Aleksandra's Corner: "The Hallowed Ones" by Laura Bickle

Nov 1, 2012

"The Hallowed Ones" by Laura Bickle

Posted by Aleksandra at 3:09 PM

Title: The Hallowed Ones

Author: Laura Bickle

Series: The Hallowed Ones #1

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from my PB copy in October.)

Summary:

If your home was the last safe place on earth, would you let a stranger in?

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world. Something is out there…and it is making a killing.

Unsure why they haven’t yet been attacked, the Amish Elders make a decree: no one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elders’ rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community—but what else is she bringing in with him?

My Thoughts on the Book:

Ok, so where to start, it's been so long since I've reviewed a book, but I have to say that The Hallowed Ones is one creeptastic book. I just finished it yesterday, I read it in only 2 sittings, and I loved every second of it. Definitely the perfect Halloween read!

First of all, I have to say that this isn't my first book read from this author. I've read Embers, which I enjoyed a lot, and I've read Dark Oracle (which she wrote as Alayna Williams) which I loved so much, so of course I was expecting this book to be really good, but even with all of that, I was surprised by The Hallowed Ones.

I love apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books, but only a few of them that I've read really freaked me out, and The Hallowed Ones is one of them. It was so creepy & eerie, the writing style was so amazing, that it will capture you from the first page, and not let you go until you finish it, even a little after that.

As you probably know, it's set in an Amish community, so we follow Katie's life & dreams at the beginning of the book. We really get to know her through the book, so she's a well-developed character that I really love. She's brave & smart & always does what she thinks & knows is right, not what everyone else says she should do. Although I don't know a lot about the Amish community, except a little I've seen on tv, I'm guessing that Laura captured the life well, and I got really connected with Katie, and her "journey" through out the book.

I stay away from spoilers before I read a book, so I didn't know if this is a book about zombies or vampires or something else, but it was amazingly done, & they were just so creepy & freaky & some of the scenes were just so gory, which I don't mind, but yeah, it creeped me out.

So, something happens outside, and they don't know exactly what, so there's the mystery of it. I really liked Alex as a character, I thought he was both cool & sweet. I have to admit that at first I really liked Elijah, he was sweet, actually both he & Katie were sweet together, but after everything that happens, he changes, and although I felt for him, I really started to dislike him, and in the end I hated him. Huh, I didn't realise until now that what Katie felt for him, I did, too. I guess this was a little spoilerish, sorry, but yeah, Laura Bickle has done an amazing job with this book, and this is exactly what I meant about connecting to Katie as a character. Another character I have to mention is the Hexenmeister - he was really interesting & intriguing character, who knows his stuff ;)

The pacing of the book was perfect. It wasn't slow, but if you expect a lot of action, there isn't a lot, but it was perfectly paced with a sense of eeriness & suspense through out the story. And the ending, about how the darkness came in, that totally surprised me, so we have a twist here, too.

So, The Hallowed Ones is a unique, apocalyptic, paranormal story, that's full of suspense, mystery, creepiness, eeriness, sadness, a dash of romance & also a little heart-breaking story, that's perfectly woven together, that you won't be able to put it down, and will make you hunger for more.

Do I recommend The Hallowed Ones? Absolutely. It's definitely one of the best books I've read this year! Would I read it again? Yes! Would I read the sequel? Definitely. The Hallowed Ones is now one of my favs, so the sequel The Outside will be one of my most expected 2013 books! Until then, I'll just have to busy myself with some of the author's other books ;) As for you, if you love scary or apocalyptic books, grab yourself a copy, 'cause The Hallowed Ones is a must-read!