I Was Under Your Spell...

Published: March 13th, 2012
Spell Bound (Hex Hall # 3)
By: Rachel Hawkins
Hyperion Book CH
ISBN-13: 9781423121329

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?

Review

   Sophie Mercer didn't want to be part-demon at first, but she was finally getting used to that part of herself.  Then the Council took away her powers against her will.  Sophie manages to find her way to her Mother, having lost her Dad, Jenna, Archer and Cal.  It's there that she finds out her Mother is one of the infamous Brannicks, one of the feared warrior women that hunt down the sipernatural.  At least that's what Sophie was told, but it's not quite the truth.  Sophie might be the key to stopping a war of epic proportions but will she be able to do it without her magic?  And will she choose Archer or Cal to be with romantically in the end?  I really enjoyed most of the first book in this series, but the ending left me pretty pissed off.  I decided to give the second book a chance and really thought it struck just the right balance of action, romance and drama.  I had high hopes for this book, the last in the trilogy - especially after the second book's cliffhanger.  But I ended up feeling pretty lukewarm about this one.  I was intrigued by the Brannick storyline, but I never felt like things were explained to my satisfaction.  The love triangle between Cal, Sophie and Archer reached ridiculously melodramatic heights in this novel, which made it seem like a joke.  Seriously, I felt like Sophie turned into Bella from Twilight, stringing both guys along because she 'loves' them both sooooo much.  C'mon, give me a break!  There wasn't enough of Jenna for my satisfaction in this particular story.  Also, the ending made me Hulk angry.  Why the HELL did Hawkins think that was a necessary conclusion to a pointless love triangle???  Overall I was really disappointed in the writing, plot development and resolution of this book.  The characters fell quite flat for me as well.  A dissatisfactory ending to a mostly enjoyable series.

VERDICT:  2.25/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*

The Kiss That Ruins...

Expected Publication: May 22nd, 2012
Dark Kiss (Nightwatchers # 1)
By: Michelle Rowen
HarlequinTeen
ISBN-13: 9780373210473


I don't do dangerous. Smart, über-careful, ordinary Samantha-that's me. But I just couldn't pass up a surprise kiss from my number-one unattainable crush. A kiss that did something to me...something strange. Now I feel hungry all the time, but not for food. It's like part of me is missing-and I don't know if I can get it back. Then there's Bishop. At first I thought he was just a street kid, but the secrets he's keeping are as intense as his unearthly blue eyes. If he's what I think he is, he may be the only one who can help me. But something terrifying is closing in, and the one chance Bishop and I have to stop it means losing everything I ever wanted and embracing the darkness inside me.... NIGHTWATCHERS When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

Review

   Samantha never expected her longtime crush Stephen to finally kiss her when she went clubbing with her best friend Carly.  He said it would change her life, but she never would have seen it coming.  Now Sam is hungry, just not for food anymore.  What she wants now are human souls.  Because it turns out that Stephen stole her soul when he kissed her!  Now Sam is enlisted to help a group of angels and demons, sent to stop all of the Grays (term for soul-suckers) from destroying the town, possibly even the world.  But there might be more to the situation than any of them have been told.  And when they've defeated the Grays will Bishop, an angel who Sam is starting to fall for, be able to leave as planned?  Or will he be stuck on Earth, cast from Heaven forever?  This book was semi-new to me.  I have tryed and mostly succeded at staying out of the angel/demon craze in YA books.  Therefore I'm not burnt out on them yet like so many others seem to be.  I kind of have mixed feelings about Sam as a heroine.  She was sort of a bitch through the whole situation, a little too woe-is-me Bella Swan in her mentality.  It was like Sam was physically incapable of seeing anyone's problems but her own.  Bishop was too much of the strong, silent yet suffering type to really appeal to me.  After so many of them in YA books, do-gooder heroes bore me.  They annoy me somewhat as well.  The insta-love/lust is so overplayed I can't even express it.  The people who interested me of course were the side characters, like Carly, Kraven, and the others on the team sent to fight the Grays.  Maybe there will be more of them in the second book, but I probably won't be reading it to find out.  The style this was written in drove me mad - not enough action to counterbalance all of Sam's angst and I just didn't connect with the main characters.  The plot would have been a winner, but the characters bogged it down.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is May 22nd, 2012.*