Review: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Raised By Wolves

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Egmont USA

Series: Raised by Wolves #1

Pages: 418

Genre: Paranormal, fantasy

Release Date: June 8, 2010

How Received: Library

Summary: At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her.

But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

My Thoughts:

Everything you learned about werewolves in other novels, throw (most) of it out. In Raised by Wolves, werewolves don’t get bit – they’re born with the trait, and only the males. An occasional rare female is born into the pack, but always in a pair (twins). They have super speed, even in human form, and are allergic to silver.

Bronwyn (Bryn) was raised amongst these wolves, and she’s your typical rebellious teenager: angsty, back talker, and ruler breaker all rolled into one. She’s human, and adopted into the pack, which sets her out to be an outcast, a misfit. She struggles to maintain independence in a pack she’d lose herself in. For almost 9 years, she refrained from opening up her pack bond, which would have taken hold of her once she opened it up. While she retained most of her personality at the end of the book, she no longer annoyed me – she became headstrong and had to fight to keep a hold of what she loved and believed in. The back talk also receded (more or less, I guess).

Of course, where would a paranormal novel be without a hunky werewolf to come on a silver platter? (Okay well, maybe not, since Jennifer’s werewolves are allergic to silver =P). I had a difficult time with Chase. I obviously loved him from the beginning (he had a sort of “bad boy” pull on me), but I just couldn’t come to terms with his and Bryn’s relationship. A lot of it happened off-screen, such as their Markings (which binds them together). Most of the romance involved Bryn and Chase claiming over and over that their counterpart was theirs. It danced around the central plot of the book – everything was more focused on the werewolves than their romance. We get one kiss and a few wolfy nuzzles. So if you’re looking for fleshed out romance, just turn away.

I can’t tell you how much I loved so many of the characters. I usually don’t love as many characters as I did for this book. For one, Callum. Sure, he was portrayed as the “bad guy”, the betrayer. But I can’t shake off this love I felt for him since the beginning of the book. Devon was such a bad-ass friend – metrosexual werewolf? YES PLEASE. Lake was equally awesome – blunt, kick ass, and strong. She named her gun Matilda. If that doesn’t scream quirky to you, I dunno what will. I loved that there was a central adult figure in Bryn’s life – Ali, despite being human, was a strong woman who cared most about keeping her loved ones safe. I wanted to hug her for the sacrifices she had to go to just to save Bryn’s butt. Katie (she was so cute in her puppy werewolf form) and Alex were as adorable as any babies could be portrayed in a novel, and so was Lily. Just... SO much love for a lot of the characters.

The pacing was decent and rarely lagged. There wasn’t that much action, but rather everything was explained in concise details and without dragging things on. I had a bit of trouble with the format and the way the events played out – it isn’t done so conventionally. When Bryn basically starts up a new way of life at the 60% mark of the book, I had trouble accepting it – I was ready for rising action, not reverting back to a new intro!

The plot was slightly predictable – there was only one time that I was surprised (and it was a mild surprise, at that). Everything just flowed in such a way that Jennifer basically led up to certain events, and when you got to them, you knew what was going to go down. The constant presence of the Rabid – lone wolf that kills humans – was prevalent throughout the majority of the book. We never really got to forget about him.

Cover Musings: I actually really love the dark blue hue to this cover and I’m rather fond of the model (I had to picture Bryn like her, haha). It doesn’t really stand out in a line of books, but it has a certain charm.

Memorable Quotes:

"I glanced up at him, and his strong, Nordic features shuddered as he attempted something that resembled a smile the way that a great white shark resembles a goldfish." (pg. 43)

"‘I’m Chase,’ he said.

‘Kind of an ironic name for a werewolf.’ [...] ‘Werewolves do a lot of chasing,’ I explained. ‘And your name is Chase. Hee.’" (pg. 58-59)

"Baby #2 made what appeared to be a real effort at putting his left foot in his mouth. Reflexively, I reached my hand out and tickled his sole before catching his foot in my hand.

