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.

Teaser Tuesday (57)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.

Here's what you do:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
Share the title and author
Try not to include spoilers!

I'm reading Cynthia Hand's Hallowed, sequel to her debut novel, Unearthly. Here's a teaser for you:

"God wants us to be mortal," I repeat cluelessly.

"It doesn't matter whether or not we're capable of living for hundreds of years. We don't live more than a hundred and twenty years," concludes Angela.

This is just a clue to the amount of information Clara learns about herself and angel-bloods in this book. I'm really enjoying this one. I'm also almost done it, so hopefully I'll have a review up sometime soon!

Feel free to share your teasers with me. I'd love to see what you're reading!

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that showcases upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!





This week I'm waiting on:

Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand
Publication Date: January 17, 2012

**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 straight-forward 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

Why I want it: It's the sequel to Unearthly which is an angel story I really loved. I really want to see what happens next for Clara because I'm sure she's having a lot of identity issues after the end of Unearthly.

What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

Hallowed Cover Reveal

I loved UNEARTHLY when I read an egalley of it from NetGalley in November. I preordered it instantly and anxiously awaited it's release date in the beginning of January. Check out how much I loved it by reading my review here.

Cynthia Hand was able to reveal the cover for her second novel, and sequel to UNEARTHLY, on her blog recently. Unfortunately the cover had been leaked so it wasn't brand new to everyone, but it was to me! The title of the second novel in the Unearthly series is HALLOWED, and here is the awesome cover:

I love the blue, it's a really nice shade. And, like Cynthia commented on her blog, "it will be all silvery and shiny like the UNEARTHLY cover wass, so this image won't really do it justice." I really love the font that is used for the title. It's so swirly and curvy and pretty.

And, as I usually do, here is the cover for UNEARTHLY so you can compare:

I'll stick the synopsis here at the end so those who haven't read UNEARTHLY don't have to worry about reading spoilers.

**Warning, SPOILERS if you have not read UNEARTHLY yet!**

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.

Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.

From Goodreads

Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publish Date: January 4, 2011
Pages: 448

Synopsis:
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what it is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place--and out of place, at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

From Goodreads

I've recently found out that I can't avoid angel stories because they have this huge, overpowering appeal to me. This one, I absolutely loved. It was different than the others I've read, because the angel is the narrator. Most of the YA paranormal/fantasy books I've read have consisted of the human female and the paranormal male with whom she falls in love.

This story starts with Clara, who has just recently found out that she's a quarter angel. She's been having weird visions, which her mother tells her are clues to her purpose. These clues eventually lead her and her family to the beautiful Wyoming mountains. She becomes really wrapped up in Christian and it seems like any overactive high school crush. The story really gets good when summer comes along and Clara starts to worry about whether or not she's going to be ready to fulfill her purpose.

Insert Tucker. Oh, Tucker, how I love you so much. Talk about sexy cowboy! He starts off as a bit of an ass who seems to enjoy pushing Clara's buttons. By the time the summer comes around, you get to see his softer side, and my goodness is he sweet. I don't want to tell you too much about him, but I'm team Tucker all the way!

The last four to five chapters are absolutely amazing. By the time I got to this point, I didn't want to stop reading for anything. I even tried reading through my lecture, but I realized that was really stupid and put it away (very, VERY reluctantly). Cynthia Hand inserts at least three pretty big twists near the end, and they are so great. I can't give anything away, obviously, but good luck putting it down near the end.

I definitely recommend this one to anyone who has recently fallen in love with angel stories. Unearthly is different in the sense that the narrator isn't the typical damsel in distress, which is a great change. Overall, this is now on my favourite reads list. I can't wait until it comes out so that I can hold it in my hands and read it all over again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the digital ARC!

Teaser Tuesday!

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away, so that you don't ruin the book for others)

Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR list is they like your
teasers!

My first ever teaser come from Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. I'm currently reading a digital galley of it from NetGalley.

She stood up too, and took a step back, giving me some space, nodding slightly as if she completely understood what I was going through. Like she knew that she was unraveling everything.





I'm really enjoying this story. I'm not yet halfway through, but I think I'll like it until the end and will probably invest in a copy when it comes out on January 4, 2011.

I hope you all enjoyed my first Teaser Tuesday! I sure did :)