Blog Tour: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

The wonderful book bloggers at Mundie Moms asked me to be a part of the blog tour for Cynthia Hand's novel, Hallowed.  This book is the follow-up to one of my favorite paranormal reads of 2011, Unearthly.  Just when I thought this story couldn't have captured me more, Cynthia Hand took this next one to a whole new level!  Thank you Mundie Moms for asking me to be a part of this blog tour and promote this fabulous book that every one needs to read!

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Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand
(This review was originally posted on 11/28/11)

Cynthia Hand has done a superb job of taking the paranormal elements of angels and incorporating it with the every day life of a teenage girl.  What drew me to her writing was how easily I was able to forget that Clara was an angel, with a purpose to fulfill.  Her sarcastic, brave teenage self is what jumped off the pages at me.  That feeling carried over in to Hallowed, accompanied with so many emotional blows that I was NOT prepared for.

The story begins with the repercussions of Clara's decisions she made in the previous novel.  Though I was happy with the choice she made then, I was now starting to see the dangers of what it meant for her in the future.  We learn more about Clara, her brother Jeffery, and their mom in this bit of the story.  Small pieces start to form together, and the picture begins to take shape.  Underneath all the Angel-ness in Clara's world are two boys -- Tucker and Christian.  Strip the story down and you have yourself a basic love triangle.  What I love about this formation of who does she belong to, is that we know who we WANT her to be with, yet we also start to see who she is MEANT to be with.  So the angles on this triangle aren't quite clear.  I'll be honest, I was Team Tucker from the very start.  My emotions have always swayed towards his side.  Christian, though he has a purpose of his own, has never and will never get my vote.

In order to not spoil a big chunk of the book, I will just say that the "someone close to Clara will die" aspect of the story definitely brought the OMG WHERE ARE MY TISSUES?! I AM LOOKING LIKE A CRAZY PERSON SOBBING AT MY DESK!  So, be prepared.  It gets mighty rough.  And that is all I will say on that.

If you're a fan of paranormal with a heavy influence of contemporary in your stories, then I highly recommend this series.  Cynthia Hand has the ability to captivate readers with her dazzling picturesque landscapes set as the back drop to some pretty heavy, heart-tugging complications.  I was sold from the first book, and I've been won over again by the second.  TEAM TUCKER! Just saying.

To view the complete list of bloggers for this tour, please visit Mundie Moms.