Alex (also known as Alexander, Little Guy, Big Guy, and Spot) wrinkled his baby brow.

‘Got your foot,’ I told him loftily. Alex wriggled. Clearly, he was unsure what to make of this development."  (pg. 65-66)

"In addition to having superstrength, accelerated healing, awesome senses, and an extended life span, werewolves, I had recently discovered, were also pretty much immune to the horrors of poop.’" (pg. 72)

"‘Senate,’ Ali scoffed, purely out of reflex. ‘There’s nothing democratic about werewolves. Nothing.’

She was right. This meeting would be like throwing a bunch of champion gladiators into a ring and telling them to talk out their differences over tea." (pg 272)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments:

I think out of all the werewolf novels I’ve been reading lately, this has to be my favorite by far. There are so many untold secrets, betrayals, and struggles that were dealt with in this novel. The characters were enjoyable, and the plot was refreshing and constantly in motion. A definite must-read. :)

Oh, and I gotta support an author with the same last name! We could be related! =P

Rating: 5/5

Review: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Brightly Woven

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Egmont USA

Series: N/A

Pages: 354

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: March 23, 2010

How Received: Library

Summary: The day the rains came was like any other, blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness...

Just as the rains come after ten long, dry years, a young wizard, Wayland North, appears, to whisk Sydelle Mirabil away from her desert village. North needs an assistant, and Sydelle is eager to see the country—and to join him on his quest to stop the war that surely will destroy her home. But North has secrets—about himself, about why he chose Sydelle, about his real reasons for the journey. What does he want from her? And why does North’s sworn enemy seem fascinated by Sydelle himself?

My Thoughts:

This was one of the messiest fantasy novels I had read in... well, ever. The events are explained in such a confusing matter – I had to re-read a couple of them twice or three times to fully understand what transpired. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the whirlwind of jumbled words and thoughts at the beginning of the novel, but if you can get past the disjointed writing at the beginning, there is promise at the end. But even at the end I had a lot of clueless moments, so that isn’t saying much.

A lot of things in the book just didn’t make sense at all. It almost seemed like Bracken focused so much on making her major storylines flow and connect that she totally neglected the smaller, “insignificant” details. For example, North slipped out that a wizard poisoned the king. But Sydelle totally glazes over that fact. Instead, she asks about it 100 pages later. Another is when Sydelle cut her hair at the end. No one mentioned it, not even North. Her hair was a considerable length – there couldn’t have been no one to at least comment on it.

It was hard getting absorbed into Brightly Woven’s world. With fantasy, you have to have a knack with easing the reader into the world – I never got that with this novel. There was a lot of “transporting” – one moment they’re talking in the main room, the next they’re in Sydelle’s room, alone. Not enough was explained to us, and descriptions were almost non-existent.

The plot and pacing were okay, but I had figured out many of the plot twists before they were really revealed.

Sydelle, the main character, downright annoyed the living daylights out of me in the beginning. She was so obnoxious and whiny the entire first half of the book. I mean, come ON. She willingly went with North. She had the choice to go back. Actually, no I take back my first statement. She annoyed me all through the novel. She was just so dang stupid. She kept giving North attitude about him, when it was really her that was the problem. Half of the time, she’d get herself into situations where she refuses North’s help, but ends up needing it anyway because she fails. I despised her when she felt “betrayed” by North towards the end.

I really enjoyed North, though, although his character seemed off at times. He had no set personality until the end, really. I also loved Owain (and his ridiculous love for his horse, Vesta, haha). He made suffering through Sydelle’s whining bearable. The Queens character didn’t seem set, either. There was one moment when I was reading something the queen was saying and was like... “That so does not sound like the queen we met a chapter or two back...”

The romance was okay. I loved how it progressed, and there were a couple of times I found myself giggling. But it wasn’t something praise-worthy, though. Just so-so (I blame Sydelle). 

Cover Musings: I picked this book because of the cover. It is the epitome of gorgeous! I love the text and the brushes towards the bottom, and the model for this is gorgeousss.

