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bethtabler's review
4.0
Essentially, Hallow is a story about family and the lengths we go to protect those of us we love. Hallow begins as we re-join Ariel and protector Rafe back on Earth. Ariel is still battling to accept herself and what fate has thrust upon her. The new parts of herself are extraordinary and take some getting used to. At this point in the story, if you haven’t read book 1, Heavenward, you should. Although it is not necessary, I think it tends to fill in a lot of plot chunks and character traits that you are not familiar with. Plus it will give you a better grounding on Ariel’s situation.
Unlike the first story, Heavenward, Hallow takes place on Earth, and I think that it starts to tie up some of the loose ends from the first novel. However, this book is transitional. It is setting up the other books in the series; there will be four total. I am not going to give away the plot; just know that not everything is settled with a neat bow. Ariel hits rock bottom in this story. She dragged through muck and mire. Only as she has lost much of who she is can she embrace who she has to become. It is a pretty exciting character arc, and I am looking forward to where it ends up. There are so much development and excitement to come for Ariel as the series progresses.
Narrative style-wise, I found the first few chapters challenging to get through. Olga has a particular highly detailed way of writing that can be a challenge for some readers. This book feels more settled in this style, and Olga feels more comfortable with the characters. It is almost as if the characters have matured and rounded out. If you can make it through the first chapters and can get used to that highly detailed style, I promise you will be in for a wild ride of a story and will enjoy it. You will get hooked, give it a swing.
Unlike the first story, Heavenward, Hallow takes place on Earth, and I think that it starts to tie up some of the loose ends from the first novel. However, this book is transitional. It is setting up the other books in the series; there will be four total. I am not going to give away the plot; just know that not everything is settled with a neat bow. Ariel hits rock bottom in this story. She dragged through muck and mire. Only as she has lost much of who she is can she embrace who she has to become. It is a pretty exciting character arc, and I am looking forward to where it ends up. There are so much development and excitement to come for Ariel as the series progresses.
Narrative style-wise, I found the first few chapters challenging to get through. Olga has a particular highly detailed way of writing that can be a challenge for some readers. This book feels more settled in this style, and Olga feels more comfortable with the characters. It is almost as if the characters have matured and rounded out. If you can make it through the first chapters and can get used to that highly detailed style, I promise you will be in for a wild ride of a story and will enjoy it. You will get hooked, give it a swing.
zooloo1983's review
4.0
So straight after I finished Heavenwards, I had to jump straight back in with Hallow. I did not want to be apart from the characters or the action for too long! Ah, how long am I to wait for the next one though??
Anyway back to Ariel, she is still struggling with her inner demons and her good ole pal Rage is making a lot of appearances! Ariel hurt me near the opening of the book when she viciously attacked Rafe(verbally!). Now do not get me wrong, she is not coping, she is acting out and you really do forget how young she is but her words cut me like they did Rafe. If it was not for her inner turmoil after the event, despite her silly actions, I may not have forgiven her. Ariel is a “typical” struggling teenage girl, she not only has the usual angst in life, but she has to also has to try and cope with the essence of one of, if not the, most powerful angel! Not an easy task! Aside from her outbursts, she is such a strong girl and a force to be reckoned with. She is much stronger than she gives herself credit for, if only she had the belief because she has proven it over and over.
Despite this, her sister is missing and she has to find her, with Rafe help. There are some touching scenes and there are some horrifying scenes, ones I do not wish to re-imagine with the lizard men – seriously terrifying! I would love to know how Olga came up with them in her head!!!!!
Where I loved Heavenwards, the writing in Hallow just blows you away. Where Olga was seemingly learning her trade and characters, in Hallow she knocks it out the park with her writing and character development. For me, this was so strong, the characters are formed and you create such a bond for them, whether you like them or not!!!
I honestly can not do the book any justice it deserves. I can not find the right words to entice you to read it, I just hope you do. It deserves your attention! It may be classed as a “Fantasy and a Young Adults” book but it is truly so much more, the way it is written is done in such a way that it is so realistic every sound, dialogue, smell, backdrop is brought to life.
booksanddachshunds's review
4.0
** Disclaimer: I did received a copy of this book from the author for review purpose. This has in no way, shape or form affected my opinion on it **
Full review on the blog!
