Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: YA - Paranormal


"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." ~Goodreads

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This book had me laughing out loud so many times while I was reading it. The main character Sophie Mercer is just hilarious, she’s smart and spunky, and has that snarky/sarcastic thing going on (which I happen to love in characters) She’s a loyal friend, caring, and a tad gullible but all of those things make her a more realistic character, doesn’t seem too “perfect” and people can relate to her because of that. I also liked Jenna, she’s Sophie’s roommate and best friend at Hex Hall. I thought she was an interesting take on a vampire, and I liked her personality and sense of humor.

I liked the fact that the story took place in a quirky old house in Georgia, and that there were witches, warlocks, shape shifters, faeries, and vampires all together in the same story. I do admit that the plot was a bit predictable in some areas, that being said, it was never slow. It kept a nice pace throughout the story, and once the storyline focuses more on Sophie and how she’s trying to uncover the secret behind her powers and her family history, things really start to get interesting.

I did have a few nit-picks here and there, like the whole Archer and Elodie thing, for some reason it just didn’t seem to fit very well for me because from what you know about Archer early on in the story they don’t seem like they would be a good match since they’re so completely different (but hey it may just be me) but I was able to overlook the few issues I had because it was enjoyable.

Hex Hall was a quick and entertaining read; the ending was unexpected and left me wanting to know more. I’m also interested to find out more about a few of the other characters, like Cal, so I’ll be looking forward to reading the sequel in the near future!

3.5 Stars!