Memorable Quotes:

"‘Thank you for bringing me back to the village,’ I said. ‘I don’t know that I’ve ever fainted before. I guess I was more overwhelmed than I thought.’

‘And here I thought you swooned at the sight of me.’ He gave me a crooked smile." (pg. 17)

"‘Well, have you ever thought of bathing?’ I asked, turning away. ‘No one wants to hire a wizard who smells worse than their outhouse. And who knows what creatures are living in that hair?’

‘Why do I need to brush my hair, anyway?’ He lifted his arm and gave a few experimental whiffs. ‘And I smell wonderful. All manly and whatnot.’" (pg. 66)

"‘You know, lass, the reason I was surprised to see you was because I thought that a pretty, delicate thing like yourself couldn’t possibly be there with Wayland North. He doesn’t bring many girls round unless they’re part of a job—but also ‘cause his smell can sometimes kill kittens.’" (pg. 80)

"‘You know we’re supposed to be together; it’s the way it’s always been!’

But it was no longer the way it could be. How do you tell someone that he is a part of your past, and not your future?" (pg. 319-320)

"‘You’ll have to treat me with a little more respect. They consider me a goddess in some countries, you know.’

North laughed loudly, reaching for me again. ‘Yes, but I’ve always considered you a goddess, Sydelle Mirabil.’

I smiled, letting him pull me close. Wizards, honestly." (pg. 347)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: I had really high hopes for this novel, being a fantasy lover through and through. It was just too jumbled and disjointed for me to really, truly love it. If it hadn’t been so messy, I might have liked it more. Overall, it was a good read, but definitely not stunning.

Rating: 3/5


**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge!

In My Mailbox (2)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren with inspiration from Alea of Pop Culture Junkie.

The idea of IMM is to encourage blogger interaction and expose books to our readers' attention. IMM is a great way to spread the word of certain books that many readers may not heard of. You aren't limited to books that you've received via mail; you can also include books you've bought or gotten at the library.

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The past two weeks, I got:

From the Library:
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead
Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3) by Richelle Mead
Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Richelle Mead
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
Captivate by Carrie Jones
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
Fire by Kristin Cashore

I got into a mini-"fight" with another lady because I got to Raised by Wolves and Extraordinary (which were due and shelved the same day I went) before she did! She demanded I let her check them out, since she'd been waiting so long! It was nuts! She eventually left and I checked them out, but that's an example of how hard it is to get new releases at my library!

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Won from Giveaways:
The Duff by Kody Keplinger [Won from Jordyn @ Ten Cent Notes]
Everlasting by Angie Frazier [Won from Stacy @ Page Turners Blog]
Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson [Won from Michelle and Leslie from @ Books and Makeup]
Arizona (Beautiful Dead #2) by Eden Maguire [Won from Dianne Salerni @ In High Spirits]

I've already personally thanked you all, but I'd like to thank you again for these books! :)


So fellow bloggers, what did YOU get in your mailbox this week? :)

My Very First Awards!

Okay, I’ll start off with a few blog updates. I’ve been trying to clean up around my blog because it’s been a little cluttered and I’m just slightly OCD (I’m sure it doesn’t seem like it – I’m also very lazy and didn't do much xD). I also cleaned up my Challenges page, which was being a pain in the behind with html. My main reason for doing some cleaning was to add a new awards gadget! I’ve never gotten any awards before, so I wanted a shiny new space for them! :3 

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My very first award was from Hafsah at Icey Books, who gave me the "Life is Good" award! Thank you so much, Hafsah! :) 

"To accept the award you must link back and thank the person who gave you the Life is Good Award and then answer the ten survey questions. Then you can pass it along to other blogs." 

1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now? 

I don't blog anonymously, and I probably wouldn't have wanted to blog anonymously. I don't have anything against it or people who do it, but I like knowing something personal about other book bloggers (i.e. their real name). I think it's easier to connect to them, knowing that they're real people too and not just some generic username book blogger amongst the thousands of other book bloggers. 

2. Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:

I can think of one when I was blogging. I was recently a part-taker in the September Spectacular Challenge and I had written down all the books I was going to post for the challenge. I had actually read all the books in the very first week of the Challenge and written my reviews for them, but I refused to post the reviews until the next week's linky was up. Why? Because I had written it down already, and even though I was reading other books for that week, I stuck with the list I made pre-challenge. 

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

I don't want to show you guys my pessimistic side, lol! So instead of answering "a sad girl who looks pathetically miserable", I'll answer, "A short, stumpy nerd with bad fashion". 

4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?

I would have answered Iced Tea before my visit to Texas. But post-Texas, any slush from Sonic (most notably a Watermelon Slush with Pineapple and the Strawberry Slush). I swear, Sonic is the only reason I survived in the hot, humid mess we call the state of Texas. 

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

Read, get addicted to Facebook games, blog on here, watch TV (which I'm behind on =(), or take a walk and soak up the vitamin D. 

6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?

I have two. Overcome my depression and social phobia (YES a blogger with SAD). The second is to find a good job so I can support myself if *knock-on-wood* my mom dies. 

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?

Pre-senior year, I was the overachiever. Everyone went to me for answers/help 'cause I was "the smart chick". I was (still am) also unbearably shy. Then during senior year I was the one always ditching/the person who dropped out. 

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life, what would you see? 

I have three and I can't pick between them so I'll list em all. 1) Being with my dad when he was alive. No specific moment, just in general. 2) DISNEYLAND. Especially during winter -- it's amazingly beautiful. 3) Californian sunsets & the beaches. 

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?

I find it easy to share my "true self" on my blog. There's not much to me: I ramble too much and make my reviews too long, and I attempt humor but fail at it, and I use smilies too much. :P I haven't written posts about other people yet, but I have written about events and that is what's hard. :/ 

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

Err... Read. Duh! But I also have a significant other, so I have to balance reading and talking on the phone sometimes. 

I'm going to go ahead and give this award to 5 awesome people (I'd give it to more, but goodness I have even MORE people to pick after this :P). 

1. Cass @ Words on Paper

2. Steph @ Thoughts of a Book Junky

3. Deepali @ e-Volving Books

4. Shera @ Book Whispers

5. Angela @ The Book Buzzer

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I also received "The Cherry on Top" award from Tracy at Pen and Paper (which is an awesome blog! You guys should go check it out!). I have a LOT more to thank Tracy for besides the award, but I don't want to scare her off just yet with my newbish adoration, so I'll save that for a later date. I'll just leave it at: Thank you so much for the award, Tracy! <3 

All you have to do for the Cherry on Top award is 1) answer the question "If I had the chance to go back and change one thing in my life, would I, and what would it be?", 2) Pick up to 6 people and give them this award, 3) Thank the person who gave me the award.

As I've done 3 already (thank you again Tracy!), I'll start off with the question.

I sadly have a lot of regrets in my life. I can think of 3 very prominent ones -- of the 3, I'll only mention 2. 

1. I would go back and make the most of the time I had to spend with my dad. I hate that I took him for granted as a kid, and that I was always giving him a hard time despite how much he loved me. I want to go back to the day he died and check on him before I went out to play without permission. I've blamed myself ever since for not checking on him or asking permission before I left. If only I had checked, I might have seen that the nose piece he used for his oxygen tank was out of his nose.

2. I would have NEVER gotten together with my ex-boyfriend, lol! I would have dropped him as soon as he cheated on me and never given him a second chance. Or kicked him where it hurts. Instead, I had wasted two and a half years on an unfaithful douche (excuse my french). 

As for my six people... Hm, this is a little tougher. I'll pick: 

1. The Bookish Snob

2. Hafsah @ Icey Books

3. Brandi @ Blkosiner's Book Blog

4. Ashlie @ Page Turners Gone Wild 

5. Jen @ In the Closet with a Bibliophile 

6. Laura @ Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian

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And lastly (whew!) I've received the Versatile Blogger award from The Bookish Snob! Thank you so much! For the award, here's what I gotta do:

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award.

