“Sara Ella’s debut novel is a stunning journey into a fascinating new world of reflections. Intricately plotted, the story is complex, but not difficult to follow. Eliyana is a strong heroine, yet also has a vulnerable side that readers will definitely identify with. The other characters are also well-developed and have many hidden secrets revealed throughout the course of the tale. Good vs. evil is the overarching theme, and it’s easy to draw parallels with faith. The book is set up for further installments, and it will be fascinating to see where the author takes the characters next.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, TOP PICK!
Library Journal Starred Review – November 2016; Debut of the Month for October 2016
With plenty of YA crossover appeal, this engaging and suspenseful debut urban fantasy features superb world-building and a tightly paced story line. Reading groups will find plenty to discuss concerning self-image, the nature of good vs. evil, and the power of the marginalized to change the world. Suggest to fans of Tosca Lee’s Demon or Ted Dekker’s Eyes Wide Open.
Eliyana can’t bear to look at her own reflection. But what if that were only one Reflection–one world? What if another world exists where her blemish could become her strength?
Eliyana is used to the shadows. With a birthmark covering half her face, she just hopes to graduate high school unscathed. That is, until Joshua hops a fence and changes her perspective. No one, aside from her mother, has ever treated her like he does: normal. Maybe even beautiful. Because of Joshua, Eliyana finally begins to believe she could be loved.
But one night her mother doesn’t come home, and that’s when everything gets weird. Now Joshua is her new, and rather reluctant, legal Guardian. Add a hooded stalker and a Central Park battle to the mix and you’ve gone from weird to otherworldly.
Eliyana soon finds herself in a world much larger and more complicated than she’s ever known. A world enslaved by a powerful and vile man. And Eliyana holds the answer to defeating him. How can an ordinary girl, a blemished girl, become a savior when she can’t even save herself?
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Summary
Book Title: Unblemished
Book Author: Sara Ella
What do you like about this book:
"Invisibility is the only way I know how to survive."
Eliyana Ember's unique birthmark covers an entire side of her face. Used to avoiding scrutiny, she has lived a quiet, ordinary life with her mother, until just a few weeks before her eighteenth birthday when the unthinkable happens, and Eliyana is left with precious memories and a next door neighbor for whom she has developed a fondness.
On a shadowy evening shortly following her mother's death, Eliyana encounters a hooded stalker, and her life changes forever when she is curiously escorted from what was a certain threshold of reality, through portals of reflections, into a world where nothing is really as it seems and no one can be trusted to have her best interests in mind. It is here that Eliyana discovers a person within her that she never knew existed, whose mark bonds her inextricably with greatness.
This fantasy novel positively explodes with unexpected twists and turns, with characters who are quite adept at changing loyalties, with underlying reminders of the constant battle, seen and unseen, between good and evil. It's a remarkable debut by Sara Ella, which she certainly has left room to continue.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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