Hallowed By Cynthia Hand - Unearthly #2 Book Review

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.

I read Unearthly earlier this month, and while I wasn’t completely floored by it, it was definitely one of the better reading experiences I’ve had lately, and it’s second only to Laini Taylor’s books in the angel subgenre. I knew I had to read the sequel (for reasons including, but not limited to, that GORGEOUS cover), and I’m glad I did.

There’s a lot to really like in Hallowed.  A lot of our questions are answered, some seriously awesome new characters are introduced, and some old characters get some great character development.  The pacing, while not lightning-fast, is fantastic, and results in the same kind of immersive read Unearthly gave us.   There are also a few game-changing surprises in Hallowed that promise for an epic read with Boundless.

And there’s also one of the saddest chapters I’ve recently read in paranormal YA.  I won’t get into it beyond that, but seriously.  Keep those tissues handy.

It’s enough to say that fans of Unearthly won’t be disappointed by Hallowed a bit. But the same lack of that undefinable quickness so many YA books have and the inclusion of yet another paranormal love triangle that fails to be any less cliché just because Cynthia Hands throws a few jabs at the very YA clichés her books boast probably won’t convert any critics of the first book to the Unearthly bandwagon.

I wouldn’t say I liked Hallowed better than Unearthly, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed by it. I’m excited to see how this trilogy ends.

Hallowed - 4 out of 5 stars