Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Pub. Date: Jan. 17, 2012
Acquired: Purchased audiobook.
Find “Hallowed”:
Amazon / B&N / The Book Depository / Author Page

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

I’m glad I chose this book for my first audiobook because if it had been something boring, I may have tuned out a bit. But, as it stands, that was not the case with Hallowed.

From the very beginning I was enraptured with the story. Clara was a bit different in Hallowed than she was in Unearthly. I see a lot more growth in her in this book, especially at the end.

Clara goes through SO much in this story and I felt horrible for her. But, there were some redeeming moments, as well. Those made me feel like the was a light at the end of, poor, Clara’s maudlin tunnel.

One of the other differences in Hallowed was that there was a lot less Tucker and a lot more Christian. And, while, being–initially–Team Tucker, this bothered me a bit, by the end I felt the “Team” lines blurring. And, sadly, it wasn’t really Tucker’s fault. We just get to know Christian a little bit better. And, honestly, I love that Ms. Hand did this. I feel like with most love-triangles that both pursuers don’t get their fair-share of time. It’s usually pretty much stacked in one’s favor from the beginning.

But, because of all this, I now find myself extrememly anxious for the next book in this series. In fact, I may go crazy waiting. 🙂

My Rating:

~About the Author~

Cynthia Hand grew up in southeast Idaho (very near the Wyoming border). Currently she lives in southern California with her husband and two small children. She teaches courses in creative writing at Pepperdine University. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Unearthly series with HarperTeen: UNEARTHLY, published in 2011, HALLOWED published January 17, 2012, and BOUNDLESS, due out in January 2013.