Hallowed By Cynthia Hand

Series: Unearthly #2
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal
Release Date: January 2nd 2012
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Cover Rating:  3/5 Stars
Synopsis: 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.


I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Unearthly, and I had high hopes for this one. I have realized after many disappointments that my expectations are nearly impossible to meet, but this one got pretty close. I had the same problem with this one as Unearthly; it has a very slow start. Once you get into it though it speeds up tremendously. The book follows on from the previous one as Clara has failed her purpose - or at least she thinks she has. She's not all that sure to be honest. She has started to have a new vision. A new purpose maybe? She's not all that sure about that either. Not a very decisive girl. What she does know though is that someone she loves will die very soon. She doesn't know who, why or how they will die. But they will.

I don't remember if I liked Clara in the first book but right now I'm on the fence about her. She doesn't annoy me, but she doesn't entertain me either. She is a bit like a vessel that keeps the story going but doesn't leave a lasting impression. She's tolerable and acts the age she's supposed to be, which is more than I can say for a lot of young adult heroines. There is a love triangle in this book but wait before you put this on your 'stupid-teen-love-triangle shelf (and we all know you have one). This isn't the average love triangle, it's a triangle out of necessity. That may sound stupid but it actually is not. Clara has to decide whether to be with the one she loves or the one her purpose seems to be foretelling that she be with. The obvious answer is of course the one she loves but it's not all that simple. Christian, one of the guys in question, changed a lot since the last book. In the first I thought he was quite sweet and for a while preferred him to the other. In Hallowed, that all changed. Christian became a jerk going after a girl who was taken and being rather forceful about it. Sure he still had his sweet parts but I was never positive if there was a hidden motive behind it or not. Tucker on the other hand was as perfect as ever. He must be the only YA character I've come across who wants to be a farmer and goes to rodeo's. He is also one of the only characters who didn't  come to terms with something unbelievable within minutes.

Example:
Bella Swan: Your a vampire?
Edward Cullen: Yes I am, fear me little breakable human. I'm a monster!
Bella Swan: I don't mind. I love you! Vampires are like, so cool! *

* No disrespect to people who like Twilight, I actually don't hate it myself but it's just made to mock!

I may have misquoted that but it's something along those lines. Anyway overall the book although not as good as the last was one of my favorite Angel based books. The plot - yes it actually has a plot! Take that Fallen! - has many aspects intertwined. The whole idea of a 'purpose' is extremely original and I grab all the originality I can get when it comes to these kind of books. I would recommend this book to those who want a new twist on the over written angel genre.

My Favorite Quote's: 

“Before I moved here, I never got the whole love-triangle thing. You know, in movies or romance novels or whatnot, where there’s one chick that all the guys are drooling over, even though you can’t see anything particularly special about her. But oh, no, they both must have her. And she’s like, oh dear, however will I choose? William is so sensitive, he understands me, he swept me off my feet, oh misery, blubber, blubber, but how can I go on living without Rafe and his devil-may-care ways and his dark and only-a-little-abusive love? Upchuck.”

“Hi there," Tucker says brightly, like we're bumping into each other on the street.
"Uh, hi."
"Nice night for stalking," he observes.
"No, I was---"
"Get your butt in here, Carrots.”
---
“I sneaked out to his house a couple times in the middle of the night to watch over him while he slept, just in case, I dont know, his comic book collection decided to spontaneously combust. This was dumb and admittedly creepy in an Edward Cullen kind of way”
See even the book mock's it!

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK