Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

4 fudgy brownies.

Cover Love:
I like this cover a lot because it matches Unearthly. I don't know that it matches the book very well though.

Why I Wanted to Read This:
I really liked Unearthly (the first book in this series). It is probably my favorite of the current crop of angel books. So, I was really looking forward to this sequel! Here is the synopsis from 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.

I Kept Reading Because:
I was hooked!

Romance?: Of course!

What I Liked (& Didn't):
There was so much to enjoy! This sequel added a lot to the angel mythology that I loved. And it gave us a lot of questions to hopefully will be answered in the next book in the series.

I loved the twist with Clara's dad, LOVED that.

I liked the Angel Club and how all of them (Clara, Christian, Jeffrey and Angela) worked on their powers.

I thought the storyline with Clara's mom was just right and tied up the secrets she was keeping from Clara really well.

I got a little tired of Clara second guessing everything, but probably no more tired than Clara herself. I also felt the book moved through the year too fast. There were were some big jumps in time and you'd think with all that was going on there wouldn't be such jumps where nothing happened.

But here's my one complaint about this book (this loose end got tied up a bit at the end, but I think it will come back in the next book):

Like most current YA books this one has a love triangle. And like most of them both of the boys are very likeable--good, good, guys. Unlike most of them, I cannot get a clear read on who Clara is going to end up with. I have the one I am rooting for (Christian) and that makes me kind of not like Tucker. Actually, it's not Tucker I don't like, it's Clara spending most of the book talking herself into loving him. It's to the point that if she does ever end up with Christian, I don't think she will be able to be happy because she will be so clouded by how much she thinks she should be with Tucker. And Tucker is a really good guy-you don't want to see him so hurt!

I also don't like how nobody seems to be doing anything to save Jeffery! The are just leaving him out there doing whatever bad things he is doing. Clara needs to speak up about the things she's discovered about him! I think it's setting up whatever will happen to him in the next book, but it is frustrating to me!

To Sum Up: This was a great sequel and middle (?) book. It set up a lot of things for the next one and answered a lot of big questions for us. Great read!

eGalley received from NetGalley and HarperCollins. Thanks!