Hallowed by Cynthia Hand | Kindle eBook

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand Kindle edition

Not the sequel I was expecting still worth the read. - Emmy

★ ★ ★

read the blurb | Goodreads

Hallowed is the second book in the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand. It leaves off from when Clara thinks she has failed in her purpose by choosing to save her boyfriend Tucker, over Christian.

I'm honestly conflicted with this book. I was really hoping for a more of a Jeffrey based story line, to see why he was being such a jerk, even though it was obvious... It would have been interesting to see the siblings come together and either work it out together or totally go against each other in some kind of climatic event. Jeffrey was really only given 1-2 pages of actual explanation in the entire book, which really sucked, he didn't have any dimension or seemingly any real purpose in the plot, just filler mood. Once again the book is dominated by Clara and her love triangle with Christian and Tucker and although that was interesting in the first book, Unearthly, it was just over done and it took away from the plot progression and the danger posed by the Black Wings. 

Hallowed didn't live up to my expectations and it wasn't nearly as much fun to read as Unearthly. I'm hoping the final instalment, Boundless, which comes out in January 2013 will give me all the plot progression and character development I was hoping Hallowed would provide. It truly felt like a filler book and I was disappointed. Clara seemed even more dense in this sequel and you wanted to slap her sometimes! However, I did really enjoy the camping scenes and bringing in Clara's Father was a relief from the love triangle. It was sad to see Clara's mother die, although we knew it was coming at least we had a few things about her history revealed, it wasn't nearly as much as I'd have liked. 

NB: Unearthly #1 and Hallowed #2 are both available on UK Kindle.

Neither are available as Audiobooks. 

Boundless #3 will be available on Hardback from Amazon in January 2013, please click the Kindle link to let them know we want it available as a UK Kindle edition too! 

Eyes Like Stars (Theatre Illuminata) by Lisa Mantchev | Audiobook (CD)

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev Audio CD

My mind is blown! My mouth cannot articulate, elaborate or cohesively appreciate the beautifully written, magically told, awesomeness that is, Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. I haven't felt quite this way since The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It's definitely gone into my 2012 highlights. This is why I read - Emmy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Read the blurb | Goodreads

All the worlds a stage.
Beatrice 'Bertie' lives inside the Theatre Illuminata with the rest of her friends, the playwrites and cast members of every play every performed. They cannot leave the Theatre and in this, the first book in the series, it sets the scene for Bertie's adventure of a lifetime. .

As soon as I read the blurb I knew I wanted to read this book, it was like nothing I'd ever read before. The premise of living inside a Theatre and plays being performed pretty much 24/7 really intrigued me. It's beautifully written and the descriptions are sumptuous, aided greatly by the Audiobook edition, thanks to the NY full cast who dramatised it amazingly.


Bertie has fast become one of my favourite heroines and it's not just because of her Blue hair, which seems to be a theme, especially after Karou in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Bertie is sassy, intelligent, loyal and despite being hung up on Nate the Pirate from Peter Pan, she isn't the annoying love sick pathetic type at all. The dynamic friendships between Bertie and her faery friends, who just happen to be from Hamlet, Peaseblossom, Mustard Seed, Cobweb and Moth is really entertaining and naturally they are always getting into trouble, a lot of comedic relief. 


I thought the pacing was done well with the right combination of dialogue and action, and when the action happens it's like a run away train and you're hanging on by a pinky finger, very addictive, hard to put down. and you never want it to end. There were some parts towards the end when I was on the verge of shouting, plot progression already! Tthe truth is tantalizingly dragged out but by that time, you're so invested in the characters, you really want to hold on to find out who Bertie's mother really is and if Nate will ever come back. 


Obviously, it has a lot of Shakespeare references so nerds will enjoy tracking them down. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, you think it's going one way and you can predict what's going to happen next and then suddenly it turns itself upside down and you're back to square one. 


I'm looking forward to reading the second and third instalments of the Theatre Illuminata series! 

NB: Eyes Like Stars (Theatre Illuminata #1) is available on Audiobook both CD and Download from Amazon, iTunes and the Book Depository.
 This series is currently not available on UK Kindle. 


Due to the UK not buying the rights for the second and third instalments, Perchance To Dream (Theatre Illuminitata #2) and So Silver Bright (Theatre Illuminata #3) there are no Audiobook editions for the foreseeable future. 


You can help change this by emailing F&F and politely leaving your interest in these titles becoming Audiobooks and for future updates. 
Lisa Mantchev provided me with this email and she welcomes support for getting her titles available to everyone.