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747 reviews for:

Hallowed

Cynthia Hand

3.98 AVERAGE


First thing? Go read the first book, Unearthly. You won't regret it. Then you can go read this one.

Hallowed starts just about where Unearthly left off. Clara is head-over-heels in love with Tucker and ready for her senior year. Except, Christian is still there, too. And Clara has been having a reoccurring dream that she knows means something - but the dream doesn't make clear, at all, what she's supposed to do about it. All she REALLY knows is that there is a dark angel out there that is really ticked off at her and that no matter what she does, she is disappointing someone.

This was stellar. Maybe my expectations were super low, since the second book in a series is not typically anything to get thrilled about, but I really liked this one. I had tears - TWICE - in an urban fantasy book! It's emotional and painful and we get all kinds of new information about Clara and her family, as well as the angel lore that was set up so well in the previous book. Not just that, but the well-written and thoughtful romantic storyline really kept the pages turning for me. I like that so much of this book is about choices - and about how as hard as we try to make the right choices for ourselves and the people we love, that we STILL don't get to choose what the consequences are. I cannot wait to find out how this series finishes up. I'm a total fan.

I still feel as if I could have really loved this story if I had read it a few years ago. But, reading it today, I just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm for the story that I knew I should be feeling. There was WAY too much love triangle in this story. The dilemma posed in this love triangle, however, was kind of interesting, though. It's the age old problem of making the wise and expected decision versus going with the passion of the moment. I couldn't get too enthusiastic about this story most of the time because it was either focused on the Team Tucker vs. Team Christian story line or basically a ton of information dropping about the true nature of angels and their offspring. It wasn't boring. It just wasn't gripping. However, there were enough interesting moments peppered throughout the story that I found myself enjoying it, and I did decide to go ahead and finish out the trilogy to see how everything turns out. Like I say, a few years ago I probably would have ADORED this story, so I still feel like it is one I can recommend to those who are looking for a little teenage love angst in their paranormal stories. It just didn't quite work for me. Three stars. I liked it.

Really slow, boring start. At least 65% of the book was.

Then it got good. Then sad. The last few chapters were very well-written. I could feel the sorrow during the event.

A lot of characters got annoying. I already have an idea how this story will end. But I'm scared to start on the third book, because I wasn't too pumped with this second one. But why delay it, you know? I'm two-thirds done with this trilogy. I'm almost there.

Excuse me and my potty mouth but for this book, but most of the words going through my mind were mostly "Oh shit." Because that's what happens. Every single chapter, something quite terrible happens.

Hallowed picks up right as Unearthly left off, after the fire and with Clara worried because she has no idea what to do about screwing up her purpose after she went to save Tucker, her boyfriend, instead of Christian. And Tucker himself is all amiss because he comes from a not well-off family and he lost everything in that fire.

Which turns out to be arson.
And then Clara's mother turns out to be
Spoiler dying
.
And while Tucker is extremely distracted about his family life and the fire, we find out Christian REALLY REALLY likes Clara. As in more than just friends.
And there are way more angels in Jackson Hole than you thought there was.

It just goes on and on with shenanigans!

But does the crazy drama make it a good book?

Clara, as many reviewers have already pointed out, is a very likeable heroine. She doesn't make STUPID mistakes like walking home at night through bad parts of town. Her mistakes are more realistic like when she accidentally sleeps over at Tucker's house and in his bed. Ms. hand really made it feel like an accident. Even
Spoilerher cheating kiss with Christian
wasn't normally hateful like I despite in most other ya.

But the problem is, I HATE love triangles with a deep ensuring passion. It's just not fair to anyone involved and deeply frustrates me when the male leads just make it worse by being aggressive about it. I understand it makes stories more interesting and creates conflict, but it is frustrating to read.

Biggest bone to pick: Jeffrey.
Or how the author made it feel like all conflict could have been avoided if JEFFREY had just SAID SOMETHING, ANYTHING in book one. (the other 10% of the conflict in the book is related to Clara's mother, who unfortunately has bigger problems) Jeffrey is turning out to be a terrible younger brother, something I didn't know could happen in ya. He was honestly the reason for half the issues in this book.

Okay, so did i like the book?
Honestly, it was half and half. The book was sooooo dammmnnn slooowww at certain parts and I only finished because I kept reading reviews on goodreads saying there were things up ahead that would blow my mind. I still hate Angela as much as ever and every single time she comes out, I immediately lose interest. Even Tucker and Christian are not as dynamic in here. Clara's powers as an empath means there's a lot of "I know what you're thinking so we'll just awkwardly stand here while I read your feelings instead of actually talking", and inner monologues while she squabbles with herself.

The story did pick up when Clara's dad comes back and we find out a little more about angel history (again related to her mother) but then the pace slows down again.

