Spell Bound Review

TITLE Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3)
AUTHOR Rachel Hawkins
PAGES 208 (ePub format)
PUBLISHED March 13th 2012 by Hyperion Book CH
READ March 31, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK AT Amazon / Kobo / Chapters.Indigo

SYNOPSIS 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?

I am so sad that it's over!  This was, yet another, great book that I could not put down.  Once again I was in love with our MC and I wasn't even bothered by the dreaded love triangle.  In Spell Bound we pick up right where Demonglass left off, Sophie has lost her powers and is on a mission to find her mom.  We are introduced to the Brannicks, whom I was so curious about at they are mentioned quite alot throughout the series.  Sophie doesn't know what happened after she escaped Thorne Abbey she just has hopes that her loved ones made it out alive.

I really don't know what to say about this one without giving the whole book away.  The characters that we have grown to love are stronger than ever and the pace is yet again spot on.  I read this book in one sitting and I laughed and cried, all in all it was a great experience.  The ending left me wistful and heartbroken, and longing for more.  

The one thing that I would have loved to see in this one, was more Brannick! They were teased at for so long, and I was so excited to see these kick ass women in action, but I feel we were kind of robbed of that as it moved on very quickly.

All in all this is a great series that I really enjoyed reading.  If you haven't started it already, what are you waiting for?!?!

Demonglass Review

TITLE Demonglass (Hex Hall #2)
AUTHOR Rachel Hawkins
PAGES 228 (ePub format)
PUBLISHED March 22nd 2011 by Hyperion Book CH
READ March 27 - 30, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK AT Amazon  / Kobo / Chapters.Indigo

SYNOPSIS 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?

**This Review contains spoilers if you have not yet read Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1)**

Demonglass is the second book in Rachel Hawkins Hex Hall series, and it is a worthy follow up.  We are reunited with our very lovable and highly sarcastic MC Sophie Mercer.  In Demonglass we are taken to a new setting, the castle like Thorne Abbey in England where Sophie joins her father for the summer to learn more about her kind.  Upon arriving at Thorne Sophie is greeted by (shockingly) the council and (even more shockingly) 2 fellow demons.  So of course, a series of chaotic events ensues and we get to go along for the ride as she attempts to get to the bottom of who is raising new demons.

This book had a lot more information and back story than Hex Hall, any lingering questions I had upon finishing up Hex Hall were answered here.  We get a lot more information on the council and prodigium history in general. It also had a lot more action, this one kept me on the edge of my seat whereas I felt Hex Hall lulled in places.  Also, there is no shortage of unexpected twists that come our way.

The characters in this are given alot more depth. We find out about how Archer came to be a prodigium working for the eye, and we also get to see more of Cal.  Cal becomes a character that means so much more in this as his past and his motives are revealed.  We also get to see a new loving side of Jenna, and her friendship with Sophie really flourishes here.  I like the bond that the two of them have, they are snarky as hell to each other but would go through hell and back for one another.  Sophie also gets some much needed time with her father as she attempts to find out more about who she is and how to control it. Our MC also grew in this book, the wayward girl who was scared of who she is really comes into her own in this novel and we watch her grow into a butt-kicking machine.

The change of scenery for this book was very welcomed, as I really don't think I could have made it through another book that all took place at the school.  The writing is strong as ever and the flow was spot on.  As all my questions from Hex Hall were wrapped up, I was left with a whole new set as we are once again cut off at an epic cliffhanger.  I can't wait to read Spell Bound and find out the fate of these characters that I have come to love.  If you are looking for a new series to get sucked into I would highly recommend giving this one a shot.

Hex Hall Review

TITLE Hex Hall  (Hex Hall #1)
AUTHOR Rachel Hawkins
PAGES 219 (ePub edition)
PUBLISHED March 2nd 2010 by Hyperion Book CH
READ March 26 - 27, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK AT Amazon / Kobo / Chapters.Indigo

SYNOPSIS 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 student 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.

Hex Hall wasn't exactly the most original read, but it was a satifying read none the less.   Sophie Mercer is a witch who grew up with a bit of a disadvantage, she was estranged from her warlock father and raised by her normal mother.  Her naive use of her magic gets her into trouble and she is sentenced to Hecate (Hex) Hall until she is 18 years old.  At Hex Hall Sophie starts piecing the missing parts of her life together and she finds out that she is in fact, a pretty important person.

This was a pretty fast read and it had a great flow to it.  Things start out quickly and keep getting more and more interesting as it goes on.  I liked the various "prodigium" living at Hecate Hall, there is witches, shifters, faeries and vampires.  The visuals presented in this novel are pretty neat from the look of the faeries to the haunting welcome video that is presented to new students. 

The fresh, youthful voice of Sophie Mercer was appealing and downright funny at times.  I loved her lighthearted approach to the turn her life had takenand her snide thoughts about the people around her had me laughing out loud. Elodie, Anna and Chastain were pretty typical "mean girls" and I liked that Sophie held her own against them and didn't succumb to their relentless bullying.  Asher was a character that I never got that "swoon" for, maybe I wasn't supposed to, I'm not sure. 


All in all this was a good, fast read and if you have the time you should definitely give it a look.  I'm excited to read the next books in this series as it kind of goes out with a bang!

What Are You Reading Monday (1)

What I read last week

Immortal Beloved (Immortal Beloved #1) by Cate Tiernan Review Here
Darkness Falls (Immortal Beloved #2) by Cate Tiernan Review Here 
The Right & The Real by Joëlle Anthony Review Here
Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala Review here 
I also did a little post on my thoughts of The Hunger Games here


What I'm going to read this week

Untouched (Denazen #1.5) by Jus Accardo
Hana (Delirium #1.5) by Lauren Oliver
And then I plan on getting started on the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins I'm hearing great things about them!

















So I'm going to wrap up two series that I've been reading and start a new one! What about you? Leave a link, I always stop by :)