Dark, real and so heartrendingly tragic.
'Unfaded' is a story of a girl who doesn't know she's lived her life so many times before - with the same tragic results. Mia has almost everything a girl could want - a loving family, an adoring boyfriend, good friends and a life she loves. That all changes when Kian comes onto the scene and she finds out out her normal life isn't actually all that normal - just history about to repeat itself.
What I really enjoyed about this book is that Mai was a strong, forceful character. She knew how to stand up for herself and, yet, could be vulnerable all at the same time. She wasn't one to be told what to do and if she had to fight she did. I loved that this character had a somewhat normal family. She had a father, her father's girlfriend and a granny that I just plain adored. Mai was a developed character. I knew some of her hates, likes and her fears. She also had flaws - such as lying to her parents and boyfriend to do what she wanted. I must admit that some of it was to protect them from danger.
Kian seemed like such a tortured character to me. He was old, yes, but it wasn't creepy old, because when it came right down to it Mai was the same age as he was. He just didn't get killed off and then reincarnated like Mai had. I just can't imagine living my life trying to chase down someone I loved, but having no idea what they looked like, finding them, only to lose them time and time again. All because I couldn't overpower the bad guys. Oh, alright, Kian was a little stupid there. You'd have thought he would have teamed up with a few people before now in his attempt to save Mai or Apani (her real name). I think the reason he didn't was that he just didn't trust them - the only person he trusted was Micah.
And, as I said earlier, I just plain adored Granny. She was such a character even though she suffered from Alzheimer's. Even though she called Mai, Helen (after her dead daughter) there was no denying the close connection between her and Mai. I like to think that she saw more than she was letting on. She was relatable too.
There were some things she did that were so line with her condition. I wanted to hug her so terribly bad.I didn't like Connor. Well, I did, before he got turned into this idiot. I guess I can understand it though. I wouldn't have liked my boyfriend sniffing around another girl, especially when I could sense that they shared something with each other that I never could. I just wish he hadn't turned into such an unlikable character though. That disappointed me.
The writing style, particularly Mai's voice, was a favorite of mine, and the story line was different from what I've usually read. Sure, there were familiar elements in it like the supernatural, the guy that you just knew the heroine would drop everything for, and the bad guy element where they were out to kill the heroine. But, and, yes, there is a but, it was different enough that it kept me intrigued to read more.
There were flashback scenes in it of Mai's past lives that made me connect with the whole plot line. I got sucked into the whole reincarnation/unrequited love thing - even if it was only one-sided.The only things that disappointed me about this book was the length. I felt it was too long. Some of it could have been cut out or condensed down instead of being drawn out. My concentration broke away from the book several times because I kept wishing it would just hurry up already. And, also, I wished that I had seen Mai and her sister (supposedly a bad guy) Dialexia meet up. Still, that only makes me wish for a sequel.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes paranormal/fantasy books. Now for my rating:- four out of five stars.
