There You Have It: My Opinion
By Cambria Hebert
Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion Press, 2010
Format: Paperback, Ebook
Genre: Fantasy/ Young Adult
ISBN: 1423121309
Sophia Mercer is a witch. But she isn’t a very good one. All her spells tend to be disastrous and leave people pointing and screaming. So much for blending in and not drawing attention to herself. She never has lived in a place long enough to make a real friend and her dad has been MIA for her entire life. Granted, he has an excuse. He’s a powerful warlock.
When a good prom night goes bad because Sophie does yet another bad spell, her dad sentences her to Hex Hall, a super exclusive boarding school for wayward prodigium. For anyone not up on the lingo, prodigium is another term for faeries, witches and shape-shifters.
Sophie doesn’t want to go and her first day just hammers home her feelings. She finds herself almost attacked by a werewolf, the enemy of three hot witches and a mega crush on a guy that is totally out of her league. Did I mention that her new roomie is a vamp? The only vamp on campus, so there goes any chance of getting any sleep.
But all of these obstacles seem minor when Sophie learns that there is some kind of predator attacking the students. It turns out there is some kind of ancient secret society that wants to wipe any and all prodigium off the face of the earth…
And they are starting with Sophie.
I have heard nothing but good things about this book. When I started reading this book I didn’t read any reviews, I didn’t read the blurb on the back of the book, nothing. I went in blind and just wanted to enjoy the story and let the characters unfold before me. And it didn’t disappoint. I really liked this book.
I was a little surprised at first because the story line seemed a little predictable…girl goes off to a boarding school for kids like her and makes enemies with the popular girl and develops a crush on an untouchable guy…and while that is the plot it was still told in a fresh way. The book wasn’t predictable, and I kept reading to see what would happen.
I like Sophie, she is a great main character. She not only struggles with normal teenage angst but also has to deal with the fact that she is a witch who can’t seem to do a spell right. I find it endearing that she uses her spells to try and help people but she lacks the maturity to see that her ideas aren’t helping anyone - just causing trouble. She’s an innocent who doesn’t really know she’s innocent.
Archer was a character that I liked as well, having the “bad boy with a good side” down pat. I even like the headmistress of the school and how she tried to be stern and impartial when it came to Sophie but she never quite got there. ;)
I have to say though that one of my favorite characters was one that wasn’t in the book enough. Cal. He is some yummy goodness. I found myself wanting Sophie to forget about Archer and follow Cal. I would have. He was a big beefy man with that sober exterior but who would smile or light up his eyes just enough to make you realize that there was some melt-worthy stuff inside of him, I for one pray there is LOTS more of Cal in the next book.
I can’t really get into the plot too awful much because I don’t want to give anything away, but this book is worth the read. It’s an easy read. The author writes well and her words flow together creating chapters that go right by. She gives enough description so that the reader gets to know the surroundings and really fall into the pages and forget the outside world.
The setting of the book was cool too. I liked the juxtaposition of the boarding house, seemingly ugly in the middle of a beautiful island. I mean, what witches (who can turn anything pretty) live in a patched together, ugly boarding house?
As I said before, Hex Hall takes some unexpected turns and the reader realizes that not everyone is who they say they are. There is some bad stuff going down and Sophie is at the center. All I want to know now is what’s going to happen next?
I will be reading Demonglass immediately because I want to know.
So there you have it. My opinion.
There You Have It: My Opinion
By Cambria Hebert
Title: Demonglass
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion Press
Format: Paperback, Ebook
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
ISBN: 978-1423121312
Sophie Mercer thought she went to Hex Hall, the uber exclusive private school for prodigium. Turns out she is not a witch…but she is something. Hex Hall didn’t teach her how to use her powers but she did learn the family secret. Turns out she has some major skeletons in her closet.
Not to mention the fact the total hottie she spent an entire year crushing on is part of The Eye, an organization hell bent on taking down all prodigium everywhere, starting with her entire family.
