Review: Hex Hall

Hex Hall

Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion Books CH

Release Date: March 2, 2010

Pages: 323

Source: Bought

Ratings: 5 Stars

Summary (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 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.

When I first read Hex Hall last year I was immediately blown away. Hex Hall was one of the best books I read in 2010 and probably one of my all time favorites.

The magic, the humor, the story, the characters, everything is just spot on perfect in this book. After I read Hex Hall in one sitting, the next day, I sat down and reread it again because I just loved it so much. Hex Hall is the only book I have ever reread right after reading it for the first time. I wanted to go back in to Sophie’s world immediately after finishing.

Rachel Hawkins knows how to write one funny, kick ass, awesome book that leaves you on the edge of your seat. The writing was spot on perfect. It was the right blend of humor, snark and seriousness when need be. And boy, does Hawkins now how to write one hell of a story with an awesome twist. Seriously, she is like an evil genius with the plot. One funny evil genius.

One of the best things that immediately sucks you into the book is Sophie. Sophie is such a great character and gives the book so much life. From the start, Sophie is just pure awesome. She is so sarcastic and humorous that I was literally laughing aloud. I loved that Sophie was a strong character. Sophie stood up for her friends and stood up for what she believed in; she was always doing what is best and trying to help people, which is how she ended up in Hex Hall in the first place. And then there is my other favorite character, Archer. Now what any book be without some swoony worthy guy? Archer is definitely swoon worthy. Not only is he snarky and funny he is also just sexy. Yeah. And there is definitely more to him than meets to the eye.

Now what would Hex Hall be without magic? In some books, when you add supernatural creatures and magic powers to the mix it just falls flat and feels so forced and just fails. But in Hex Hall the supernatural element just fits in so perfectly. The magic element just feels right and is so important to the story. Magic is just part of Sophie and Sophie’s world, but it doesn’t dominate the story which I really liked. Hex Hall wasn’t just about magic and the supernatural but about the characters and their story and the characters just happened to be different from normal humans.

I could wax on and on for ages about this book but that would bore you. But everyone needs to read this book. Seriously, I will force it into people’s hands at the book store. And the ending will leave you wanting more. There is a great twist at the end that makes Rachel Hawkins an evil genius (and SHE IS AN EVIL GENIUS AS THE SEQUEL WILL SHOW). I did pick up the sequel to this book because how could I resist? I wanted to desperately to see what happens next. This is one of those series that everyone needs to read because of its awesomeness.