He must be released for a little while.
But the one who sees doesn’t believe. Elijah Goldsmith has nightmares he needs to ignore. Why would a rich kid from Manhattan dream three straight nights about a dragon and the destruction of St. Peter’s Basilica? He’s never even been to Rome. It’s bad timing, too. He’s graduating soon and applying to be a spy in the International Security Agency. That’s where he meets Naomi. She’s the kind of girl who makes boys like Elijah want to share their secrets. Were they brought together to learn what his secrets mean? There’s more to their sparks than they think. This is 2066, the year the world ends. My Thoughts: From page one, J.B. Simmons draws us into the world of Elijah Goldsmith, a rich kid who could have anything he wanted, be anything he wanted, and chooses to try for the life of a spy with the International Security Agency. But just when he thinks he’s got his life planned out to perfection, an unexpected event throws him into a tailspin. So much of what he thought he knew turns out to be false … and so much of what he was convinced had to be false appears to be unbelievably true. You can’t help but sympathize with him.
“I never liked the easy path,” I said. “It’s too boring, too weak. By joining ISA, I get a chance to make a difference, to fight the decay, to become part of something bigger.” Unbound, J.B. Simmons
Unbound is a fast-paced story with a fair bit of action, fascinating technology, and enough mysteries to keep your interest piqued. It covers a good deal of ground in a short amount of time—because of that you’re sure to keep turning pages to keep up with the story. It was an easy and enjoyable book to read. I don’t mean to imply that the writing was lacking by any means, simply that it was easy to plop down on the couch, pick up the book, and get lost for a couple of chapters before I realized I had other things I had to do. There were times, though, when I felt like the story was a bit too rushed. I wasn’t sure I completely understood the International Security Agency—perhaps by design, since they dealt with spies—but I felt like I could have used a little more explanation as to what their role actually was. It may just be me as well, but I’m not sure I really got Naomi and Elijah’s “love” for one another. It struck me as just a bit too much, too fast. I’ll freely admit to being a bit squeamish when it comes to books that interpret end time prophecy—just not my personal cup of tea. But I do encourage you to study the book of Revelations for yourself and to remember that this is a work of fiction meant to speculate, not chart out the order of events. There was also one major thing that happened to one of the main characters toward the end of the book that left me decidedly uncomfortable. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be interpreted as a bad or a good thing, and maybe that was supposed to be part of the mystery, but it still left me with an unsettled feeling. All in all, Unbound was a great and enjoyable start to a new series! If you enjoy fast-paced YA books with a romantic subplot, you should certainly check it out on Amazon, read a sample chapter here, or and visit the author’s website!