Holy cow, that was intense. I wasn't expecting Unblemished to be that good. I saw all the rave reviews on Goodreads, and felt skeptical. "Well, might as well give it a try, I suppose." I'm glad I did.

I'm normally not a fan of allegories--I suppose that only contributed to my skepticism. However, it was really well done here. Very subtle, and not in your face at all. I'm interested to see where the author takes it in following books. The entire story kept me riveted, and I couldn't wait to see what happened to Eliyana next. I found the world-building to be believable, and very fascinating. I'm not normally of fan of alternate reality stories, but...this book is an exception to a lot of my dislikes.

But not all of them. (Warning! Warning! Minor spoilers ahead!) This book does have a love triangle. And yes, it is very frustrating. It was convincing at the beginning--the author had me rooting for one guy, until the tables turned and I was rooting for the other, just like Eliyana. Unfortunately, I remained rooting for that one character for the rest of the book. Guy #1 totally and completely lost my vote by acting like a total jerk. 'Nuff said. Most of the characters were well-rounded, and sympathetic. Eliyana was especially endearing, as we spent the most time in her head, experiencing her every emotion. Her character transformation was excellently done.

I liked how it started in our world, before transitioning into the fantasy realm. All the pop culture references were really fun. It was neat to watch El transition into the new realm, and start to unconsciously use 2nd Reflection phrases in her thoughts and dialogue. I also loved the idea of Callings, and Thresholds. However, quite a bit of the world-building was very confusing. What, exactly, happened to Reflections 5-7? (Is that correct? There are 7 Reflections total, right? Ugh. See, it's totally confusing.) And I'm not sure I totally got the concept of what the Verity and the Void are, and what they can do. Things only got messier towards the end, and I'm still not sure what happened. I can't share much more details, as I'll only spoil the plot.

Overall, I'd rate the book 5 stars, minus 1/2 for confusion, and another 1/2 for the love triangle. I can't wait to start Unraveling, as Unblemished left me with a bit of a cliffhanger. Let's hope it's just as good--or dare I say, even better--than the first!

Rating: 4 stars

Recommended: Yes. 14 and up. (Too confusing for younger readers, and some content issues.)

Content guide:

Language: 2/10 (at least one bad word and unfinished sentence that implied foul language)
Sexual content: 6/10 (frequent non-sexual nudity, desire to kiss or touch, heavy kissing, some touching, innuendo, implications of rape, adultery, fornification)
Violence: 6/10 (quite a few injuries and deaths, but most non-graphic)

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy to review!*

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This was an interesting read. There is a LOT of world-building in this book, which felt like it took a little away from the story itself. I think book 2 may be stronger simply because so much of this will already be in place.

The characters felt wishy-washy, which was also frustrating. Each of them went from good to bad or from one love to another faster tHan I could keep up with. I like the premise of the story, but I never really came to care for the characters because at any moment they might turn , and then turn back, and then turn back again. It was hard to follow who was good and who was bad at any given moment.

Overall, I wanted to love this book, but it fell a bit short. I did like it and will most likely give book 2 a try because this debut author can definitely write. Looking forward to reading more of her work.

Unblemished is a breathtaking story of love and bravery wrapped in a magical, fairytale world with elements of truth for all.

Sara Ell's imagination is boundless. From the minute I opened the pages of this book until the very end I was transported to a world where anything is possible, nothing is as it seems, and love conquers all.

I loved Eliyana's character and transformation through this story. From her struggle with wanting to be loved to her passion for music, I resonated with her and couldn't wait to see what would happen.

And oh what a journey. I won't say much here because I don't want to spoil anything but MY OH MY Sara killed it with regards to this books amazing plot. There is a lot to set up and understand when creating a fantasy novel, but she did so in such an amazing, imaginative way. I found myself talking out loud to the book (I can't be the only one who does that...) during some parts just wondering what was going to happen.

I also really loved Sara's writing style. It's fresh, relatable, and deeply personal. After reading this book I feel like I know Eliyana--that we're friends. To me, that's what makes or breaks a first person story - the main character. I so appreciated how Eliyana's character was written in a way that allowed me to know her and to struggle with her, but not to be burdened by her (if you know what I mean).

If you love YA Fantasy's you will flip over this book - seriously! That ending - oh man! But, even if you aren't usually a fan, I would highly recommend this book to anyone. There is a beautiful truth written into these pages and a deeper sense of strength and bravery woven throughout the story that all will enjoy.
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I received this book for free but was under no obligation to post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.

Sara is a new author for me. This book grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. The world building and characters were superb! She did a great job weaving spiritual truth throughout the story without being overwhelming.

3.5 Stars

Unblemished is an original young adult fantasy that will have readers dreaming of Reflections for days to come. I loved the world building in this story - there were Reflections (similar to parallel universes) that some people were able to travel between using Thresholds. This concept was fascinating and I enjoyed learning about it as much as I could. The author does a fantastic job of bringing these elements to life and making them almost seem plausible. I've always been intrigued by the thought of parallel universes, so this was right up my alley and fed my imagination. The Reflections and their inhabitants were all detailed with vivid imagery and descriptions that allowed me to easily picture them in my mind. I loved meeting all of the various people and learning about their "Callings" - abilities they are given early in life. Some were shape shifters, others healers, and some had creepy abilities like causing others pain and paralyzing people just by locking eyes with them. These traits made the characters all the more fascinating and fun to read about. Eliyana was a good main character for the book. She was realistic and easy to connect with right from the beginning. I liked how the author made her "flaw" - the red birthmark on her face and neck - into a powerful symbol in the other Reflections. Some parts of Eliyana's attitude bugged me - it seemed like she was pitying herself a lot and was pretty depressing for most of the book. I understand that it's part of her character and was caused by her hatred for the birthmark and how people treated her because of it. It just felt like she was throwing herself a pity party for most of the story, which did annoy me enough to make it hard to slip inside the story completely. The other aspects of the novel were all well done and were great additions to the book. I definitely recommend this book to fans of fantasy and science fiction!