Book Reviews: Hex Hall and Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall

Author:  Rachel Hawkins

Publisher:  Hyperion Book

Date Published:  March 2nd 2010

Series:  1st bk in Hex Hall series

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.

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I've had Hex Hall on my WL on PBS for ever, so I was pretty excited when it was loaned to me on my kindle.  I zipped right through it, there was some predictability but I still enjoyed it.

Most of the YA books out right now all have the same formula, and Hex Hall does not waver from what is obviously working considering YA is hugely popular right now. It was a good story with the witches, werewolves and the such all intermingling in a private school, but this formula is starting to grate on me a bit.  Sophie's love interest is dating the most beautiful witch at Hex Hall who hates Sophie but he always seems to be there to help her out (hmm..sound familiar), and they are drawn to each other even if it seems like they don't get along, which actually kinda is like when in grade school a boy pulls your pony tail to show he likes you.  So the romance was not doing anything for me.  Though I did love the slight WTF moment when we discover something about loverboy. It made their romance get a little more interesting to me. He always did "seem fishy" to me.  

Hex Hall lacks in some ways, but hits a slam dunk in others.  Too me the good outweighed the bad.  

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*Possible Spoilers*

Demonglass

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher:  Hyperion Books

Date Published:  March 1st 2011

Series:  2nd bk in the Hex Hall Series

From Goodreads:

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. 

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth. Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

 But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

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I enjoyed Demonglass way more than Hex Hall.  If you read my review above you know that I had a problem with the romance in Hex Hall.  In Hex Hall we learn something major about Sophie's love interest, and I thought it made for a better relationship dynamic in Demonglass.  It made for more action and movement in the story.  

In Demonglass we learn more about what Sophie is and how big of a deal it is.  We learn more on the background of Hex Hall and how it came to be.  All together a lot more interesting.  

Demonglass left readers with a cliffhanger.  Yeah, and a doobie of one to boot. Demonglass solidified my want to finish off the series.  

Released Today

Playing Dirty by Susan Anderson

Publisher:  HQN Books

 Book 3 in the Sisterhood Diaries Trilogy

My review

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Love Lies Bleeding by Jess McConkey

Publisher:  Avon A

I'm currently reading this right now, but I can say that I am liking it very much so far. 

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Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Publisher:  Philomel

Series:  Book 2 in the Nightshade series

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Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Publisher:  Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing

Series:  Book 1 in the Wildefire Series

Book Review: Craving Perfect by Liz Fichera

Craving Perfect

Author:  Liz Fichera

Publisher:  Carina Press

Expected Published Date: July 25th 2011

From Goodreads:

Grace Mills craves being perfect almost as much as she craves raspberry scones. In fact, her life would be perfect if only she could lose ten more pounds, if only the pastry café she co-owns with her sister would turn a profit, if only the hottest guy at the gym would look her way...

And then "if only" comes true. Grace is suddenly straddling two lives: an alternate reality where she's a size two, weathergirl celebrity and being chased by the hot guy. Only Mr. Gorgeous isn't very nice. 

In her other life, she's starting to realize her sister is less than happy running the family café, and hunky Carlos, the gym's janitor, seems to have a secret crush on her. Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye...

Grace is living two lives and it's beginning to cost her. Is there a way to pick one...that's perfect?

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Craving Perfect is the perfect fun beach read.  I enjoyed it, though the whole time traveling/warped alternate life thing made no sense. Amazing how 

writing and story is great that you throw out and ignore the obvious.

Grace is warped into her alternative life where she is Callie, a news anchor who happens to be dating her secret hunky crush.  She becomes Callie while exercising at a fast speed on a treadmill at her gym.  Yeah, that’s where the question marks start coming up. We get no explanation how this happens, but I just went along because I liked where Liz Fichera was taking me.  In her real life as Grace she has gotten the attention of Carlos, the janitor at her gym.  He seems like such a genuine lovable nice character, though he might be a little to romantic considering he said I Love you too quickly for my liking.  A bit unrealistic, especially these days when being a commitment-phobe is ordinary and expected.  So not 2011, if you know what I mean.  I really enjoyed the lessons Grace learns during these time warps.  Her mind is opened to so much, and she sees things clearly when in Callie’s shoes.

 Craving Perfect left a smile on my face, and we get two recipes to boot.  My husbands the cook around here and coincidentally I was asking him to try making sopapillas and yep, you guessed it one of those recipes was for sopapillas.  

Mini Review: I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I am Number Four

Author:  Pittacus Lore

Publisher:  HarperCollins

Date Published:  August 3rd 2010

From Goodreads:

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now. 

