Friday, February 17, 2012

REVIEW: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

It was only recently that I read Unearthly and loved it. So I was very much looking forward to the sequel, Hallowed by Cynthia Hand. I think this series has been very surprising to me. At the start, I was the person saying 'angels? not my thing' and also 'a love triangle? Argh.' And Cynthia Hand really changed my mind about both.

Angels are not something that I've really ever been that interested in reading about. But I love the twists and unexpected happening in relation to the part-angels within this series. I love the idea of each part-angel having this purpose that needs to be fulfilled. I love the abilities that they posess, from the languages to the glory that they can tap into. It was very fun learning more about the mythology of angels and part-angels in Hallowed. From life timespan to different abilities and strengths. I find myself more and more intrigued by part-angels. And all the twists and surprises that Cynthia Hand throws in really keeps me on my toes!

Hallowed follows on not very long after the events of Unearthly. Clara now has to live with her decision to break from her purpose to save Christian, instead saving Tucker from the forest fire. Clara worries that there will be some punishment in store for her. Already she's feeling very conflicting emotions - she loves Tucker wholly and completely, but she's also drawn inexplicably to the mysterious Christian.

When Clara begins to have dreams about some event in the future in which somebody she cares about will die, Clara realises she has a tough time ahead of her. Dealing with this death of a loved one, the consistent appearance of a certain Black Wing and deciding who to give her heart to. I'd be warned beforehand that Hallowed is a tear-inducing book and it is incredibly sad and emotional! Keep those tissue boxes at hand.

What I love most about this series is as I read this book I find myself getting overly invested emotionally about its characters. I really want to know what's going on in Jeremy's head. I want to know what secrets Angela is holding onto. I want desperately to know MORE - about Black Wings, about Christian, about the purposes. I feel protective of Clara and all she's going through.

But I guess the big draw for me to this series is the compelling love interests. I absolutely adored Tucker in Unearthly. When I started Hallowed, I was sure that my love of him would continue being rock-solid. And I suppose that he still is, I still think Tucker is a wonderful guy, but as learnt more about Christian, I found myself completely swayed in my opinions!

Excellent sequel and series, I can highly recommend both!


4 comments:

  1. Yay! Another Tucker fan! He just keeps me reading and wanting more.

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    1. I do love Tucker, but I have to admit, I'm more of a Christian fan right now! :)

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  2. So glad you loved this! I can't make up my mind between Tucker & Christian. I'll be greedy and just say both :D

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    1. I DID really enjoy this one! And I've fully jumped onto to the Christian bandwagon. Though Tucker is still quite lovely...

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