Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Clara Gardner knew that as a part angel she would one day have to fulfill her purpose, rescuing Christian from a forest fire...what she never considered was what might happen if she were to fail. 

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend Tucker, Clara must deal with the repercussions of what happened the day of the fire as the two boys vie for her heart. And, as she is drawn further into the world of angels and 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 after a shocking revelation, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning...


My instant reaction after finishing: My gosh. What an outstanding sequel. This broke my heart :'(& kept me captivated, also, swoon). Full review to come. 

Review: 

When HarperCollins released Hallowed on netgalley, it seemed all my reading buddies stopped whatever they were reading and charged straight into book two. After Unearthly was so universally loved (by hard core critics, fans of YA paranormal and non-fans of YA paranormal, aka: me) Hallowed was an insanely anticipated released. 

Guys, it delivers. 

It is a compelling and unputdownable read that evokes a whole gamut of emotions. 

For me, it was the complete package as far as reading experiences go: 

I read it in a single day, absorbed and hopeful. I swooned (plenty more gorgeous kissing scenes). I felt for the characters (as a whole, Hallowed is a sad, sombre kind of book that induces an achey feeling...). I LOVED the love triangle, which feels true and complicated, achey and not sensationalised at all. I particularly love Christian in this installment. Tucker is still awesome as well. I still love Clara’s voice. She sounds so teenagery without ever falling into overly-done YA snark. She’s moody and funny and sad and ever-so-likeable (if clueless at times ;)). 

There may be some things I am still unsure about (the angel mythology and the whole rules around purpose). I missed seeing more of Wendy. I am wondering why Jeffrey feels like such a loose canon ball and no seems to notice (?). It drove me CRAZY how Clara’s mum was never straight up with her about some of the mysteries of all the angel stuff. Some of the twists seemed inevitable to me, but that was cool. But all of these ponderings didn't detract from my enjoyment AT ALL. I seriously LOVED reading it. 

For a second book, there is no slump. It rolls straight on from Unearthly and sets up book number two for Clara’s next adventures: heading off to college (yay for heading into new adult territory!). I really cannot wait to follow the characters on and see what is in store for them, hey. 

If you haven’t read Unearthly yet (!) now is the time to get on board. Hallowed will be out in Australia on January 1 (although last year, HarperCollins released Unearthly early, making it available for Christmas ~ so keep an eye out!) and in the US January 17. 

Hallowed has my golden, shining seal of approval. The Unearthly series is fast becoming a fave of mine and I SO recommend them to all fans of YA ~ and any teens you know (it’s a breezy, engaging read). 

Thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley! 

The covers of Hallowed: 

US // UK // AUS