Unbreakable by Sara Ella has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the third book in the “Unblemished” series.
Unbreakable by Sara Ella has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the third book in the “Unblemished” series.
Eliyana (El) Ember’s life changed completely when she learned her home, New York, was just one of seven realities (or Reflections). She discovered she was meant to be a queen, a vessel for an entity of goodness and light known as the Verity. With the help of her new friends, she traveled through portals (Thresholds) to the different Reflections to battle the evil entity called the Void.
Her two rival suitors, Joshua and Ky, have learned they’re brothers. El had planned to marry Joshua, until he allowed the Void to overtake him. Ky also has elements of the Void living in him, but he fights to keep them at bay and remains loyal to the Verity. To win El back, Joshua has found a way to sever her mystical bond (the Kiss of Infinity) with Ky. When El wakes up in the Third Reflection (Venice, Italy) in 1945, she only remembers her relationship with Joshua and feels animosity toward Ky.
El appears in the Third Reflection wet and disheveled. A woman named Bianca, whom El later realizes is her grandmother, recognizes that El has unique abilities. She introduces El to her friends, many of whom are also Guardians, like El and Ky. El recognizes most of them as people she knew when they were older in other Reflections. None of them know her. El also realizes her Mirrormark, a large birthmark signifying she has power, has vanished.
At the same time in another Reflection, Ky prepares to find El. Ky’s sister, Khloe, and El’s mother (Elizabeth), stepfather (Makai) and half-sister (Ebony) are part of his search and rescue team. All recognize that the Void is gaining power, which may cause the Thresholds between the Reflections to close and the powers endowed to Guardians to cease.
Ky is convinced the connection between him and El was holding the Reflections together and worries what will happen now that their bond has been severed. Joshua, in the group’s custody, indicates there is a slim chance the bond could be restored. He still vows El will be his.
El meets her grandfather, Jasyn Crowe, who is about her age in the 1940s. He is only starting to discover the Void’s power over him. El finds herself feeling sorry for the man who once was her greatest enemy. Jasyn introduces El to a woman named Odessa, and the two take El to New York, the Third Reflection. There, they introduce her to a ruler in lioness form, who has been waiting and looking for her. El discovers the lioness is Isabeau, also known as the Fairy Queen and Ebony’s evil mother. Isabeau intends to become the Verity’s vessel herself by stealing El’s power.
Ky and his crew find dead fairies, which indicates Isabeau is nearby causing trouble. Ky finds Gage, a former cohort, and trades his valued weapon for Gage’s drink from the Fountain of Time. Drinking fountain water allows the partaker to change a moment in history. Ky believes if he can change the past so Isabeau’s heart doesn’t get broken, he can keep the Void from being created in the first place. Joshua battles the Void hard enough to return to his senses and work with Ky.
Isabeau throws a ball, forcing El to dress up and attend. Ky, Joshua and their crew pass through Reflections and show up at the ball. El still recalls only love for Joshua and hatred for Ky, until Joshua allows her to remember his brother. Isabeau captures the group and plans an execution. Joshua uses Ky’s fountain water and other diversions to restore Ky and El’s bond. Isabeau has Joshua killed before she disappears.
The group grieves for Joshua and honors his sacrifice before traveling to the Seventh Reflection. There, they find a wasteland rather than the famed Garden of Epoch. They discover Isabeau is there, despondent that she has been unable to rid herself of the Void and change her destiny. Despite all of Isabeau’s cruelty over the years, Ebony goes to her. Ebony promises she’ll love her mother if Isabeau will let her. Ebony’s love causes the garden to bloom and changes Isabeau into a kind young woman.
A year later, Ky and El visit the Seventh Reflection again. They’re happy that they can feel Joshua’s presence.
No overt references to Christianity appear in the book. The Verity and the Void represent good and evil. Characters recognize they must choose which path to follow and that choosing to follow Light will require battling the Darkness. El talks about people’s original state in the Garden of Epoch.
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Makai, El’s stepfather, watches over his wife and newborn son while hunting for El with Ky. He offers words of wisdom to Ky and tries to uncover the good that remains in Joshua. Isabeau was cruel to Ebony during the girl’s childhood. She takes on a new form and personality when Ebony offers to love her and be loved by her. Ky often recalls his father, Tiernan, whose anger and alcoholism caused him to abuse his family.
Bloody, sucks and what the bleep appear. Characters use the names of their deity and enemies as exclamations. Typical cursing phrases are revised, such as “son of a crowe” (in reference to the evil Jasyn Crowe), “for Verity’s sake!” and “Void no!” Ky recalls his alcoholic father, Tiernan, beating him and his sister black and blue for not living up to his expectations. He remembers coming home to find his mother looking lifeless at Tiernan’s hand.
Ky recalls giving El the Kiss of Infinity. When El feels her hatred for Ky building, she thinks of how much she enjoyed kissing Joshua. Ky and El kiss, as do Ebony and Tide.
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