Book Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Synopsis: 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.

Review:

a.) Characters: 4/5 score.  Sophia Mercer, or Sohpie, cracks me up.  She is a quite a character, sometimes coming off older than sixteen.  As the story unfolds, other characters gain life (pun not intended).  Her roommate, Jenna, becomes her only friend and is the only vampire on campus.  The three bimbos are royal bitches, but they have character.  Archer Cross is the school’s hottie, and he is the love interest of Sophie.  

b.) Plot: 4/5 score.  I was scared this was going to be a Harry Potter knock off, but it was different.  The scene was different, the characters were different, and the storyline was different.  Along with trying to clear Jenna’s name and prove her innocence, Sophie also has some soul searching to boot.  

c.) Writing style: 3/5 score.  The writing felt like it was lacking something.  Probably because it felt like it was aimed at a younger audience, so it avoided swear words like fuck.  It seems weird to be hyped up over this, but there is a part where Sophie says to Jenna about the bimbos, “screw them” and then in the paragraph after explains how she didn’t say “screw” but the swear word, which I assumed was fuck.  

Rating: 11/15 total

I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series to see where the author takes this.  I know, I know!  I say this with every series, but the book was good enough to leave me wanting more.  With that being said, I also need need need to know what happens with Archer.  Oh, you don't know?  Well, go read the book then!