Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: January 17, 2012
Source: Bought
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Summary: 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: Hallowed is the sequel to probably one of my absolute favorite books of 2011, Unearthly. While Hallowed was good and really enjoyable it didn't quite live up to Unearthly.

Clara is going through so much emotional turmoil in this book and I felt for her so much. Clara is just always trying to do what is right and get through her purpose. Of course, she does all of this with such great humor. That's what I could always count on during the book. Clara's humor. But mostly I just felt really bad for her.

Hallowed has a great love triangle. I was firmly and I mean firmly on Tucker's side in Unearthly. I pretty much thought Christian was a scumbag. But now...I like Christian and he's kind of sweet and really cute. He'll never be Tucker but I wouldn't mind if Clara ended up with Christian. During Hallowed I felt SO bad for Tucker. That poor guy.

Hallowed was a little slow at times but Hand's gorgeous writing carried me through that. I was happy that most of my questions were answered from the first book but of course now I have even more questions. Hallowed pretty much made me cry, as well. It could just get so sad during some moments and my heart totally went out to Clara.

Overall, Hallowed was an enjoyable read. I'll admit that I was expecting more but I'm just really excited for the next book!!


Rating:

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Guest Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Today I have something a little special for everyone! I happen to have a little obsession with the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand. And so does my friend, Saba. Today Saba is here to do a review on Hallowed, the second book in the series. Let's just say things are going to get a little crazy here at the blog today! :) Hallowed has got some mixed reviews but...let's just see what Saba has to say!

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: January 17, 2012
Source: Bought
Add to your shelves 


Summary: 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.

Saba's Review: WOW. 

WOW WOW WOW. Wow times a million. 

I love this book so much. I don't think I can fit how much I loved this book into a tiny review. I could write a book about how much I loved this book. As you can see, I'm a little obsessed, and you should be too. 

I have been hotly anticipating Hallowed for just about a year now, and I had the greatest expectations. Well, I have to say then that my expectations were met. I'm so happy they were. I hate it when sequels don't do as good as their previous books. But don't worry, Hallowed wasn't one of those books! 

As usual, Cynthia Hand manages to deliver a spectacularly beautiful and charming book that fills up every aspect of a good read (Scratch that, an AMAZING READ). Clara was and still is one of my favorite main characters. She's insanely smart and always manages to make me smile, she's pretty much hilarious. That's one of my favorite things about Cynthia Hand's books, they are hilarious. Like make you crack up out loud in a quiet room hilarious. I adore those kinds of books. 

Oh and of course, there's another character I need to talk about. TUCKER. Tucker Avery, the most amazing, awesome, adorable, main character you will ever read about. Tucker was just as great in this book as the previous, and not to mention he was HOT! Sorry I sort of have a thing for cowboys. The only thing that nagged me was that we didn't get to know him as well as we did in the previous book, we didn't get to read as much about him. Instead we learned about a different character, who's name is not to be mentioned. But still, Tucker was amazing <3. Katie: Oh, who doesn't have a thing for cowboys?! 

Hallowed had a great plot line, one that made you think one thing but then a whole another thing happened. It was filled with great twists. I loved the depth of each one of the characters, it made you feel what they're feeling and actually care about them. I loved that. It made the book feel very real. 

One of the best parts of this book was the beautiful writing, the oh so beautiful writing. Not only in describing but just the tone and the things said. I actually cried a lot in this book because of that. Cynthia Hand manages to touch your heart with this book all the while keeping you intrigued and laughing along, and crying along too I guess. The pace of the book was just perfect, it was equally balanced and I felt as though everything in the book had a reason and it wasn't just the author blabbing on. Everything in this book was just great, and the ending was killer, I don't know if I can make it until next year. 

Overall, Hallowed exceeded Unearthly and I LOVED it. It was amazing!!! So if you're hesitating to read this book, I say, don't! Go read it now because you are missing out on a truly, truly amazing book!

Saba's Rating:

Thanks for the review, Saba!! It was great!