Review: Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch

Posted August 23, 2014 by Lorna in Lorna, Reviews, Urban Fantasy / 31 Comments

Review: Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch
Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch
Series: Unborn #1
Published by 47north
Published on: August 26 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 256
Format: eARC
Source: Author
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
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Born into mystery. Shackled to darkness…

Khara has spent centuries discovering everything about the Underworld―except her place in it. But when she’s ripped from her home, solving the riddle of her origins becomes more important than ever. With evil stalking her through the dark alleys of Detroit, she finds salvation from an unlikely source: a group of immortal warriors sworn to protect the city. Khara needs their help to unravel the tangled secrets of who and what she is—secrets many seem willing to kill for. But time is running out, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer necessity binds her to an arrogant fallen angel.

Can their shaky alliance withstand that which threatens her, or will her soul fall victim to the unholy forces that hunt her―those that seek the Unborn?

From the author of the bestselling Caged series comes a pulse-pounding new romantic urban fantasy series.

Once in awhile you find an author that you would read anything they wrote, even if it was the telephone book, because the author is just that good. This author’s Caged series is one of my favorite paranormal reads, so when I heard she was writing a new series, based in the same world as Caged, but with all(mostly)new characters, and in a different city, I was in.

Khara lives in the Underworld with her adopted father, Hades, the king of the Underworld. One day she gets kidnapped by a creature, taken to Detroit, and dropped in an alley where she is found by Drew, the leader of the P.C. in Detroit. The P.C. are ancient warriors that police the supernatural. It’s not long before they realize that Khara is connected to the P.C., so they take her in. The P.C. aren’t the only ones that are interested in Khara, to say the least.

The character of Khara was unique for me. Being brought up in the underworld and having lived there for centuries, has made her emotionless. Seeing constant horrible depravity and desolation doesn’t make for a great personality. Even so, she misses it, and Hades, as it’s pretty much all she knows. I enjoyed watching her slowly develop emotions as the book unfolded. And the cause of the emotions are the members of the P.C.. Each one of these men were so well characterized by the author, that I felt like I had known them for years. Keirson was the sweet one, the one that loved her immediately, even though he was a warrior through and through. Pierson, was Keirson’s identical twin, but a complete opposite from Keirson-closed off and unfriendly, he is the one with magic. Then there was Casey, a total crazy killer of a man, one that you definitely wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley, but you would definitely want him to have your back. Drew, was a sweetheart, but still a smart, fearsome warrior, whose word is law to the others. I have left Oz for last on purpose. Oz is the epitome of a bad boy warrior. Arrogant,a womanizer, and unbelievably hot, he is different from the others and keeps himself apart. And of course, although I actually liked them all, I was more drawn to Oz. You know there is so much more to learn about each of them, and Oz in particular. To me, the characters were the best part of the story, as has been true for me for all this authors work.

The world building was extremely well imagined by the author. Everything from the back story of the P.C., the Underworld, mythology, and even new(to me anyway) species of supernaturals are explored. The use of the abandoned and derelict part of Detroit as a setting, contributed greatly to the paranormal atmosphere of this book, and it worked. As in any Urban Fantasy, world building is extremely important, and this one absolutely did not disappoint. None of what the reader learns feels like an info dump, as the author seamlessly weaves the information the reader needs into the actual story. Very appreciated!

This isn’t just a story about a young woman living with a bunch of ancient warriors. This book had full scale, gory fighting, and horrible supernatural creatures. There’s bonding moments, and moments of strife, and it all made for a well written story. Khara’s evolving from emotionless, to a strong, caring,but still a bit closed off, woman, was just part of this story of Khara learning about her heritage and family-something she never knew anything about before. What is Khara really? Will she survive all the threats around her? Will the P.C. members survive? That’s the story you get when you read this book, and I can’t wait to see how it all continues in book 2.

Lorna

One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

I’m Lorna and I live in Maryland. Since retiring, I spend my time mostly reading and reviewing books. My favorite reads are Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult. I read a lot of indie books in addition to traditionally published books. Favorite paranormal creature? Vampires, but I am really liking werewolves more everyday.

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31 responses to “Review: Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch”

  9. Amber Elise  

    This is the first time that I have heard of this author, I wonder if she has written any telephone directories for me to read! :p

    But really, this sounds really interesting, thanks for your through review Lorna! 🙂

    Amber Elise @ Du Livre

  10. Bookworm Brandee  

    Lorna, I was already on board to read Natusch after the Stomp vs Romp post. But now I’m even more intrigued…it seems as though the worldbuilding is incredible. And I love well-developed characters with a lot of growth…and it seems as though Khara does a lot of growing, emotionally. I’m so excited. 🙂 You keep doing this to me…introducing books that I’m so eager to read but can’t fit in immediately. *haha* I’ll do my best to fit in some Natusch asap. Awesome review!!

  12. Cait from Notebook Sisters  

    Khara sounds awesome and soooo totally kick-butt. I would definitely enjoy reading about her. 😉 I love it when I find authors that just so completely sell me on ANYTHING they’d write. Even their grocery lists. Absolutely yes.

    • Lorna  

      Amber is absolutely one of only a handful of authors that I would read anything they wrote, no matter what it’s about. She’s also very accessible on her Facebook page 🙂
      Khara is just learning the kick butt stuff, but the PC totally rocks the kick butt stuff!