Tuesday, January 17, 2012

{ARC Review} Hallowed by Cynthia Hand


Title: Hallowed
Series: Unearthly #2
Author: Cynthia Hand
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: HarperCollins



Synopsis:

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.


Until last week, I had not read Unearthly and I have to say I am saddened that I waited so long. I only read it so I wouldn't feel completely lost reading Hallowed but ended up falling for this series in a way I never imagined. When you hop around the blogosphere as much as I do, you find that certain books get more attention than others and that is a sad fact. Unearthly and Hallowed are two of the books I don't see tons of reviews for and it's a shame. I loved both these books but this review is for the second book in the Unearthly Series.

Hallowed begins shortly after we left Clara in Unearthly. Clara begins to have "dreams" involving deep sorrow and a cemetery. With the introduction to Black Wings she associates her visions to them but when she begins to note the things around her...she notices certain important people are missing from the gathering. Imagining the worst, Clara has to make a decision whether to tell these people they may possibly be dying or leave fate to take care of it. Knowing she isn't good at keeping secrets, she struggles more than some people would. And who knows...maybe there is a reason she can't keep secrets, some ingrained sense...or maybe not.

We learn more about the lore between the white wings and the dark wings in this installment. I loved knowing what made each "race" different. Seeing Clara's ability to deal with the Black Wing, Samjeeza, made me proud. Clara is a strong protagonist who shows her weaknesses from time to time. She has strong views on the way things should be, rebels against them, and then sometimes wishes she could redo things. Does anything say young adult better than the previous sentence? I didn't think so.

This time around...Clara faces an enormous loss. She will have to learn who they can trust and attempt to work things out with Jeremy, her brother. If there is anything worse than a teenage girl...it is only a stubborn teenage boy with a God-complex.

We get to see much more of Christian in action in Hallowed. He tries to be what Clara wants him to be with a great deal of difficulty. I enjoyed his role and his passion. I still love Tucker and I think he makes Clara happy in a teenage love sort of way. Christian is more like the rock she will always have to lean on...for now.

Ms. Hand throws a couple of zingers on the table this time around. I was shocked, saddened, and delightfully pleased. If you haven't added this to your TBR list...do so now.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review Kristin. I am more likely to read this book now. I read Unearthly and liked it but maybe not enough to read the second book...I may pick it up after reading your review. Not sure why Unearthly didn't really grab me :/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great review I really enjoyed this one too and yes it was a real emotional ride this one. So curious about book 3!

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

    ReplyDelete
  3. I did the same thing you did, reading quickly through Unearthly so that I would not be lost when reading Hallowed. Like you, I was ashamed that I hadn't read this book before. Soooo good. I really enjoyed both Unearthly/Hallowed and can't wait for the 3rd book. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who does things at the last moment! I really do love this series. Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now Kim...don't just take my word for it. I know some people won't like what I do and that's fine. Hallowed is a very moving book...much more so than Unearthly.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...