Hallowed

The second book of the Unearthly series was a bit of a let down for me, not going to lie. And don't get me wrong, it was still a great book and I had no problem getting through it, it just didn't mesmerize me like the first one did. With that being said, I would still recommend this book and I enjoyed reading the continuation of Clara Gardner's life. And what a life it is.

I actually think it would have been close to impossible to make a more compelling book then the first one was. In the first one, there was just so much defiance and surprises from Clara and the book didn't end at all how I was expecting. As I've mentioned in my previous review, it went from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds. Now, this one was much more predictable and there weren't a lot of moments that stood out to me. It's almost as though the book slowed down a bit, again. It actually reminds me of the pace that the first one started off with before picking up.

I guess, what I'm really trying to say is that the plot didn't keep me on the edge of my seat and even though it wasn't bad, it also wasn't particularly good and unique. And on top of that, nothing that exciting really happened. I was yearning for more excitement and was a bit disappointed that it didn't really feel as though there was a real climax in this one. The book just steadily progressed and focused more on the character's relationships with each other than on any huge events. For me, there needs to be a good mix of the two in order to make it into my favorites list and this book failed to do that.

With that being said, the characterization remained superb and even progressed somewhat, with the characters changing right along with the circumstances surrounding them and the events as they unfolded in the story. However, while before I was mesmerized by Clara, in this book I simply wasn't. I understand that her relationship with Tucker has changed and just because he was her first love doesn't mean he is her true love, I still felt a little betrayed when Tucker was pushed to the back in this whole story. I would have liked to see a more gradual transition from their relationship at its peak to the way it was left at the end of this book.

However, the writing and grammar in this book were just as impressive and top-notch as in the previous one. I enjoy reading her writing style because it's direct and to the point without being too simplistic.

All in all, the sequel to Unearthly failed to live up to the first book's standards but it did stand up as a good book all on its own. I would still recommend it to anyone who read the first book, because even though it pails in comparison, it still has a lot to offer. I just hope the third book picks up a little because I need some more adventure from this series to end with a bang.