Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: 1.17.2012
Pages: 403
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Angels
Series: Yes (Unearthly #2)
Source: egalley from publisher
Rating: A+
Summary (from Goodreads):
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.
Review:
I really don’t know why I waited so long to read this book. Cynthia Hand is a writing goddess. I absolutely adored her style in Unearthly, and she kept it going just as strong and fluidly in Hallowed. It was magic from start to finish.
As a reader, I completely love a well-spun tale (don’t we all?). Hand really goes all out with the world she has created and the angel mythology. I love that it seems equal parts fact and fiction. She threads just enough truth into her story to make you pause and wonder if it could really be truth. But she never crosses the line into outright blasphemy. It’s a dangerously thin line that she toes with grace. I love the history she gives her characters, and the way she explains glory and purpose.
No matter how great a plot is, it can’t be amazing without characters you love. Clara is still a great narrator. I love her strength and innocence and heart. She is truly one of my favorite female heroines of all time.
I have to admit … I think I may have jumped the Tucker/Clara ship and am swimming frantically for the Christian/Clara ship on the horizon. Please don’t get me wrong, Tucker is still … Tucker. Which means he is epic and incredible and everything a girl could want in a YA boyfriend. But Christian and Clara just have this connection that Hand really pushes to the foreground this time around. You simply cannot deny their chemistry. A blogger friend of mine texted me after she read this and said she was firmly now Team Christian, which stunned me as she had been a complete Team Tucker fan at the start.
Honestly? I don’t care one way or another who Clara ends up with. I think both are right for her in their own ways, and I’ll be happy with whatever Cynthia Hand decides is best for Clara.
While Hallowed doesn’t have a major cliffhanger ending (it’s actually fairly sweet), there are a lot of burning questions that are begging to be answered. It will be borderline torturous to wait another year to find out what happens to Clara, Tucker, Christian, Jeffrey, Angela and the rest, but I have a feeling it will be well worth the wait.
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