ARC Review--Unearthed by Cecy Robson

Fae was once a flourishing paradise. Until Death turned greedy and destroyed it, targeting the creatures who inhabited it. Those who survived escaped to Earth’s realm, but Death wasn’t far behind . . .

Olivia Finn is just another pixie trying to blend in among humans and hide from the death hounds who devoured her family. Clinging to the talisman that keeps her veiled from those who hunt her, she believes she is safe. . .. Until Death finds her and discovers she’s immune to its grip.

Now that Olivia’s power is unearthed, she is sought by Fae who see her as their savior and stalked by dark entities compelled to destroy her. Can she trust the King of the Dead who has sworn to train and protect her? Or should she obey her instincts that warn he desires more?

Olivia can no longer hide from Death. To survive, she must seek it. 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I’ve been a fan of Cecy Robson’s books since her first Weird Girls novel and am always happy to pick up her next paranormal! This time it was Unearthed which was a different kind of story entirely from her Weird Girls series as there’s fae and Death!

The story was off to a good start. Our heroine is a pixie without magic, Olivia, who lost her family during the wars in faerie where Death basically came and took everyone out. She, along with a few other fae managed to escape and live cloaked in protection spells in the mortal realm. Until the night when gremlins attacked, taking away their protective charms and bringing Death to their door, and somehow through it all, Olivia survived yet again.

Olivia once had no powers, but somehow fought off Death and lived to tell the tale. It’s then that her magical fae friends realize Olivia has a very special kind of gift, one that will need harnessing from her slightly enemy coworker, Ryker. Except Ryker isn’t just your average jerk either. He’s Death too. But not the same one that Olivia fought. That’s actually one thing that kept tripping me up in this one, it seems there are version of Death throughout the realm and they sort of coexist. Some are good, like Ryker and some are evil, like the one Olivia had to deal with.

Despite there being a good premise for this story, I found that I couldn’t always stay focused. There were things that were just not really boring me, but not enticing me to want to read more either. It’s complicated to say the least. I liked the book, but at the same time I felt like it was dragging and wasn’t really dying to know what happens next, but still curious. It definitely falls into one of those rare absolute middle of the road ratings. It’s not a perfect read, but it’s not bad either.

What I did like was how Olivia constantly challenged and baffled Ryker. They are Life and Death basically. Pink and bubbly versus dark and brooding. It’s a total opposite clashing kind of thing, and naturally, you know romance will eventually kindle between these two because it’s just one of those things you know will come along eventually. I was quite pleased that it did take longer to come around, yet was built up with little moments. The little moments are definitely among my favorite when it comes to slow=burn romances!

I still can’t quite pin down why this read wasn’t an absolute delight and five star read for me. Maybe it was the newness? It’s hard to say. There were times I felt overwhelmed by Olivia’s bubbly personality, but as she points out, she’s a pixie, so it’s fitting to say the least. Maybe in part it was also the pacing. It was a little slower than I would’ve liked in my usual paranormal reads and there was a bit too much downtime without enough interest and sparks flying in between.

Unearthed was still a worthy read, just not entirely my kind of read. At this point, I don’t know if I would continue this series, but I can say I will continue to read Cecy’s books as they release, should they be of interest. This one just wasn’t entirely my kind of read, but it was still a rather enjoyable read.


Overall Rating 3/5 stars


Unearthed releases September 24, 2019