Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

publisher: HarperTeen

release date: January 17, 2012

hardcover, 403 pages

intended audience: Young adult

series: Unearthly, Book 2
(my review of Book 1)

rating:


source: ARC from publisher for honest review

Spoiler alert!! Description and review may contain spoilers for book 1, Unearthly! If you haven't read Unearthly, stop now! :)

description: 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.

Review: SO, if you've read my review of Unearthly, you know how much I adore this series, these characters, that wonderful mother-daughter relationship and, yes, that cowboy. So what is that strange sound you might hear?? Well, dear readers, it's the sound of my heart breaking and falling like little pieces of glass onto the floor. Two major things happen in the book that completely left me in tears. Once again, Cynthia Hand gives us a story of emotional ups and downs, adventure, uncertainty, and fear---it's all there, just as amazing as in Unearthly. I cried, I shuddered, I hoped for the best, I cheered for the victories, and gasped at the many surprising revelations that came about! And despite a few moments that felt a tiny bit draggy, the action and conflict and emotion more than made up for it. I loved this one almost as much as the first---it was definitely a worthy sequel to Unearthly.

Cynthia Hand has such a way with writing characters. It creates such great intensity when you end up rooting for everyone, even those on opposite sides of a conflict. Even the dreaded Black Wing--despite being a real baddy and wreaking havoc on the lives of all the heroes of the story---garnered just the slightest twinge of sympathy from me at one point. Oh, and Jeffrey! Clara's younger brother--I seriously hope he's not going down the path that he seems to be going down! We also get some fantastic new characters: Billy, who is Clara's mom's best friend, and another new face that I will let remain a surprise! I loved them both! As for the love story--- as much as some people dread love triangles, I don't mind them. But I especially love it when you literally can't decide who you're rooting for the most---and as much as I love Tucker, that's where I stood by the end of this book.

Such a great series so far. If you haven't started this one yet, I say do it now! Definitely one that I consider a must-read! It's going to be one very long wait for book 3!

Visit Cynthia Hand's website here.

Purchase Hallowed at: Amazon • BN.com • BookDepository • Indiebound

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