ARC REview: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Title: The Hallowed Ones

Author: Laura Bickle

Published:  September 25th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Arc taken from Netgalley

Book Description:

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

MY THOUGHTS:

After reading the summary, I wanted this book as soon as possible. The word AMISH, made me stop a little bit. I know that this book will be like no other. The Hallowed Ones is unique, fresh and full of creepy goodness.

The story is about an Amish community with vampires trying to eat them -creepy much?- Katie is the main character here. She lives a simple life shielded by the rules imposed my Amish Elders. “No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in.” But everything had changed when Katie helped an outsider with news of impending apocalypse. Can she truly trust this boy? Can she defy the elders? Can their love stand amidst the chaos? You have to pick up this book to find out.

 The world building is incredible. My knowledge about Amish is a little sketchy. All I know is that they have their own community and girls wear those white bonnets. Again, the Amish way of life made the book much more interesting. Laura did a great job in describing their customs and religion. It was intriguing! I feel like I was inside their community. What I really like about this book are the Vamps! Yes, they gave spice to the story. Despite the unique setting, Bickle did a great job in merging Amish and Vampires. I had fun reading this book, no dull moments just pure enjoyment. There were some scenes that gave me goose bumps. The suspense and flesh eating vampires put me on the edge of my seat.  The story is well constructed. I was pleased.

The character building is good. They were realistic and easy to connect with. Alex is my favorite character in this book. He’s an outsider, yet his patience, courage and way of thinking wow me. Katie is my second favorite. Her ability to defy the rules made her very likeable. I always want a strong female lead. She’s strong and brave.

The romance angle is good. Though, it was a bit fast for my liking but overall heartwarming. The steamy scenes gave the book some electricity. Katie and Alex’s connection is evident.

Overall, this book is amazing! I don’t want it to end. There has to be more! I recommend this book to suspense, paranormal, apocalyptic and dystopian lovers. Yep, this book pretty much has everything. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I give this book 4 flesh-eating whales.