2. Write 7 things about yourself

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked to let them know about the award. 

7 Things About Myself:

1. I'm unbearably shy. I'm sure it doesn't seem like it (I hope!), but I am. I have social anxiety disorder and have had problems being around people since my freshmen year. I was actually "expelled" (it doesn't show that in my record -- it was a nicer term saying they let me go) from highschool in senior year because I couldn't handle going to school. Thankfully, my mom is AWESOME and contacted the Superintendent for my district with a letter to appeal for my depression and anxiety and got me set up to finish high school in an "adult school" with a one-on-one teacher I only had to see once a week and I got my HS diploma that way.

2. I'm half filipino, half American. I don't look like I'm filipino at all -- the only testament I have to being Asian is my mom. I used to get asked if I was kidnapped or adopted when I went out with my mom. Mexican ladies in the supermarket come up to me speaking Spanish and I'm always like... "Err, no hablo", but they insist that I can speak Spanish. 

3. I used to be addicted (like WoW addiction) to MMORPG's. I've played over 30, I'm sure. I've never played WoW, but I have played Flyff, Dream of Mirror Online, Bright Shadow, Perfect World International, Dragonica, Maple Story, Vindictus, Mabinogi, Allods, etc. 

4. I AM A DISNEYLAND JUNKIE. I live in Southern California and I used to spend every single weekend at Disneyland. I even applied to work there, seeing as I'm there so much! I haven't been able to renew my annual pass since Dec. '09, and I'm going through MAD WITHDRAWALS. 

5. I LOVE travelling. I haven't traveled since 2007 (not counting my constant trips to Vegas and my last trip to Texas in August) and I'm having a HUGE travel itch. I've been to the Philippines, Mexico, Canada, England, France, and Italy and I reeeeeally want to go back! To any of these places! =( 

6. I hatehatehate the heat. Which is ironic, since I live in a desert in freaking So. Cal. I have every intention to move to Alaska or Antarctica when I'm older. 

7. I gained 40 pounds during my unhealthy 2 and a half year relationship with my ex-boyfriend, and I'm doing everything in my power to lose at least half of what I gained. 

So, wow... 15 people? That's a huge number. xD The bloggers I've found recently who I think are fantastic are:

1. Christina @ Books are Life (she also happens to be my twin!) 

2. Straylights @ A Certain Slant of Light

3. The Ladybug Reads

4. Jessi @ The Elliott Review

5. Enna @ Squeaky Books

6. Faye @ Ramblings of a Teenage Bookworm 

7. Namine @ Books I've Read

8. Cindy @ Princess Bookie

9. Jennifer @ Literature for Lunch

10. Mad Steampunkery

11. Tina @ Book Couture

12. Sarah @ That Bookish Girl

13. Heather @ Little Squeed

14. Alissa @ The Grammarian's Reviews

15. Danna @ Friendly Reader Oh Yeah

Whew, okay so I know this is a huge post but these are my very first awards. I get to ramble and be super happy! :) Thank you awarding me, guys! I'm so happy my blog is interesting enough to be granted awards. <3

*** I tried making sure that everyone I awarded actually accepted awards, but if you don't and I put you on my lists, I apologize! =x 

Happy weekend to you all! 

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Series: Hex Hall #1

Pages: 323

Genre: Paranormal, fantasy

Release: March 2, 2010

How Received: Library

Summary: 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 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.

My Thoughts:

Whatever expectations I had about Hex Hall... well, they were wrong. Just wrong. For one, despite the title, they do not learn magic. Not in school, at least. Two, the book didn’t run like a school at all. Not really. It was mostly centered on Sophie and her teenage angst and hormones. Three, it wasn’t as action-packed or as scary as I would have expected, even with mysterious incidents popping up all over the place.