But plotwise, there was nothing stopping this train! Thousands of things happened.

So yes. three stars.

Oh, the feelings. I am feeling so many different things right now.

Cynthia, how could you do this to me?!

Hallowed starts off with a bang. Somebody Clara knows/cares about is going to die. Super. Chances are there’s nothing she can do about it and it’s only a matter of who and when. I mean, that alone would be enough to keep me reading just to find out the who and the why.

However, Cynthia doesn’t need those gimmicky tricks to keep me interested. There are so many ups and downs through out this novel that I couldn’t put it down, even when I had to. (Fortunately, I’ve mastered the walking-and-reading skill years ago. Now, I’m working on the cooking-and-reading. I’m getting there.)

The plot reveals so much more about the history of Angels – both the real deal and the half-bloods. (It always comes back to Harry Potter, doesn’t it?) We’re talking revelations where I was completely blind-sided and my only response was “whoa.”

We also learn A LOT of what Clara’s mother was keeping from her and Jeffery, along with why she kept these things hidden from them. This is a tough situation because I completely get why Maggie hid these information tidbits, but I also completely understand why Clara and Jeffery are annoyed – for lack of better wording – that she hid them in the first place.

The love triangle gets even more complicated. Tucker or Christian. Christian or Tucker.

I grew to like Christian more in Hallowed than I did in Unearthly. I can see Clara’s attraction to him outside the lines of “We belong together! It’s destiny!” Even though there were times where I thought he overstepped his bounds and got what he deserved (this will make sense once you read), he really proved himself by the end of the novel.

However, I am still Team Tucker. It’s just now of a 60/40 ratio that the 80/20 of Unearthly. Tucker is such a good guy that I feel for him. It can’t be easy when your girlfriend is “meant to be” with another guy. He does his best to be strong and understanding of a world he doesn’t fully understand – a world Clara herself doesn’t fully understand either for that matter.

I found Angela and Jeffery to be a tad annoying. Angela is always going on and on about theories – I do love when Maggie informed Angela that she could be really stupid sometimes – and Jeffery is mopping around because of whatever happened in the end of Unearthly. Yes, I get where Angela is coming from. She wants to know more about herself and there’s really nobody providing the answers.

Jeffery… Holy crap. Once we find out what is deal is… Holy crap. Part of me feels bad for him, but the other part of me is like “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?! This whole messy situation would be a lot easier to deal with.” Boys are stupid.

The ending was amazing. I loved it. And I hated it. It was very bittersweet and I think Cynthia did an amazing job handling the situation.

Bottom Line
If you liked Unearthly, you’re going to LOVE Hallowed. The characters really shine, the plot is engaging and emotional, the writing has matured, and it’s all around an amazing story that you will not want to put down.

This book and series has stolen my heart, I am completely in love with it. I don't think I have ever read the second book in a series and wanted to go back and re-read the first book just because I can't get enough. HALLOWED did that to me. After finishing I wanted more and if I didn't have a pile of books that I need to read then I would gone back and read UNEARTHLY.

The characters are the shining stars in this series. There isn't a single character that I don't like, and that has never happened before. Cynthia has created characters that speak to everybody and you can't help to be wrapped on in their lives. 

Before I say anything else I must say that I LOVE TUCKER. Love love love Tucker. He is my favorite male character in YA books right now. He is perfection in my eyes, and his love for Clara just radiates off of him. He is the PERFECT boyfriend and I would choose him over any other book boyfriend. Cynthia hand hit it out of the park when she created Tucker.

Speaking of Tucker, the love triangle between Tucker, Clara, and Christian is intense. I think for the first time I have no idea who Clara is going to end up with. I keep crossing my fingers and praying that it is Tucker, but there is just no telling. It could go either way, and I hate that I have to wait a year to find out!

I'm glad that we go a more in depth look into the world of the angel-bloods. You learn more about Clara and "absent" dad. Clara's dad, Michael, is my favorite new character. I hope we get to see their releationship grow and that he is more present in the next book.

HALLOWED is one of those books that I will still be thinking about in a few months and that is why I love it. It absolutely destroys me that we have to wait so long to get our next taste of Clara's world.
adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

There will be spoilers for the first book in the series: [b:Unearthly|7488244|Unearthly (Unearthly #1)|Cynthia Hand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1324782984s/7488244.jpg|9621771].

I'm going to be very vague in my review because I don't want to spoil anyone. If I were to write what I really wanted to about this book it would probably look something like this:

#$(#($(LIKE(#$(@#)@WHAT@(#(STOP IT CHRISTIAN@#(@TUCKERRRRRRR@((@#$(#NOOO JEFFREYYYYY@#*!*! and end with me riding off into the sunset with Tucker on the back of Midas in a blaze of Glory.

