REVIEW: Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand

 

Author: Cynthia Hand

Series: Unearthly

Pages: 403

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: HarperTeen

Amazon: Hallowed

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves 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.

In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand is the second book in the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand and starts off where Unearthly ended.

Clara Gardner is still reeling from the forest fire and Black Wing confrontation in Unearthly and trying to work out what her purpose as a Quartarious Angel-blood is. When she begins to dream again, this time of a funeral she needs to work out the meaning for she feels she is about to lose someone close to her.

Clara is now in a solid relationship with Tucker but her thoughts and feelings at times still sway towards fellow Angel Christian. I am not a love triangle fan whatsoever and having two guys who are both adorable makes it even harder; I found it really difficult trying to decide who I preferred her with, both have great qualities.

In the beginning we still see Clara’s mother being evasive as she was in book one but as the story progresses so too do the revelations and the role she plays is a huge one and things are about to change drastically for Clara and her brother Jeffrey. Jeffrey certainly played an interesting role in this book and I am quite keen to see the outcome in the next installment.

There were a number of twists and turns in Hallowed that I didn’t see coming, the slow revealing tidbits of Angel history we are learning about is fascinating and seeing each of the characters work towards learning of their purpose is certainly intriguing.

Other secondary characters - Angela, Wendy, Billy, Mr Phibbs etc. are all fleshed out well and enjoyable. Each character from the first book has grown, we are learning more about their unique personalities and I am enjoying the character developments.

Cynthia Hand creates a wonderful setting and structured characters; she provides vivid details which captivated me. Hallowed wasn’t as action packed as Unearthly for me, the pacing was slower and there was a lot more emotion but the plot was still entertaining and enjoyable.

The Unearthly series is definitely, for me one of the best Angel series I have read. I am quite anxious to get hold of book 3 which has an anticipated 2013 release date {argh!}.