Hex Hall #1 & #2 Reviews

I decided to just do these two reviews together since they are in the same series, but beware of spoilers!

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

This series has been out for a while, but I had never heard of it until I read Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (we'll write a review on that book later... OMG just wait). I loved Rachel's writing style so much that I searched for other books she has written and came across the Hex Hall series. OMG. I loved it.

The book follows Sophie Mercer who part witch and part human. She lives with her mom (human) and never has met her dad (warlock) and she comes into her powers when she is a young teen. Since coming into her powers she has caused a lot of havoc and her and her mom have moved around a LOT in order to get away from the trouble she has caused. Finally after something pretty big happens which she caused with her powers, she gets word from her dad that she is being sent to this school called Hectate off the coast of Georgia. Hectate (affectionately called Hex Hall by the students) is like a reform school for bad prodigium (witches, faeries, and shapeshifters/werewolves). Of course Sophie has all sorts of misadventures when she goes to Hex Hall, starting with her being roomed with the school's only vampire, Jenna. Some crazy stuff goes down during the semester she is there including students dying, Sophie learning more about her dad's side of the family, and a coven of witches that wants Sophie to join them so they can do some dark magic. Of course any YA book would be incomplete without a hottie and in this book his name is Archer. He is handsome and sassy, but also a nice guy. He and Sophie grow close despite his awful girlfriend. The book ends on a cliffhanger with some major plot twists happening right before. This book was really funny and a good light read for the most part but also had a lot of dark themes going with it. Rachel Hawkins is one of my favorite authors because she can major you cry from laughing and then in the next chapter kill off basically everyone and leave you feeling WTF. I love it. I did only give this book 4/5 stars despite really enjoying the twist and the story overall. It just didn't give me all the feels I needed for five stars.

4/5 stars

Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins

So this book is the sequel to Hex Hall and picks up a little bit after the first book left off. Archer is gone rogue and is off the map after revealing his connection with the Eye. Sophie is wanting to go through the Removal after finding out that she is actually half demon (not witch). She finally gets to meet her dad (only like 16 years later... Thanks, dad, no rush) and is jetted off to London with him, Jenna, and Cal to spend the summer with him. On their arrival, she finds out that they are actually spending the summer at HQ and she is going to going through some training with dear old dad so she can learn how to handle her powers since he won't agree to her going through the Removal (her being a minor and him being the head of the council and all). She meets some more half demons like her and some crazy stuff happens. All I'm going to say is that there is a definite love triangle in this one (which the other one lacked) but I'm not even mad about it because I am totally #teamCal in this book. The one thing I HATED was how Sophie is so hung up on Archer that she really wouldn't even give Cal a chance, but the heart wants what the heart wants. There are a lot of plot twists in this book and the series takes some weird turns that I didn't see coming. You really get a lot of information about her family and her family's past. Sophie matures a lot in this one and has to make some tough decisions. The ending is super nuts and had me FREAKING out. It leaves it on a major cliffhanger and you'll definitely be trying to get your paws on the third book ASAP. I love witches and witchcraft themed YA books, and this series definitely is at the top of my favorite series list. I haven't read the third book yet, but it is in my next book haul and I am so anxious to see what happens. If you are a fan of Rachel Hawkins and other witchy books (like Hexed) then you'll love this one.

5/5 stars