[Review] Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Title: Hallowed
Author: Cynthia Hand
Published: January 1st 2012 by Harper Collins Australia
Series: Unearthly #2
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads summary: 

Clara Gardner knew that as a part angel she would one day have to fulfill her purpose, rescuing Christian from a forest fire...what she never considered was what might happen if she were to fail.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend Tucker, Clara must deal with the repercussions of what happened the day of the fire as the two boys vie for her heart. And, as she is drawn further into the world of angels and 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 after a shocking revelation, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning...

Emma's thoughts:
**SPOILERS FOR UNEARTHLY**
First of all, I have to say I love the Australian cover the most (not to be biased or anything :P). How pretty is the red hair against the dark trees? And I actually bothered to purchase a paperback version of this! I never, ever, ever, buy hard copies of books, ever... I did not regret buying this, because now I can actually feel the pages! 

I think Cynthia Hand is one of the most talented authors ever. Because even though Hallowed has a sad tone to it, I found myself laughing often throughout. Her characters are hilarious with seemingly no effort. And you know what I think is absolutely amazing? I always find so love triangles so unnecessarily annoying, but I loved it in Hallowed. It was realistic (as realistic as one could get in an angel's world) and Clara wasn't the only one having a hard time trying to choose.

When I started Hallowed, I was all for Team Tucker, but the little things Christian did... I just wanted Clara to hold him and let him fly her away into the sunset, because that's how it's supposed to be right? Christian is all kinds of awesomeness. He used to be the god that Clara would admire from afar, but now, they've got this undeniable connection which I want to hate, but I can't help to love. And then there's Tucker, and he's totally disadvantaged in this situation in pretty much every way. Still, he stays brave and so utterly cute! (it's true that he's not in the book a whole lot, which is devastating, but I'm not going to complain because it's perfect the way it is) I found it hilarious that Clara even mentioned how she never thought she'd be 'that girl' in a love triangle. 'Joke's on her.'

Another thing I usually hate Cynthia Hand made me love: secrecy. Okay, I despise it immensely when parents (or older, mature figures) feel the need to hide everything from the younger characters to 'protect' them... and then they all end up hurt anyways.

I admit, all the secrets at the beginning of Hallowed bothered me, but when I found out the truth, I was probably laughing in relief it wasn't something horrible, or gasping in utter shock. Everything just clicked in place. Hallowed is a great sequel, for it answers all the questions I asked at the end of Unearthly, but gave me a whole lot more for the last and final book. (Okay, I cannot believe this is only a trilogy! Unearthly should be an endless series! Hell heck, it should be made into a TV series, and then I'd be able to get a weekly dose of Tucker and Christian :D)

I loved learning more about angel-bloods and Cynthia Hand obviously has done a lot of research for this (admittedly I have read Genesis 6 quite a few times for my own stuff!). And this whole purpose thing! I had an inkling about Clara's mum's purpose and I was right :D But that just leaves a bajillion doors open. The third book needs to come out soon, because I'm dying trying to figure out the answers myself. The twists and turns were exciting and unexpected and I cannot wait to see where they lead!

Rating: 5 stars - Evoked all sorts of different emotions from me. All the good and even the bad, just the way I like it :)  

First line:

 In the dream, there's sorrow.

Favourite:

"This is isn't going to become one of those creepy situations where you show up at all hours of the night to watch me sleep, is it?"

Teaser:

Note to self: buy some nunchucks or something.

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[Review] Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 It's twenty twelve. Wow. I feel like I should be renewed and rejuvenated! Anyhow, the fireworks in my boring ol' city were beautiful, and I hope you all had a chance to set sights on such lights :)

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Published: November 15th 2011 by Harper/Harper Collins
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Summary:

 Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Emma's thoughts:  
Mind. Fucking. Blowing.

The writing ~ I really like Mafi's writing style, even though some found it annoyingly repetitive. I love the repetition and the strikethroughs. It gives the story the exact touch it needs. It's unique, it's striking. The lack of commas in places sometimes bothered me (and the numbers!), but Mafi made it work more often than not. She strings words together so beautifully, I want to hold them to sleep. There are so many lovely quotes in the book; talk about raindrops, birds, about life. I wish I could memorize them all.


The characters ~ Juliette is a bit of a confusing character at the beginning. She's isolated, she's lost. This is good though, because you get to see her grow and mature through the book. She's the one with all the power. The one with the lethal touch. Adam, he surprised me. I was so caught up in the story, I never stopped to consider how he really fit in it all. He has such faith in Juliette, it's honestly such a moving sentiment. I feel like he's a constant, a reliable anchor. Maybe, in the second and third books, while Juliette is fighting with her touch of death, he'll be the one to hold her to reality.

Warner is intriguing... to say the least. He's so obviously posed as the bad guy, it makes me want Juliette to become his ally one day, in one way or another. He's not nearly creepy enough to be considered a devil's spawn. He's a character I can't wait to read more about! And James! He is so adorable! The brotherly love between Adam and James makes me all giddy. I mean, why can't all older brothers be as awesome as Adam? I know mine isn't... And last of all, Kenji! He made me laugh, and that was enough for me. He served a purpose much more than to entertain us readers though, and as for what, I'll let you find out for yourselves!

The story ~ I can't say it's original. Supernatural powers in the new age? Sounds like a billion other dystopian novels around. But Mafi didn't overwhelm us with completely odd powers from the very beginning. It's Juliette, and only Juliette's story. It's chair-gripping, hair-ripping. So many times I found myself holding my breath in anticipation. So many times, I wanted to dive through the pages myself and fight along.

As some of you may know, this book made it to many of my favourites of 2011. If I could devour Tahereh Mafi's words, I would.

Rating: 5 stars - simply breathtaking ♥

First line:

I've been locked up for 264 days.

Favourite:

 Hope is hugging me, holding me in it's arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I'm so delirious I actually dare to believe it.

Teaser:

Warner drops the gun on my plate. The silence gives it space to clatter around the universe and back. "Choose your words very wisely, Juliette. One word from me and your life here won't be so easy."

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