Hallowed
Author:Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: January 17, 2012
Pages: 416
Series: Unearthly, book two
Source: ARC from NCTE conference
About the Book: For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.
Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.
My Thoughts: I loved this book like… whoa. For real. As I mentioned in my review of Unearthly I was a little hesitant to read it because I thought the whole angel thing wasn’t for me. Turns out I’m not a fan of the fallen angel romance deal but LOVE the part angel type stories… for example, this series 🙂 With both books I was impressed by the writing, the pace, the characters… all of it was so well done and engrossing. Cynthia Hand = rockstar!!!
Hallowed is a “book two.” This had me a little worried. I mean, was this going to be one of those books that spent half the time trying to refresh me on book one and the other half setting me up for book three? I hate that (note: that doesn’t stop me from reading second books! I am a glutton for bookish pain!!) After reading Unearthly, I should have known better. Hand does a wonderful job of hooking the reader with the prologue and then working the major points from book one into the story without breaking the flow of book two. I was impressed by how flawlessly the book read. Obviously there are events and issues that lead up to the next book but there was still a lot of action and things occurring and being resolved in the now. Hallowed is one of the best middle of the series books I’ve read.
As far as events, I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling someone else’s reading experience. I don’t even feel comfortable talking too much about the characters. I will point a few things out:
* One of my favorite lines ever occurs in this book, “…admittedly creepy in an Edward Cullen kind of way.” I was thinking exactly this before she said it. Thank you Cynthia Hand for acknowledging that!!!
*I found my heart breaking in ways I didn’t anticipate.
*I have never been so undecided on so many issues in a book. I know what I think I want but then I also see the other side. I empathize so much with Clara and the whole “what I want versus what is best” dilema
*Having made the above statement, I still love Tucker.
I have more notes… a lot more notes. I made many predictions (most of which were right!) and I have many ideas for book three. I cannot share any of that here because it is all spoilery. Just know that I will be eagerly anticipating the next release! I highly recommend checking this series out so we can talk about it!!! I need someone to discuss it with!
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