Review: Hallowed (Unearthly, #2)

Hallowed (Unearthly, #2) by Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Kindle Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★★

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of 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, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Perfectly titled, Hallowed is darker in tone than Unearthly. Faced with knowing someone very near to her will die: Clara's relationships are stressed, her inner strength is tested, and her true purpose is revealed. On top of that new characters bring with them unexpected twists and back stories. Cynthia Hand has done it again! My love for the characters drove me to quickly and gladly devour Hallowed.

I was surprised that I found myself disliking Tucker quite a bit in this book. After Unearthly, I didn't think that could ever be a possibility! Though Clara obviously felt strongly for Tucker, being an angel-blood stressed their relationship to the max in Hallowed. I'm sad to say that I slowly converted to Team Christian over the course of this book. Crazy, right!? Reasons being: He was always there for Clara, but never pushy or selfish; She could confide in him about angel related things, something she couldn't really do with Tucker; and they clearly had feelings for each other outside of their purposes.

While this book is sad, it is also filled with hope. Strong characters and an emotion filled plot will engage and inspire readers. I highly recommend this book if you read and enjoyed Unearthly!