Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Page count: 323 pages, paperback
Publishing date: March 2010
Publisher: Hyperion
My rating: 3/5 stars!
Blurb:
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 tag-along 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.
A few dozen books and three months later, I'm just now reviewing this book. I actually read it in late November of 2014, but the holidays had me swamped. I read books without reviewing them and now I have a list of books that needs reviewing and the list keeps getting longer. This book has been on the list the longest, and I figured I'd get it done and over with.
I don't sound too happy about it, I suppose, and it's sort of true. Why?
Well, honestly, this book didn't leave any lasting impressions. When I rate a book three stars it usually means that I overall enjoyed it but it didn't 'wow' me. When a book doesn't wow me or make me want to bash my head into a wall, I usually don't remember much about it. I go on with my life and don't really give it a second thought.
This is one of those books. The plot was mediocre, the characters weren't impressive, and there was something lacking with the book overall. Maybe it was the lack of a steamy romance or the fact that magic wasn't even really used in this book, but there was something about this book that made me want to yawn.
The main character, Sophie, is a witch. She doesn't really want to be one, especially if it means getting sent to a reform school for paranormal freaks. But her daddy is making her, and when daddy orders someone to do something, they do it. So here she is, walking through Hex Hall. She hasn't been there for more than ten minutes when.. *cue love interest* Archer shows up in all his blazing glory. Except not. I don't know why I thought that this romance would amount to anything. I could tell by the way it began that this wasn't the kind of romance that I would ever swoon over. Archer is a jerk. I don't think there were any qualities about him that I enjoyed. When he didn't bore me to death, he made me want to rip his head off. He's not the kind of guy I wanted Sophie to fall for, but, eh, it happens.
Sophie herself was okay. She wasn't anything special, but I didn't want to rip my hair out every time she thought of something or spoke so I guess it's a win/win situation for all. She's sort of immature, but given what happened at the ending, I expect her to shape up into a mature young adult. Hopefully. If not, there's no hope for this series. The main character should ALWAYS evolve into a deeper, more intricate character. Otherwise, what's the point? No one wants to read about a snotty-nosed brat or an immature teenager other than snotty-nosed brats and immature teenagers.
One good thing about this book is that there are mysterious deaths happening in this book. The romance between not-so-gorgeous Archer and Sophie takes a back seat to the mystery. The mystery and the fear of who's going to die next was what made me keep reading this book. If it hadn't been for the crazy events happening in Hex Hall, I don't know if I would have finished it.
Don't be fooled with the title and blurb for this book. There is NOT a lot of magic in this book. I expected a lot more than I got. A lot more. I guess I wanted Harry Potter-magical-awesomeness, but that aim was way too high. Don't get me wrong, there is some magic. I guess it's enough to say that this is a book with magic, but it's not a magical book.
Overall thoughts? The mysteries in this book were the sole reason for giving this a higher rating. If not for the mysteries and the slightly creepy ending (that I saw coming a mile away), I would have given this a two star rating at the most. The romance was very faint and I'm glad. The characters were boring. I don't even feel the need to talk about them because they just don't seem to matter to me. Eh, would I recommend this? Not really, but if you want to give it a shot, be my guest.
Until next time,
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