The story took a turn I wasn’t expecting at all.. and left me sobbing quite a few time, alone in the darkness of my room 🙈 Even though i’m older than her, I kinda wish I’d have Ariel’s strength of mind – she really is an awesome character all over, even with her rage.
Herself and Rafe has that brother/sister attitude I cannot understand what it’s like as an only child, but that we see portrayed alot. They like to give the other some rough times when also stand up for them and be there when needed. While the relation with her sister is nothing but sweetness, pure big sister “must protect my baby at all cost” and not allowing her to follow the sad path she took growing up.
Full review on the blog!
The story took a turn I wasn’t expecting at all.. and left me sobbing quite a few time, alone in the darkness of my room 🙈 Even though i’m older than her, I kinda wish I’d have Ariel’s strength of mind – she really is an awesome character all over, even with her rage.
Herself and Rafe has that brother/sister attitude I cannot understand what it’s like as an only child, but that we see portrayed alot. They like to give the other some rough times when also stand up for them and be there when needed. While the relation with her sister is nothing but sweetness, pure big sister “must protect my baby at all cost” and not allowing her to follow the sad path she took growing up.
bridgets_books's review
4.0
Let’s start with my opinion that you should read Heavenward, Book 1 of the Celestial Creatures series first. I have read it, loved it, and believe you would benefit from all the explanations, back story, characters, world-building, etc. in book one. I feel the reader may be lost without this information.
Since Celestial Creatures is now a four book series, book two contains set-up for the upcoming battles and books. I would rather have the explanations now than have the reader become wholly lost in the next book. Hallow is by no means an unnecessary read. You don’t want to miss the action as Ariel searches and finally finds her younger sister. Her entire purpose in life is to save her sister from the horrors she has endured in her own short life. It is fascinating to watch Ariel grow into her powers and become the strong lead character we always knew she could be.
As in the first book, the author has a firm grasp on where she wants this book to go and the settings, worlds, and battles needed to take it there. Her words create intricate scenes brought vividly to life. The action is intense, gripping, and violent and yet there is always that touch of humanity, caring, and morals included. The essence of Uriel is explained in greater detail in Hallow. There are touching scenes with Rafe and Sam as well as battles of will with Baza. All this is necessary to carry the story forward but, it certainly makes for a fantastic story on its own.
I recommend Heavenward and Hallow to lovers of dark fantasy, epic adventures, good vs. evil, and science fiction. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. The above is my honest opinion.
Since Celestial Creatures is now a four book series, book two contains set-up for the upcoming battles and books. I would rather have the explanations now than have the reader become wholly lost in the next book. Hallow is by no means an unnecessary read. You don’t want to miss the action as Ariel searches and finally finds her younger sister. Her entire purpose in life is to save her sister from the horrors she has endured in her own short life. It is fascinating to watch Ariel grow into her powers and become the strong lead character we always knew she could be.
As in the first book, the author has a firm grasp on where she wants this book to go and the settings, worlds, and battles needed to take it there. Her words create intricate scenes brought vividly to life. The action is intense, gripping, and violent and yet there is always that touch of humanity, caring, and morals included. The essence of Uriel is explained in greater detail in Hallow. There are touching scenes with Rafe and Sam as well as battles of will with Baza. All this is necessary to carry the story forward but, it certainly makes for a fantastic story on its own.
I recommend Heavenward and Hallow to lovers of dark fantasy, epic adventures, good vs. evil, and science fiction. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. The above is my honest opinion.
thereadingchemist's review
4.0
Before I start this review, if you have not read Heavenward, do not continue reading this review. I try my best to avoid spoilers, but as this is the second book in this series, there will inevitably be spoilers. Alright, you've been warned.
Hallow immediately picks up right where we left off from Heavenward. While I personally appreciate this because I literally finished Heavenward and started Hallow, this may pose a problem for those who read Heavenward a while ago and may not remember all of the inner workings of the plot. Nevertheless, I appreciated be thrown back into craziness of Ariel and Rafe fleeing Baza and the impending bloodbath on Uras.