...thankfully for you, I'm going to write something else and try to make it somewhat composed.

Hallowed is Cynthia Hand's middle child and I liked it even more than her first. Sure, it's got classic middle child syndrome. It doesn't really further the plot along (though there are several new developments) and it ends as a very clear set up for the next book. The story still isn't the most original or groundbreaking thing in the world. There's still a love triangle with a heroine at the middle who is just special and shiny enough to make two men fall desperately in love with her. Yet, I loved this book. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. I worried. I stayed up all night with these characters. What kind of book deserves five stars if one that can make me do all of those things does not? I'm not here to be a professional judge of literary merit. Even so, it's like Cynthia Hand said to other authors "Look, you want to include the cliche high-school experience in your story and have a heroine who is being forced to choose between an attractive supernatural being and the boy next door? You can write that story but THIS is how you do it."

As stated in my review of Unearthly I was a little fearful of where book two was going to go. At the start of the book (and random moments throughout) I was worried that the story was going to be taken somewhere very cliche with the love triangle and fall in on itself. It's like I was standing at the edge of a cliff with Cynthia Hand behind me just begging me to trust her and I was saying "But Cynthia, those rocks down there look awfully sharp and I think I see Christian down there trying to give himself Edward Cullen hair..." and she was like "Shut up. I've got this all under control. And you've got to admit his wings are pretty." and guess what? Cynthia Hand never pushed me off that cliff. Although I'm pretty sure I saw her nudge Tucker a few times.

I don't like love triangles. There's usually a very clear winner and the girl ends up with the slightly abusive bad boy, while both boys stand around salivating over her like she's prime rib, and it's sickening. That is not so here. Well, for the most part. Cynthia Hand develops her characters so well that even if you came away from the first book solidly on the Team Tucker side (not that I would, um, ever, ya know, be on a team or anything... cough) that you will likely come to empathize with Clara and the reasons she is drawn to Christian as well. The thing is, Clara never casts Tucker aside. She doesn't look at Christian and say "Oh, but I cannot fight his charms! Look at his dark and smoky features!" and turn into mush in his presence. Though the boys have their cave man moments, they come out of it and apologize and they treat Clara with respect. They treat her as a person who can make her own decisions and don't try to force her hand. As a result, you feel something for everyone involved in the situation. It doesn't feel like a plot device. The love triangle makes sense as part of Clara's story. Clara is a creature with a destiny but she is also a creature with free will and the love triangle was a great way to explore that and help Clara grow.

It also isn't the focus of the whole book. I absolutely loved that Clara's relationship with her family is so developed. I like that the mother gets to have her own story. Too often in YA the adults aren't fleshed out at all and it's often a missed opportunity. Maggie is just as developed as Clara and I love Cynthia Hand for that. I would love to see Hand expand on Maggie's past even further. I also really enjoyed watching Jeffrey's story unfold.

I mentioned in my review of Unearthly that I really appreciate Cynthia Hand's sense of humor. That continues here. Which is good, because without Clara's voice, this book would have been very dark indeed. Clara pokes fun at her life and herself and the situations she finds herself in and it adds a necessary lightness to the story.

I'm glad I stood at that cliff with Cynthia Hand. Though, based on the ending I'm even more concerned for book three. I don't know why, because it's become clear that I should trust her. She has proven herself to be a great storyteller who treats her characters with respect.

Recommendation: If you liked Unearthly I think you should move right on to Hallowed. The same humor and suspense can be found in this second installment. Just don't come here looking for the plot to move forward a hell of a lot. This book focuses a great deal of its time on relationships (not just romantic ones) and character development. I wish there had been a little bit more resolved (particularly with Angela - you know something is going on there!) but I don't think fans of book one will be very disappointed.

This review and other things at my blog: The Night Bookmobile

Spoilers below the cut.

SpoilerSo was Clara stealing Jeffrey's purpose not the most awkward moment between siblings in all of the world? What if Jeffrey could have carried Midas too and Midas only survived because he is some sort of demon who is now plotting to kill Clara for making him run for days through a huge fire? I've clearly just figured out the plot for book three.

For the (possibly) upcoming CW series based on these books Midas will now be played by the horse Shadowmere from the game Skyrim. Because he also never dies.

Photobucket

I'm a little worried that the television show will mess up my casting of the guy who plays Hoyt on True Blood as Tucker though. Can we just hire him and Deborah Ann Woll and call it a day?

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Someone should hire me, obviously.

I gave it 2 stars just because I loved the first book.
But this one, I couldn't even finish it. I came to the 100 page, because I wanted to give it a chance, but I was so bored. I just wanted it to end. As soon as possible.

TEARS IN MY EYES