reader observes in small increments, until he is falling into a space portal and you think, damn, he is stronger than he thinks. Jules grew up in quite a privileged position, with academic parents in Oxford, with education and with an abundance of resources, as those with some money do. Thus, Jules and Mia are from opposite sides of the socio-economic border, and it does show in instances of hilarity.

Unearthed is a fast-faced read, where action abounds and conspiracies threaten to overwhelm. As I was reading this novel, I was getting hardcore Indiana Jones slash Lara Croft vibes with a side dish of Star Trek, and it was completely and utterly compelling. Thus, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend everyone who is a fan of YA, a fan of sci-fi and a fan of incredibly written and complex narratives, to read Unearthed and leave me a comment on what you thought.

Until next time! Happy reading!

Allie