Ariel (with Rafe in tow) heads back to Apkallu (Earth) in a desperate attempt to find her sister Jess. Once Ariel arrives to her childhood home, her neighbor informs her that her mother, abusive step-father, and sister quickly moved in the middle of the night to avoid child protective services. After Sam's betrayal, Ariel thought she could at least trust Rafe to safeguard Jess. Now she knows that she can't trust anyone and everyone has something to gain from her death.
Just when we thought that Ariel's pain and suffering could be no more, she must endure even more trials and tribulations while also growing into this new power that she possesses. We see quite a bit of internal dialogue from Ariel as the story progresses, which I think allows the readers to really sympathize with her struggles. She never wanted any of this, and now she has to figure out how to deal with this impending fate.
Once again, Olga delivers a fast-paced page turner filled with descriptive battles, magic, and plot twists! I can't wait to see how the world of Celestial Creatures continues.
Thank you to Olga Gibbs and Melanie Fraser for providing an eARC of Hallow. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
Hallow immediately picks up right where we left off from Heavenward. While I personally appreciate this because I literally finished Heavenward and started Hallow, this may pose a problem for those who read Heavenward a while ago and may not remember all of the inner workings of the plot. Nevertheless, I appreciated be thrown back into craziness of Ariel and Rafe fleeing Baza and the impending bloodbath on Uras.
Ariel (with Rafe in tow) heads back to Apkallu (Earth) in a desperate attempt to find her sister Jess. Once Ariel arrives to her childhood home, her neighbor informs her that her mother, abusive step-father, and sister quickly moved in the middle of the night to avoid child protective services. After Sam's betrayal, Ariel thought she could at least trust Rafe to safeguard Jess. Now she knows that she can't trust anyone and everyone has something to gain from her death.
Just when we thought that Ariel's pain and suffering could be no more, she must endure even more trials and tribulations while also growing into this new power that she possesses. We see quite a bit of internal dialogue from Ariel as the story progresses, which I think allows the readers to really sympathize with her struggles. She never wanted any of this, and now she has to figure out how to deal with this impending fate.
Once again, Olga delivers a fast-paced page turner filled with descriptive battles, magic, and plot twists! I can't wait to see how the world of Celestial Creatures continues.
Thank you to Olga Gibbs and Melanie Fraser for providing an eARC of Hallow. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
ksmarsden's review
3.0
After discovering the truth about the essence within, Ariel now has to become strong enough, and smart enough, to face the enemies around her.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ariel returns to Earth, to escape Baza and to find her human sister before their enemies do.
She is accompanied by Rafe, who was once the soulmate to the angel her essence came from, which makes for some very awkward and mixed feelings. He has sworn to protect and help her, and seems to be the only one she can trust.
I do really like that the romance is very low-key. The attraction is there, and it's acknowledged, but it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story. It's so refreshing for a book not to devolve into slushiness!
I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first one. Heavenward focuses more on a new fantasy world, with warring angels and their minions; so the background was intriguing, even in the slow moments.
In Hallow, the background is mostly Earth, with some rundown little towns in England. It is achingly familiar, and well-described, but it made the slow moments duller.
Our narrator Ariel is quite... morose. She has good reason to be, she's suddenly found out that she's an angel, with several warring armies trying to seduce or destroy her, but the narrative was constantly down and depressing, and pain followed by pain. Couple with the fact that nothing really happened for the first 50%, made it hard to be invested.
It does pick up in the second half, and I would be interested in seeing what happens in the next installment.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ariel returns to Earth, to escape Baza and to find her human sister before their enemies do.
She is accompanied by Rafe, who was once the soulmate to the angel her essence came from, which makes for some very awkward and mixed feelings. He has sworn to protect and help her, and seems to be the only one she can trust.
I do really like that the romance is very low-key. The attraction is there, and it's acknowledged, but it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story. It's so refreshing for a book not to devolve into slushiness!
I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first one. Heavenward focuses more on a new fantasy world, with warring angels and their minions; so the background was intriguing, even in the slow moments.
