Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

5 of 5 stars

First off, let me tell you what the synopsis of this book says. PS- this is the follow up to Unearthly. You'll want to read it before you read this one.

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.

Described by Richelle Mead as “utterly captivating,” Unearthly received outstanding reviews, garnered accolades from New York Times bestselling authors, and was named an Indie Next Pick. In this heart-wrenching sequel, Cynthia Hand expertly captures the all-consuming joy of first love—and the agony of loss. This beautifully woven tale will appeal to fans of Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Aprilynne Pike.

Now, let's move on to Holly's take. Beware...*spoiler alert*

Here were my updates as I read the book.
---"Oh!!!! Christian. You're breaking my heart. I need tucker to do something horrible. I need Clara to choose you!" 
---"This is getting ugly. And by ugly I mean my tear stained face."

And for realz, I totally cried. So here is the review I did on Goodreads. It's totally incoherent and makes no sense if you haven't read the book. So I'm sorry for any rambling, but this is what Hallowed did to me.

Sobs.

Now that the crying has commenced, I think it's time to review this little beauty.

WOW. This series just keeps getting better and better. So,we left off in Unearthly with Clara not fulfilling her purpose and her brother coming out of the woods looking guilty as sin. Oh and then there was the case of the two boys. Tucker and Christian. In Hallowed we pick up right where we left off. Only this time, Clara is having a different vision, one that still involves Christian. So to keep her relationship on the up with Tucker, she tries to pass Christian off. That is until Angela forms "Angel Club" and they are forced together. I'm sure the whole mind reading/in each others heads things doesn't help much. But then, Christian tells her he is seeing the vision too. It's a cemetery, that much we know, oh and Tucker isn't there, but Christian is being Clara's rock. Naturally, we think it's Tucker that's going to do. It's not.

It's her mom. (and cue the crying)

This book gives you a deeper look into the world and the other lives of the angels. There's Clara's mom and her revolving lives she's lead. Teachers at the school who are looking out for Clara and Jeffery, and Angela and Christian. Oh, and then of course the black wing who just won't go away. And did I mention Clara's dad? Oh yeah. He's here and daddy is a full blooded angel. Which makes Clara and Jeffery, more angel than they thought.

This book is heartbreaking and will have you crying in several spots. It explains left open questions from the first book (who did start the fire Billy Joel?- I was so right in that aspect) and you even find out about Jeffery's purpose? What? Totally forgot that kid was going to have one too? Yeah, well he did and it wasn't fulfilled and now he's a man on the run.

And then...oh man. Then you totally switch teams. Where in book one you might have been Team Tucker, book two leaves you screaming in earnest for Christian.

I can't wait to see where book 3 takes us. I'm guessing college with the three amigos? Maybe a little Jeffery searching, that is, if he hasn't joined the black wings by then.

My advice? Pick up both of these books if you haven't already. They are wonderful reads!!!