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

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I am Number Four belongs with the select few that have been great enough to capture my attention that I do nothing else but read until the last page.  Yep, I finished this in one day and was jealous of those already reading or had read The Power of Six, the sequel.   I love the relationships in this book with the exception of Four and Sarah.  I thought they were just okay, nothing sizzlin there for me.  Now Four and Henri's was endearing and captured my attention.  The plot line is interesting and entertaining, and action is kick ass.  A definite must read!

Book Review: Fragile by Lisa Unger

Fragile

Author: Lisa Unger

Publisher:  Crown Publishing Group

Date Published:  August 3rd 2010

From Goodreads:

Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint, charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows’s insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients’ lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie’s intuitive gift proves useful to the case—and also dangerous. 

Eerie parallels soon emerge between Charlene’s disappearance and the abduction of another local girl that shook the community years ago when Maggie was a teenager. The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely.  Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn.  In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.  

“I know how a moment can spiral out of control,” Jones says to a shocked Maggie as he searches Rick’s room for incriminating evidence. “How the consequences of one careless action can cost you everything.”

As she tries to reassure him that Rick embodies his father in all of the important ways, Maggie realizes this might be exactly what Jones fears most. Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene’s disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret—one that could destroy everything she holds dear. This thrilling novel about one community’s intricate yet fragile bonds will leave readers asking, How well do I know the people I love? and How far would I go to protect them?

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Fragile is my first Lisa Unger book but it certainly won't be my last.  Not the perfect thriller/mystery, yet it was entertaining.  

What didn't make it perfect in my opinion:

1.  Too many different voices throughout.  It slowed down the pace, and I couldn't connect with all of them, so I wasn't interested in reading a chapter from some.  

2.  The aduction from long ago is more entertaining than what's currently going on with the disappearance of Charlene.  I preferred discovering what happened years ago.

Aside from those two things I thought Maggie was a great character as well as her son, Rick.  I liked that Rick fits the stereotypical teenage rebellion, but Ms. Unger could somehow show the true Rick.  I along with Maggie quickly jumped to think Rick had nothing to do with his girlfriends disappearance (to find out if he did your just gonna have to read the book ;)).  

As I mention above the pace would slow down because of all the characters being introduced, but it was still a quick read at a little over 300 pages.  I'm glad that there wasn't much filler in between the meat of the story.  

Fragile is a entertaining read.  I now have a back log of Lisa Unger books to get through.  :)

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

Author:  Veronica Roth

Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books, 

an imprint of HarperCollins

Date Published:  May 3rd 2011

From Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. 

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I knew I wanted to read Divergent as soon as the reviews started coming out.  I was reading reviews with "Best book ever", "Wow", and bloggers were even comparing it to The Hunger Games.  The Hunger Games, really?  Now it ain't no Hunger Games in my opinion, but it's still pretty darn good.

In Divergent there are five factions that at the age of 16 you must choose from Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite.  Beatrice (Tris), our main protagonist who was born into Abnegation decides to leave her family and chooses Dauntless.  This is where all the action happens, and there is definitely action.  The plot moves up and down with some non stop action to a way slower pace.  At times it was kind of hard to take the shift, and when the action would slow down I would find myself putting it down for awhile.  It didn't take long to pick it back up though because I thought the story was good.  I wanted to know what the heck was going on in Dauntless.  How exciting for author Veronica Roth to have hit a homerun on her debut novel.  

My only real dislike in Divergent is kind of a biggie.  I really wasn't feeling the romance between Four and Tris.  I liked Four but there was no chemistry between him and well anyone in my opinion.  He was a very closed off character, and the couple of times Roth wanted to show his softer side I feel it didn't come off real.  I can't wait to read the next books, but it's because of the action and to find out what happens between the fractions not because of the romance, though I would have liked some that felt genuine.

Divergent is worth the read, and I hardly doubt anyone will close the book thinking it sucked.  This is a book you can feel comfortable spending your money on.

Once Upon a Readathon Update: Day 2

Day 2:

Today I started and finished Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon.

Up next I will be reading Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb.

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Readathon Challenge hosted by The Bookish Type:

Pick any book from your readathon pile and write a fake synopsis based solely on the cover. The synopsis does not have to be related to the actual book at all, just the pretty, pretty cover.

In the wood behind Becky's house is a beautiful pond that holds magical powers.  Becky always thought of herself as  pretty and well dressed  with her collared shirts and sweater vests but when she looks into the pond and see's a image of her in a beautiful dress and looking gorgeous she realizes she's doing it all wrong.  Can this mysterious magical pond help Becky be the best her and snag the guy she has had a crush on for years or is she destined to be plain boring Becky who will die a spinster with 20 cats. 

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I know it's lame but i'm tired and this was the best I could do.