Hallowed ~ Cynthia Hand (ARC) review

Hallowed (Unearthly #2)
Harper Teen
January 17, 2012
416 pages
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*Spoilers for Unearthly (Unearthly #1) below*

Four months since the day of the fires - the day that taught Clara that her purpose was much more confusing than it would seem. Now, torn between her love for her boyfriend Tucker and the baffling feelings she has for the angel-blood Christian -both a part of that day she trained for, the one that was supposed to fulfill her purpose - Clara doesn't know what to do.

Still working to figure out what it was she was supposed to have done that day, in the fires, Clara's life becomes even more complex. Now a part of the battle between White Wings and Black Wings (Samjeeza, specifically) Clara has to watch her back all the time.

All of this on top of a new dream . . .vision letting her know that someone close to her will die very soon.


It's hard to remember at times just what happened in Unearthly while you're reading Hallowed but enough little hints are given by the characters that while you still won't remember quite a few things, it's never enough to make things confusing. If you do have time and it's something you want to do, rereading Unearthly (or parts of it) might be a good idea.

Hallowed delves into the lives of the angel-bloods much more than Unearthly did. We don't get as much interaction between the other characters (like we did in the first book) because the ins and outs of what it means to be part angel are examined more this go-round.

It'd definitely necessary - both for the plot of this individual installment as well as the series as whole - for the characters and readers, alike to know more about the mythology around around angel-bloods. It does, however, take a little bit away from the character interactions and relationships that made the first novel so, so great.

The human characters are less prevalent in Hallowed and I did miss them - and their contributions. There were new characters that were added and the angel-blood characters from the first book had somewhat expanded roles and I hope that both are even more expanded in third book.

As with the first book, the originality (even with the number of angel themed books that have come out since Unearthly) does not fail to impress. Hand's world of angels and angel-bloods is complex and very well thought out and has new things for both the readers and the characters to discover. What's even better is that they're new things that don't seem to contradict any of the story thus far; new developments flow into the story lie and plot, even when they're startling or completely surprising - they fit.

This is a great series! Just like with the first book, once you get going in he book, you won't want to put it down!


Rating: 8/10



Thank you to Harper for my review copy!