Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
♦publisher: Disney Hyperion
♦released: March 13th, 2012
♦hardcover, 327 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Hex Hall, book 3
             review of Hex Hall
             review of Demonglass
♦source: purchased

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?

Review: The Hex Hall series has to be one of the most consistently fabulous series I've ever read.  I loved this installment, just like I loved Hex Hall and Demonglass. There was no lull...not a one. Spellbound kept the heart-stopping pace going with great new characters, new challenges, new dangers, while bringing back all of our favorite parts of the past books.

Sophie is still sharp and both her inner and outer dialogue is utterly hilarious, and she has to dig a bit deeper into herself to find her strengths both with and without magic.  Archer is still there to match her at every smart remark and charming glance.  Cal is still wonderful Cal.  Elodie finds a new way to be of use and also comes to a new low.  And the five of them, Sophie, Jenna, Archer, and Cal, never fail to have eachother's back.  In Spellbound, we also get a whole new look at Sophie's family, especially her mom, and she discovers a family history she never knew she had and makes some new bonds along the way.  The evil Casnoff sisters are back in full force, and they all mysteriously land themselves back at Hex Hall.

The ending was explosive and exciting and heart-breaking all at once---I'm very happy with the way this wrapped up (except for one part that I am bawling my eyes out over!). The whole book is a super fast read, I think I blew through this in a few hours---maybe too fast, because once it was all over,  I immediately started to despair that there would be no more. But YAY! Then I found out Hawkins is taking us back into this world with a spin-off featuring one of the new characters, Izzy Brannick! Ah, I can't wait!

An incredibly entertaining and fun series all the way through.  If you haven't started the Hex Hall series yet...you must!!

Find Rachel Hawkins online: Website •  Facebook  •  Twitter

Purchase Spellbound at: Amazon  •  BN.com  •  Bookdepository  •  Indiebound

Cover Story: Spellbound (Hex Hall #3)!!!

Today Rachel Hawkins revealed the cover for the final book of the Hex Hall trilogy, Spellbound!


This one is bittersweet for me---means the end of this awesome series is in sight, to which I say: "Noooooooooo!"

While I'll be so sad to say goodbye to Sophie, Archer, Cal, & Jenna, I can't wait to read this to find out what happens next!!

What do you think of this cover? Not my favorite of the three (that would be Demonglass) but I still love it, and I love how the three of them go together so well! :D Awesome job, Hyperion!

Review: Demonglass

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

publisher: Hyperion Books CH

release date: March 1st, 2011

hardcover, 368 pages

intended audience: Young adult

sequel to: Hex Hall (see my review)

rating:



source: from publisher for honest review

Spoiler alert!! The following synopsis and review may contain spoilers for Hex Hall! If you haven't started this series, stop reading here!

description: 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?

Review: I love this series. Even more so now that I've devoured book two. Any book that can drop my jaw within the first twenty pages is amazing in my book. Sophie is back with just as much wit and as many brilliant comebacks as the first time around. Jenna is still the lovable vampire that I adored the first time, and their friendship only strengthens as they take on London and the council together. We get to know Cal a bit more---his surprise role in all of this actually played a big part in the jaw-dropping moment I mentioned before!

As Sophie and her friends head to London, where Archer Cross is rumored to have been spotted, I knew we would see him again. Before starting this book, I wondered what side we'd find him on, and I was not completely surprised but really enjoyed how it played out.

Sophie is training to control her powers, getting to know her long lost dad, learning the ins and outs of Prodigium politics, and getting herself into even more trouble than at Hex Hall trying to solve the mystery surrounding some newly created demons. The story flies by at a fast pace, expertly alternating between light-hearted humor, mystery, and thrills.

Be prepared for a cliffhanger, as can generally be expected in any second of a series. It's still an amazing ending, and it has me absolutely dying for book three! It's going to be a long wait, but I have no doubt Rachel Hawkins will make it well worth every second!

Visit Rachel Hawkins website here.

