Review: Hallowed (Unearthly #2)

Author: Cynthia Hand
Publish date: January 2012
Source: Purchased
"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."

Hallowed is the follow-up to the surprisingly excellent Unearthly. I read Unearthly on a whim last year and loved it, so I knew I needed to read Hallowed. I bought it because I will be seeing Cynthia Hand at a signing at Anderson's Bookshop tonight and would like to get it signed! I'm sure I'll be tempted to buy a copy of Unearthly too...

I thoroughly enjoyed Hallowed and am happy to report it does not suffer from second book syndrome. We are able to find out much more about Clara's background in Hallowed, clearing up most of the unanswered questions from Unearthly. There was still a fair amount of action, but I really liked learning more about the family and how they all came to be. Hallowed was also much more emotional than Unearthly; Clara is struggling with what she is "supposed" to do and what she wants to do aka rules vs. heart. Don't we all struggle with that??

I am normally not a fan of paranormal novels, but I love this series. Cynthia Hand is a great writer and I am happy that there is one more book in this fantastic series. I can't wait to meet her in person tonight!