In Hallow, the background is mostly Earth, with some rundown little towns in England. It is achingly familiar, and well-described, but it made the slow moments duller.
Our narrator Ariel is quite... morose. She has good reason to be, she's suddenly found out that she's an angel, with several warring armies trying to seduce or destroy her, but the narrative was constantly down and depressing, and pain followed by pain. Couple with the fact that nothing really happened for the first 50%, made it hard to be invested.
It does pick up in the second half, and I would be interested in seeing what happens in the next installment.
ezzydesu's review
4.0
“Yesterday is yesterday. Today is a new day.”
★★★★✩
I have received this book for free from Fraser’s Fun House and Olga Gibbs in exchange of an honest review for this blog tour.
Sequels are usually what makes or breaks a series and Hallow is an amazing sequel following up Heavenward. It isn’t just a ‘Heavenward: part 2’, it is it’s own book with its own strengths and highlights. While Heavenward was more a book telling us what was happening around and to the protagonist, Hallow shows us what is going on inside Ariel’s head and her mentally dealing with everything. It is a whole contrast, but something that did Ariel as a character very good.
Telling about strengths in the plot would just spoil the book for you, but saying this just shows that the plot as a whole is one of the things that make this book strong. But you have to trust me if I say it is really beautiful. At page 25, I was already wiping away tears from my cheeks.
Hallow‘s plot is very different to the plot of Heavenward, but that is nothing but logical considering what has happened at the end of book one.
I really enjoyed how this book took place on Earth and showed us the struggles and perks of being an angel on Earth. I also loved to see how Ariel was still acclimating to being an angel and how some of her human habits are different than before. Silly laughs about silly things throughout a serious plot can keep a book airy and enjoyable.
Something that really popped out for me is how Olga Gibb’s writing improved so much. It was amazing in Heavenward, it completely hooked me to the story, but the writing in Hallow just shows that Olga has become more comfortable in her own writing. A truly amazing change.
I really recommend this series as it so different from your average YA fantasy. Characters have more depth and are realisticly portrayed for their age, both things I really value in any book really. The Celestial Creatures series is definitely one that belongs on any YA or fantasy fan’s TBR without doubt.
thecaffeinatedreader's review
3.25
Hallow is book 2 in the Celestial Creatures quartet. Ariel is a teen burdened with being part of a world that until recently she knew nothing about. While grappling with her humanity, she’s having to deal with Archangels and a battle that could shake the world. When faced with her options, Ariel goes back to earth, wanting know part of a battle for a world she barely knows but the one thing that she wanted to protect on earth seems to be continually just out of her reach.
I’ll be including my review for Heavenward at the end too so you can glance at it if you want. The first book was great, a fun read, and one that I read in one sitting because I just wanted to keep turning the page to find out what happened next! Now this same energy was in Hallow and I also read this one in one setting. Although Heavenward was a fun read I just want to say that the growth between it and Hallow is impressive to say the least. Gibbs gives us such a beautiful prose in Hallow and we get to really enjoy Ariel as we already know her backstory. While Hallow has a returning cast, we also are starting to get a real sense of just what poor Ariel has been thrown into.
Even with an Angel protector, Rafe, Ariel is still struggling and it’s more than just accepting what she is, it’s accepting who she is and that’s something she has to try and handle all on her own, not even Rafe can help her in that.
Fleeing to Earth cannot save Ariel or those she cares for and she’s faced with a lot of hard choices, and that’s not to say she hasn’t been through the runner already! The message is clear though, Ariel cannot runaway and we’re left wondering with what her next move will be.
Just as in Heavenward, Gibbs is making us wait until the next book and has me waiting on pins and needles. There are some nice twists and unexpected turns, and I love that Ariel is such a believable teenager. People can forget as they grow older that being a teen is not easy and more than that some teens have problems that others will never even have to deal with as adults.
I have no regrets in saying that Sam is a favorite character of mine in the series, and to point out that this really is a darker fantasy for YA. Thank you to the author and blog tour organizer for a digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Suicidal thoughts, suicide ideation theme (briefly, in chapter 2).
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