*Gizmos Early Reviews* Unborn (Unborn #1) by Amber Lynn Natusch

**I received this book for free from NetGalley/47North in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Synopsis*

Born into mystery. Shackled to darkness…

Khara has spent centuries discovering everything about the Underworld―except her place in it. But when she’s ripped from her home, solving the riddle of her origins becomes more important than ever. With evil stalking her through the dark alleys of Detroit, she finds salvation from an unlikely source: a group of immortal warriors sworn to protect the city. Khara needs their help to unravel the tangled secrets of who and what she is—secrets many seem willing to kill for. But time is running out, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer necessity binds her to an arrogant fallen angel.

Can their shaky alliance withstand that which threatens her, or will her soul fall victim to the unholy forces that hunt her―those that seek the Unborn?

*My Thoughts*

Unborn is the first installment in a new series by Amber Lyn Natusch, the author who brought you the Caged series. Unborn is a twisted tale that intermixes the supernatural (Angels, Demons, Gargoyles, and Stealers) with Greek Mythology (Gods & Goddesses) and is set in an urban environment that becomes disrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Khara.

Unborn is told in the first POV by Khara, who has spent centuries in the Underworld as the adopted daughter of Demeter, and the ward of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. For reasons that still escape me, Khara was spirited away from the Underworld by beings called the Dark Ones, and dropped off without any pomp or circumstances in the dredges of society known as Detroit. Readers will find that this is one huge unanswered question that doesn't fully go away.

There, Khara finds that she is surrounded by immortal warriors who are all related to the God of War, Ares. They are also her brothers but by different mothers. They each work for Petronus Ceter (PC) protecting humans from supernaturals and have different talents and abilities. Khara is a prized obsession of a megalomaniac that refuses to let her go, and uses everything in his powers to ensure she doesn't escape his sickening desires, including throwing the PC into dangerous waters. They can either protect her with their very lives, or go quietly into that goodnight.

Khara is not an innocent by any means, but she is naive when it comes to being around others, and understanding how her presence affects those around her. One could say that Khara fears nothing, and would welcome her death if it came for her. She really is an emotional black hole and times not unlike Edward Cullin. Khara doesn't have a clue about her heritage, and has never met her real mother or father. She doesn't know why she has spent centuries between the Underworld, and Earth alternating with Persephone. She desperately wants to fit in with her "brothers" who rally around her, but she has plenty of unanswered questions that only a few people apparently are able to reveal.

Right from the beginning, Unborn is slower than molasses in the dead of winter, but it does get better as the book picks up steam. We are given just enough information to either choose to continue to the end, or abandon all ye hope who tries to read this book. Khara's brothers Drew, Kierson, Pierson, and Casey all have positives and negatives which comes with the territory of being immortals. My favorite is Pierson, while my hatred knows no limits when it comes to Casey.

The one character that is perhaps the most dangerous, and most entertaining, is Oz, who just happens to be a Fallen Angel and may know more about Khara than anyone. It is a challenge at times not to want to kick Oz in the balls, but he doesn't necessarily have to prove himself to anyone, let alone the brothers. The last character I need to mention is Sean, who apparently has more than just a passing connection to Khara. As this series progresses, it will be interesting to see if Sean, Oz, or the brothers play any further role in what happens next to Khara.

With Unborn being the first book in the series, there is obvious all inclusive cliffhanger ending. Readers will have to decide if they want to continue to the next installment or not. There are plenty of questions left unanswered that I will presumably follow to the next installment whenever it is released. I don't want to say that Unborn is a bad book. I will say that I would hope there was more of a world building aspects, a bit more information on why Khara is desired so grotesquely, and that she becomes much more of a likable heroine, and not so flat and emotionless.

Author - Amber Lyn Natusch
Title - Unborn (Unborn # 1)
Published by 47North
Releases - August 26, 2014
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: E-Book 256 pages