Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed
Unearthly 2
Author: Cynthia Hand
Pages: 403 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: January 17th 2012
Review Source: Harper Teen

I completely fell in love with this series because of Unearthly. Cynthia won me over with her unique storyline and Tucker Avery. So when ARCs were available for this one, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it to find out what happened.

Now that Clara Gardner has been through the forest fire and made her decisions, she has to face the consequences for those actions. And what she thought was so clear cut about her purpose is anything but.

The further Clara is drawn into the world of angel bloods, the more complicated things become for her, including her relationship with Tucker and Christian. Beyond that, though, Clara learns of a terrible loss that's on the horizon she'll have to face. The death of someone close to her. Nothing will be the same.

From the very beginning there's just something about this story and Cynthia's writing that just draws me in. I can't explain it. With Unearthly we got a small taste of Clara's world, but mostly for me it was her relationship with Tucker and that whole falling in love for the first time. With Hallowed we got a lot more of the angel bloods world and some answers. Sure, there's plenty more that we haven't gotten, but we got some. And Clara had to deal with some pretty intense stuff this time around.

I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that some of what happened wasn't all that unexpected for me. After the ending in Unearthly, it was pretty obvious that there would be consequences for Clara and that there would be some pretty hefty changes, so I was expecting that. And though I was hoping it wouldn't happen, I know that there is still so much left to happen.

Clara aside, Tucker and Christian are two characters who will and could create a lot of controversy for readers and fans of this series. They both are boys that can make girls swoon. I have a feeling there will be lots of talk about Team Tucker or Team Christian in the near future.

All I'll say for right now is that I'm still holding out hope. Hope for the way I'm wanting this to go in the next book (and maybe even the one after that if there's a 4th one). I understand why the story line went the way that it did, but I'm hoping it will all work out the way I want it to. Cynthia drew me in with a great idea and has still managed to keep me wanting more.

And after a much awaited appearance from a special character, I'm pretty happy with where things have left off for now. I definitely have my hands itching for the next book (and possibly number 4 if there will be one).