Purchase Demonglass at: Amazon ~ BN.com ~ BookDepository

Persnickety Snark's FIVE challenge 2010 - Great Debuts

Adele over at Persnickety Snark is hosting a great challenge over at her blog where participants post their top 5 selections in different aspects of YA (series, cover, debuts, etc.) for 2010 releases. You can find out the details in her post here. I just found out about this today so while I probably won't be able to participate in every single challenge due to the fuss of the holidays, I'm going to give it my best shot to complete as many of them as I can!! :)

Today's top 5 is about GREAT DEBUTS of 2010! And, man, were there a lot of great debuts this year. Paring this list down was hard, but here are my top five:


Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

This one is in my top five books of the year, debut or not. I loved this book with it's hint of mystery, it's unique take on the paranormal and Anastasia's amazing writing style. See my full review here.









Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Even before this one came out, I couldn't wait to read it because a)the cover is to-die-for gorgeous, and b) I'd already gotten hooked on Kiersten White's hilarious blog posts. In my mind, someone who writes such an entertaining blog couldn't possible put out a book that was less than amazing! Which it was! See my review here.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

This book was such a fun one...it had a little of everything: an intriguing storyline, fun well-written characters, lots of good spooky moments, and the perfect amount of romance. I have the second book sitting here on my shelf and I can't wait to get to it!!
See my full review here.









Jane by April Lindner

Jane was amazing. I went in blind---having never read Jane Eyre before, but this one completely enthralled me. The characters were complex and fascinating. The way Lindner brought the age-old story so seamlessly into the modern age was perfect. If you haven't read this already, do so asap, I tell you! See my full review here.




Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

I just read this one recently so it's still fresh in my mind, but honestly---I think it will stay that way for awhile! Amazing storytelling, a sweet romantic undercurrent, danger, Irish mythology,...but my favorite part of the story was the relationship between the main character, Teagan, and her little brother, Aiden. Brilliant stuff! See my full review here.

Review: Hex Hall

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

publisher: Hyperion Books CH

release date: March 2, 2010

hardcover, 323 pages

intended audience: Young adult

rating:


Description from goodreads:
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.

Review: What a fun book! Hex Hall has it all: excellent writing, a great main character, interesting supporting characters, and a intriguing storyline, and some heart-stoppingly spooky moments! Hawkins' writing style was comedic and casual at times, but brought in the intensity where it was needed. The witty way she wrote the main character gave a perfect sense of who Sophie Mercer was---a strong willed teenager with a quirky sense of humor and desire to find her way in a world that she feels completely lost in.

Sophie is a witch, but she was raised by her non-magical mother. The magic comes from her dad, who has been out of the picture since before Sophie was born, so this leaves Sophie completely lost in the magical world. She has gotten into trouble time and time again by using her magic, but the last straw is when she tries to help a girl at school with a love spell that goes completely awry. This scores her a one-way ticket to Hex Hall, a sort of reform school for prodigium (witches, werewolves, rogue fairies, etc.) who need a little help learning to control their powers. Here she meets her roommate, Jenna, the only vampire in the school, Archer, the cute warlock who Sophie can't decide if she loves or hates, and three dark witches who are trying to get Sophie to join their coven. She also finds out more about her Dad and his place in the witch world.

I loved Sophie! She was a strong character who didn't take crap from anyone. She is trying so hard to figure this whole witch thing out and it keeps backfiring on her, yet she has such a sharp wit and humor through it all, and her comebacks were always hilarious. Example:

Favorite Sophie quote (When being told about Dark and White Witches) : "Dark and White? What, are we like chicken meat?"

I really like Jenna, she was a great friend to Sophie and I worried about her through the whole story that things would turn out okay for her!! Loved Archer,too, and I can't wait to see where the next book takes this character, because by his actions at the end, I think there is a lot more to him than meets the eye! Bit of a steep cliffhanger at the end, but as long as the next book is in sight, I'm okay with that!

Pick this one up soon if you haven't, its a great Halloween read! The next book in the series, Demonglass, comes out in March of 2011!!
Visit Rachel Hawkins website here.

Order Hex Hall at: Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Book Depository