Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Spell Bound
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall, #3
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Pages: 327
Rating:

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

“In the past few hours, I’ve been possessed, nearly had my head caved in, and found out my mom is secretly a Prodigium hunter. And before that, I lost just about everyone else I care about, and discovered that people I trusted are secretly demon-raising creeps. My life sucks pretty hard right now. So, yeah. I’m making jokes.”

Oh, man! Oh, man! Oh, man! I was nervous to read SPELL BOUND because I had waited so long to read it and that I may need a memory refresher as well, but none was needed at all! I jumped right back into the series where I had left off and couldn't stop once I started and SPELL BOUND definitely delivers!

“I’m the worst fiancée ever, aren’t I?” Cal lifted one shoulder. “Nah. This one warlock I knew, his betrothed set him on fire.” 

I had missed all of the characters! I love this series and its snarky dialogue and couldn't get enough of it. I enjoyed the new characters and the old. We get to see Sophie's dad, James again. I love that man to death! For some reason I want a short story on Sophie's dad and mom! Hehe Okay. Moving on. I missed Archer and Oh, Cal! I cannot believe they did that to you. Is there this rule that when there is a love triangle that you gotta kill off the other love interest or something that I don't know about. Jeez.

“Whoa, I'm your girlfriend now?" Archer shrugged. "We've tried to kill each other, fought ghouls, and kissed a lot. I'm pretty sure we're married in some cultures.” 

Anyway, SPELL BOUND could not have ended better. I loved Sophie and Archer! I heart you so much, Archer! And Cal, you will be missed! I will really miss Sophie and the whole gang. Amazing end to the series, I really enjoyed it and I am sad to see it go!

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Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demon Glass
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall, #2
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Pages: 359
Rating:

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

DEMON GLASS the sequel to Hex Hall was just as good as the first book, if not even better. I was surprised how utterly FANTASTIC this book was and of course we have another ending that makes you so mad and crazy for the third installment of the Hex Hall Series..

In DEMON GLASS I will tell you YES, we finally get to meet Sophie's father, James. I don't know why but from reading Hex Hall I thought James was maybe going to be cold and I maybe wouldn't like him, but I love her father and I just want to learn more and more about him. Sophie and him form a bond and finally become real father and daughter. I love the scenes with their father and daughter bonding time.

"Dude. Mom's hard-core."

We get a few surprises in DEMON GLASS that makes you scream, "WTF?!", I have a feeling that all of these Hex Hall books will be a WTF book. It is so hard to write this review without any spoilers b/c I want to talk about it so bad with what happened at the ending, but I will tell you that you will enjoy this book even more than Hex Hall and you will enjoy all of the old characters we loved and also some new characters.

We get to meet the members of the council which when you first meet them seem not so bad, but we have to wonder. Also we get more Cal which I enjoyed Cal just as much as I enjoy Archer. We get slapped in the face by love and betrayal. And this basically where my WTF screams came in. I think some of the people that we came to trust and admire as a character just got shot down at a very high level and I am disgusted with them. And I also want to know about being a demon, it is not so bad as we thought or is it?

I just have to know what the hell happened. I want to know is James going to be alright? Please let him be alright and what about Jenna, where is she? There are so many questions at the end of DEMON GLASS it will make you explode.

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Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall, #1
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Pages: 323
Rating:

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

I have been holding off on this book for so long and I don't know why, but it was amazing. I haven't read that many witch books, because I had this strange feeling that they would not be as good as the vampire and shifters books, but boy was I wrong, you learn plenty about how complicated it is to be a witch, just ask Sophie. So girl does wacked up spell that gets human yelling, "WITCH! WITCH!", and then girl gets transferred to school where everyone's is different exactly like her. Sound familiar? It is familar to other books I have read, but that is where the similarity ends. This book was so very orginal.

Sophie was an interesting character, very ordinary and normal, but in the witch world she is very known because of her father. Sophie is smart and though she didn't know much about being a witch she is learning more and more throughout the book and I believe one day that she will become one of the strongest. Sophie's love interest, Archer is just too wonderful. He is one of those guys that you hate but at the same time love. By the end of the book, I wonder about Archer, because we don't really know anything about this guy and you just need to know more. I think almost every book has the "mean girls", the girls that you just want to slap across the face and I wanted to do so much more than just slap them across the face. I think that they are important and they make the book what it is and they show redemptation towards the end a little bit.

"Let's just say you may regret that second piece of cake.' Oh my God. Regret cake? Whatever was about to happen must be truly evil."

Sophie also has a best friend, Jenna who I love and hope that we get a little inside look at her a little bit in the next book. And there is just somethin I love about a vampire who is obsessed with pink. Cool. Mom and dad. I am kind of mad at her parents, I mean if you are a teenager and do not know a thing about yourself, what you are, where you come from, you would think your parents would have the decentcey to fill you in, "well, I was just waiting for the right moment", right moment? right moment? When is the right moment, when she's 30! I think this occurs a lot in young adult books, but I always feel the parent are so irresponsible with this. I think that first of all, Sophie should know all about who her father is, and what she is. Hiding it is not the right way to go. And it is not nice to know that the whole school nows except you, which after the ending the next book should be pretty interesting.

We hear so much about her father and I really want to know about this guy, who is he and what happened with him and Sophie's mother. Sophie has never met her father, because her parents are divorced. There are so many questions that need answers and I hope we get a lot of them answered in book 2, Demonglass. Overall, this book was outstanding. It was a real page-turner and I could not put this book down. We have a cliffhanger that leaves you hungry for the next book and I really want to continue on this journey with Sophie to find out how to handles what is thrown at her next.

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