Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: January 17, 2012
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 403
Series: Unearthly #2
1. Unearthly (review)
2. Hallowed
3. Boundless (January 22, 2013)

**WARNING: SPOILERS**

Synopsis:
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.

From Goodreads

It has been what seems like forever since I read Unearthly. I read an ARC of it in December of 2010, so it’s really been like 16 months. That’s a long time between books, and I found myself struggling to remember what had happened at the end of the first book.

To be honest, I didn’t feel like a lot really happened in this book. It was mostly a book full of answers about angel-bloods and purposes. And emotional turmoil. But there was no major climax, and I find when I read books that do that, I’m always left feeling like something’s missing.

We do learn a lot about angel-bloods; their history, their future, their community. Clara is so confused about her purpose, and so is Christian for that matter. When she starts having the same dream over and over again, it’s realized that her purpose may not be complete, and this dream may be another vision. Of course, that just causes a lot of stress, and emotions to go wild, when the picture becomes clearer.

One thing I did like about this book was how we learned more about Jeffrey. Granted, it may not have been until much later in the book. But his angry/hostile mood was continuously present. I was more invested in Jeffrey and what was going on with him, than finding out about Clara’s new vision and what it meant. Honestly, thinking back now, the strongest emotion I have about the book is the worry I felt about Jeffrey and what was going on in his life. Clearly, Clara didn’t feel the same way, and that’s something she realizes eventually.

I don’t know what’s to come next. High school is over, that’s all I know. The ending was bittersweet. It suggested a lot of different directions, and so it’s hard to even speculate. I do know that I’ll be really happy when it comes out, and I can see how this trilogy is going to end.