Review: Hallowed

Hallowed (Unearthly #2)
by Cynthia Hand
Published January 17th 2012 by HarperTeen

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.

 -goodreads blurb



Rating: 4.5/5
Review:

  Why Cynthia Hand? Why?! Why must you write such a heart-wrenching novel???
The Unearthly series has been, by far, the best angel series I've ever read. I loved the first book, and, despite all the horrible sadness this sequel invoked, I loved it too.

In this follow-up to Unearthly, Clara finds out that someone close to her is about to die. Needless to say, this book was an emotional roller coaster---one that the author handled incredibly well, in my opinion. The whole ordeal was realistic and heartbreaking and emotional and...argh! I can't even begin to describe the fantastic way this book was written.

And, good God, the characters! Aaaaah! I loved them! Every single one of them! (even if Jeffrey did kinda break my heart a little in this book...) All multi-layered and complex and flawed and real and... just plain wonderful!

Clara is one of my all-time favorite main characters--she is funny and kind and flawed in very relateable way! And she is so emotionally strong! Even with all the crap she faces in this book, she still manages to come out strong! She definitely matured a lot in Hallowed.

And then there's Tucker and Christian.
YOU GUYS. I have never encountered such a well-written love-triangle before. Ever! I personally loved Tucker from book 1.... but this one is seriously making me reconsider... This book is more Christian-oriented than the first and I must admit, I really like him now too! This is the first time where I truly cannot decide which boy I like better! It takes a seriously skilled author to make you switch teams without making either boy do something incredibly stupid/annoying. Of course, that talent makes some parts of this book all the more heartbreaking....

This book definitely threw some curve balls along the way and left me wanting MOOOOOORE! Honestly, with the way this book ended, I cannot wait to get the 3rd one! Which, of course is probably coming out in like a bajillion years!

Bottom Line: read this book. If you haven't started the series, then get Unearthly first because oh. My goodness. This series is freaking amazing! Seriously, I finished this entire book in less than a day! Yeah. It's that good.