Book Spotlight: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

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. 
From Goodreads.com


Review:
Let me start out by saying that I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this book. Unearthly was one of those books that I liked on some days, but not all. So when I received Hallowed for review I was excited to see the possibilities in book two. I was pleasantly surprised.
Hallowed starts off a few months after the fire. Clara and Tucker are still going strong, with Christian now a bigger mystery than he was before. This book is filled with emotion and anguish as Clara tries to figure out exactly where her destiny lies. The boys are just part of the equation. This part of Clara's story is a lot more emotional then what we saw in Unearthly. Things come her way that require her to grow up fast. I enjoyed this aspect of the story because it showed how important it was for Clara to understand the life she will be living. Also, I'm probably the only person out there who is Team Christian and there was a lot of him in this story. He is there for Clara in a way Tucker will never be able to understand. Their friendship develops beautifully with well placed words and genuine comradeship. I cannot dive too much into the aspects of the book because it's something you will have to discover yourself. It was definitely different from what I thought it would be, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the reader. This is something that you will have to decide for yourself.
Overall, Cynthia gives as a full emotional ride in the follow up to Unearthly. She paints the world and its characters with the colors of love, friendship, and the real challenges of life. I think if you enjoyed Unearthly, this is a book worth reading.
Hallowed comes out January 17!

Much love,
Valia