Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Hallowed (Unearthly, Bk 2)

Hallowed (Unearthly, Bk 2)
hannahb avatar reviewed on + 45 more book reviews


I really dont know why I waited so long to read this book. Cynthia Hand is a writing goddess. I absolutely adored her style in Unearthly, and she kept it going just as strong and fluidly in Hallowed. It was magic from start to finish.

As a reader, I completely love a well-spun tale (dont we all?). Hand really goes all out with the world she has created and the angel mythology. I love that it seems equal parts fact and fiction. She threads just enough truth into her story to make you pause and wonder if it could really be truth. But she never crosses the line into outright blasphemy. Its a dangerously thin line that she toes with grace. I love the history she gives her characters, and the way she explains glory and purpose.

No matter how great a plot is, it cant be amazing without characters you love. Clara is still a great narrator. I love her strength and innocence and heart. She is truly one of my favorite female heroines of all time.

I have to admit I think I may have jumped the Tucker/Clara ship and am swimming frantically for the Christian/Clara ship on the horizon. Please dont get me wrong, Tucker is still Tucker. Which means he is epic and incredible and everything a girl could want in a YA boyfriend. But Christian and Clara just have this connection that Hand really pushes to the foreground this time around. You simply cannot deny their chemistry. A blogger friend of mine texted me after she read this and said she was firmly now Team Christian, which stunned me as she had been a complete Team Tucker fan at the start.

Honestly? I dont care one way or another who Clara ends up with. I think both are right for her in their own ways, and Ill be happy with whatever Cynthia Hand decides is best for Clara.

While Hallowed doesnt have a major cliffhanger ending (its actually fairly sweet), there are a lot of burning questions that are begging to be answered. It will be borderline torturous to wait another year to find out what happens to Clara, Tucker, Christian, Jeffrey, Angela and the rest, but I have a feeling it will be well worth the wait.