Friday, March 23, 2012

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins



"People are so rarely villians in their own minds" - James Atherton


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?



(Synopsis provided by GoodReads and quote provided from Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins)


Rating: 4 Stars!


May contain spoilers! (Sorry I loved this book too much)

There is nothing like the feeling after you finished a book where you feel at ease and amazed. Where, although the ending is not happily ever after, its real, special and memorable. Where you wish there could be one more page of the glorious book you just read.

I am feeling all of that right now and more. I just finished the last book in the Hex Hall Trilogy, Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins. Spell Bound was a grand finale that I will remember for years to come! It was not perfect but it was excellent. There were several memorable lines. My favorite is the line on top of my review!

From the moment I startted the book, I was engrossed in the book's tale.The dedication to my favorite heroine, Holly Short, was a phenomenal and surprising beginning. The quotes from Alice in Wonderland coincided with the story nicely. I liked how creative Hawkins became as she was perfecting this finale. I liked how satisfying these incorporations were because they made me feel more connected to the author. 


What I love most about this book is how connected I was too the characters and how the story was action packed with exciting mysterious revealed. I enjoyed the imaginative and detailed descriptions of the settings and events. Hawkins writing made me scared at certain points and caused me to care about her characters profoundly.   


I am so sad about a certain character's death. I was not expecting this person to die because I thought no main character was going to die. The way Hawkins wrote the death scene and Sophie's reaction after it was awe-aspiring. 


My favorite chapter was Chapter 23 because what Elodie did in this chapter was hilarious and memorable. I really loved Cal in this scene. This scene was so exciting and full of tension and well-written. I have now read it five times and still am not bored of the sweet scene. 


There are one part of the book that caused me to remove a star. One, I disliked how Sophie and her talented friends did not specifically outsmart the villain but the villain put herself unrealistically in the exact place that Sophie wanted her to be. I disliked how easy and short the concluding fight scene was. 


Still, the characters were as hilarious as ever. Sophie told hundreds of jokes and was a very mature leader. Jenna was so sweet and cute. Archer was smart and brave. Cal was so self-less and Elodie was the most amazing ghost ever. 


I felt happy when I was right that Sophie's mother was a member of the red-headed-league. I usually would love to be surprised, but this circumstance made the book awesome. I loved learning the Bradnick's side of the story and meeting Sophie's mother's family members. I really like Izzy, Aislinn and Torrin. They were great new characters and marvelous fighters. I loved reading the fight scene at the beginning of this book between Izzy and Sophie. Also, there is nothing like a magic mirror who can tell prophecies.


Overall, I loved the book and hope everyone buys the Hex Hall series sometime in their life! 



11 comments:

  1. Great review! I love this series and I thought that Spell Bound was a great conclusion. I am looking forward to the spin-off books!

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    1. Hi, thanks for commenting! I hope then spinoff is in Torrin's POV!

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  2. (MILD SPOILERS IN MY COMMENT).

    BRILLIANT review - I completely agree with everything you said and miss this series so much already. I was so shocked and upset over that certain character's death but I understand what you mean about the ending being special and memorable. I'm so glad you loved it as much as I did! :)

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    1. I'm glad we both liked it too! Thanks! I can't believe he died too.

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  3. I just finished this last night. The scenes with Elodie totally cracked me up! And it took me a bit to figure out that character actually died. I thought I was imagining that. Or that it was a mistake.
    Reviewing it on Tuesday...

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    1. I was so sad that that character died! :( if only it was a mistake. I'm looking forward to reading your review!

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  4. Great review :)
    Just wanted to say that I'm following you via GFC :) I love the look of your blog!
    - Kimberly @ Turning The Pages

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    1. Hi Kimberly!
      Welcome to my blog!
      I always felt relaxed when I saw green so I choose this design. I'm glad you liked it!
      Rachel

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  5. This one made me so sad. :( But I hear there is a spinoff and a new three-book series to follow, however, so maybe we'll get more time with You Know Who. I'm glad you enjoyed the book otherwise!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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    1. Hey Wendy!
      Thanks for vistiing my blog!
      :) I love it when people say You Know Who, any reference to a Harry Potter phrase makes me smile. I'm excited for the spinoff too! I liked how the ending of this book was sad but hopeful.
      Rachel

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  6. SPOILERS LIKE HUGE ONES WITH NAMES AND ALL
    i havent reaf it yet, but my guess is Cal dies. ITS SUPER OBVIOUS!

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