Teaser Tuesday: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title: Hallowed

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: HarperTeen (January 17, 2012)

Source: ATW ARC Tours

From GoodReads:

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. 

After finishing Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, I couldn't want to get my hands on Hallowed. Lucky for me, the ARC was already on it's way. I flew threw this book in little over a day and now I'm left wondering, what happens next?

I really enjoyed reading Hallowed, but it's also the second book in a fantasy series with a heavy dose of romance. Usually, that's when things start getting complicated...especially the romance. Unfortunately for us romance lovers, that's true for Hallowed as well. The romance becomes much trickier when Clara is trying to figure out what her true purpose was and if she can still fulfill it. Having her caught between two great guys is good, but awful. Good, because she can't really pick a bad boy. Awful because that means sooner or later some great fictional guy's heart will be broken (and so will mine if she doesn't pick who I want!).

Also true of second books in a fantasy series is that the readers learn much more about the world and backstory that wasn't previously available. I was very excited for this aspect of Hallowed, and was not disappointed by what I read. There was quite a bit of mystery in Unearthly, particularly because Clara's mom wasn't found of revealing information. In Hallowed, we get a ton more information, some of it even given from Clara's mom herself. Many questions were answered, but even more were raised. That's always the way of it, isn't it?

Overall, I enjoyed reading Hallowed and can't wait to read more from this world. The ending was very open-ended, so I'm excited to find out where Cynthia Hand decides to take the story.

Final thoughts:  If you bought Unearthly, definitely buy Hallowed. If not, borrow.