If that isn’t enough for one teenage girl - she is all set to travel to London to undergo The Removal, a life threatening ritual that will forever wipe her of her powers. When she arrives in London she learns even more shocking news. There are others like her. Others being raised so that they can be used for nefarious means. Who is doing this and why? As she races to find the truth she also has to dodge The Eye as they try to kill her. When she comes face to face with the guy who broke her heart, the guy she thought she was over…things get more complicated than ever.
Demonglass is the exciting sequel to Hex Hall from author Rachel Hawkins. I really enjoyed Hex Hall and Demonglass was no disappointment either. The story really moves forward in this installment with a lot of action from some new characters as well as some oldies (but goodies!).
Sophie is her usual funny self yet she still develops in character along the way. I enjoyed her relationship with her dad and thought that it was pretty realistic (you know minus the whole family secret thing). I still enjoyed her relationship with Jenna, her vampy BFF and the setting in London was fabulous. I loved picturing the giant estate that she stayed at and the description of her bedroom was awesome. I want a room like that!
Rachel is an easy writing, developing an entire world that though is paranormal/fantasy it is still believable. I think that is a great trait to have when writing this genre. I like the unbelievable but I love when the unbelievable actually seems possible. Her writing style seems current and uses all the pop culture references that we love. I smiled a lot while reading this book.
Now, onto the meat and bones of the story. Well, some of the meat anyway. The love triangle. *Sigh*. Are love triangles overdone? I may have heard some murmurings of this before. Here’s what I think: yeah they probably are overdone, but they are overdone for a reason: they work. They draw in a reader and when the characters are fabulous you just can’t help but root for your favorite. I personally, would like to see some sort of twist on a love triangle. More specifically, the love triangle in this book is a little frustrating for me. Why? Because while I think Archer is hot and he’s the bad boy, I just can’t seem to get past the fact that he is part of an organization that wants to um….kill her. Hell-O? Can anyone say date from hell??
Yeah, I get it Sophie and Archer are tortured in love and destined to be together but miles apart…that is feeling a little over done. And maybe I feel that way because my heart belongs to Cal. Why oh why does the major beefcake in flannel and jeans always come in last? Why does the nice guy never get a chance? Because he’s being overshadowed by the bad boy. *Sigh* There was not enough Cal in this book. I sincerely hope that he puts up a fight for Sophie instead of bowing out and muttering how happy he wants her to be.
That brings me to my other beef with this book. The ending. I mean, really?? Talk about a cliffhanger! I can appreciate the power and the awesomeness of a good cliff hanger but I am not totally convinced that Sophie would have done what she did. I know I wouldn’t have (Yeah, I know, what I would do is completely beside the point). I can’t really go on like I would want because that would spoil the book but if you have re
ad it then I invite you to give me your opinion on this as well. Do you think what she did was in character?
Despite the two “beefs” I had with the book above, I did enjoy it. I can’t wait to read Spellbound.
So there you have it. My opinion.
TITLE: Prisoner and Survivor: William’s Story
AUTHOR: Brian Kittrell
REVIEW: Prisoner and Survivor: William’s Story is the third tale of four in the “The Survivor Chronicles” by Brian Kittrell that I have had the pleasure to read. This book tells William Merris’s point of view on the events of the biological bomb with the virus Revelation a/k/a Kemper A. The story starts when William escapes from jail before the zombies can turn him. Once he escapes he meets Tiffany and Edgar who travel west with him because Wiliam sees a vision of a girl telling him to go west. Will all of them get to the west where it is safe or will the zombies get them?
In reading “Prisoner and Survivor: William’s Story” I realized again how much work Mr. Kittrell has put into this series. I love the history that Mr. Kittrell has put in William’s character and in fact there were times where I succumbed to the feeling that I was William. I also like how Mr. Kittrell has started to show how all the characters are going to come together. I am impatiently waiting for the last book.
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