The Unbound by Victoria Schwab
Series: The Archived #2
Published by Disney Hyperion on January 28, 2014
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley, Publisher
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Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books. Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Last summer, Mackenzie Bishop, a Keeper tasked with stopping violent Histories from escaping the Archive, almost lost her life to one. Now, as she starts her junior year at Hyde School, she's struggling to get her life back. But moving on isn't easy -- not when her dreams are haunted by what happened. She knows the past is past, knows it cannot hurt her, but it feels so real, and when her nightmares begin to creep into her waking hours, she starts to wonder if she's really safe.

Meanwhile, people are vanishing without a trace, and the only thing they seem to have in common is Mackenzie. She's sure the Archive knows more than they are letting on, but before she can prove it, she becomes the prime suspect. And unless Mac can track down the real culprit, she'll lose everything, not only her role as Keeper, but her memories, and even her life. Can Mackenzie untangle the mystery before she herself unravels?

With stunning prose and a captivating mixture of action, romance, and horror, The Unbound delves into a richly imagined world where no choice is easy and love and loss feel like two sides of the same coin.

The Unbound, the sequel to The Archived, is even better than it’s predecessor. Really, I shouldn’t be surprised since this is Victoria Schwab we’re talking about but I’m still amazed at her talented writing, wonderful characters, and captivating stories.

The Unbound picks up shortly after the end of The Archived. Mac is about to start at a new school and she now has to figure out how to balance her duties as a Keeper, her duties as a daughter, and her duties as a student. That doesn’t even touch her rocky relationship with Wesley Ayers. Mac has a lot on her plate and things get even worse when it looks like she is causing the disappearances of people. It’s up to her to solve who is really behind the disappearances.

Mac is one of the most kickass characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. She’s fierce, smart, capable, and funny. She needs no help saving her own life but she’s not always above asking for it. With the help of Wesley Ayers, Mac has to figure out what’s going on. They have to figure it out because the other alternative is that Mac is going to go down for the disappearances and she also might be losing her mind. But that’s all. Seriously though, you don’t want to get me started on Wesley. That boy is amazing. I can’t say that enough. I thought I loved him in The Archived but that was nothing compared to my feelings for him after reading The Unbound. That kid just gets better and better. Read The Unbound just for more of him if you don’t have any other reason.

The story is suspenseful and totally shocking. There were times when I honestly thought Mac might be going crazy. It was really hard to tell sometimes. I felt horrible for her. People that she interacted with were going missing and she was the prime suspect. There were times when even I thought maybe she was actually behind the disappearances. It was hard to tell and I loved that about The Unbound. And once I found out who was really behind the disappearances, I was even more surprised.

The writing is enough for me to recommend The Unbound. Victoria Schwab is one of the most amazing writers. I have read almost everything she has written and I will continue to read her books for her writing alone. The Unbound is no exception to that amazing writing.

Overall, The Unbound deserves a place on everyone’s shelves. I can’t recommend it enough. If you haven’t already started this series, do it immediately!

Hell Is Cold’s review: “Because Schwab always delivers. I can count on her not to disappoint me, and I’m really glad.”

Never Too Fond of Books’ review: “The Unbound is absolutely another gush-worthy book.”

Read My Breath Away’s review: “In my opinion, a strong sequel raises the stakes of the overarching story that was started in the first book and wow, does The Unbound ever raise those stakes.”