Normally, I get creeped out by any paranormal genre that has an edge of mystery and suspense to it. Take Vampire Academy – mysterious things happened in much the same way as Hex Hall, but it was a lot scarier. Heck, even Twilight scared me sometimes (yes, admitting that is painful). Hex Hall was not scary at all, even if there were several central groups out to get Sophie and a continuous string of murders/almost-murders that seemed to target her coven. The danger just didn’t seem that... real. There was no suspense. Even with the two plot twists at the end, I still wasn’t scared. That bothered me.

Speaking of the plot twists, I didn’t really see them coming! Well, okay, I saw 1 out of 3. I obviously knew Hawkins was throwing us a red herring, trying to line up events with Jenna to make it seem like she was guilty. I found out one of the bad guys once they had appeared. The second, involving The Eye (which is a group of hunters determined to kill any Prodigium)? Noot so much. Did not see that at all.

The characters were alright. Sophie was sarcastic most of the time and had no control over her temper whatsoever. Traditional teenage angst and hormones. Same ole, same ole. She wasn’t very smart, really. She kept getting caught up in the Trinity’s pranks, earning her cellar duty for a semester, and was basically mingling with the enemy. Both enemies. Jenna was such an awesome character, clad with faults and insecurities. She’s strong and brave for putting up with the rumors and murmurings that occurred behind her back. I felt so sympathetic for her when her story was revealed.

Archer was the stereotypical hunk that all the girls wanted to be with. I started out not liking him too much (I wanted Sophie to be with the groundskeeper, Cal), but after a while, he charmed me. Speaking of Cal, I loved (because italics aren’t enough) him! I have no idea why, since he was in like... what, three scenes? I can’t shake this feeling that he will play a part in future novels. I felt like Hawkins was setting him up as an important character, possibly a love interest for Sophie or Sophie’s true betrothed.

My main gripe about this book was that some of the story was incongruent. One moment they’d be at a pond, the next Mrs. Casnoff was looking off past the lake. Nowhere in the book does it mention there’s a lake on the island. Another incident was when Sophie had the afternoon off, then Taylor had opened a door during Sophie’s phone call. Weren’t the students supposed to be in class? There were just a lot of things that didn’t add up.

I hated the cliffhanger!! =( Not hate in the bad way; hate in the I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT NAO RACHEL! kind of way. I’m definitely picking up Demonglass as soon as it publishes. I need to find out what happens!

Cover Musings: The cover was pretty cool. Nothing wow-tastic about it. I kept picking up the book the wrong way, lol! But I love that I know what the image means. I just don’t get the cat. Why is it on there? Sophie’s allergic to cats. There are no cats in the novel. Why is it there?!

Memorable Quotes:

"I heard the man and woman cry out a warning as I frantically racked my brain for some sort of throat-repairing spell, which I was clearly about to need. Of course the only words I actually managed to yell at the werewolf as he ran at me were, ‘BAD DOG!’" (pg. 19)

"When someone tells you somebody’s been murdered, laughing is probably not the best response. You know, for future reference.

But laughing is exactly what I did." (pg. 54)

"I’m sure I was making a pretty strange face. At thirteen I was thinking about allowing a boy’s tongue into my mouth. Getting engaged would’ve been pretty far beyond me." (pg. 159)

"‘I wouldn’t listen to anything Sophie Mercer has to say, Taylor.’

I stared at Beth. What happened to our whole hair-sniffing moment of bonding?" (pg. 173)

"There was a sensible part of me somewhere that clutched its pearls and hissed that I better not give up my V-card in a cellar, but when Archer’s hands slid under my shirt and onto the skin of my back, I started thinking that a cellar was as good a place as any." (pg. 285)

"I had no idea what anyone would ever need a demon for. Errands? General evil tasks that needed doing around the house?" (pg. 317)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: Hex Hall was a good read, a nice blend of paranormal, mystery, and romance. The plot wasn’t too deep, although it involved three plot twists. The characters were enjoyable, and I found myself LOL’ing a couple of times at Sophie’s sarcasm. Hawkins definitely portrayed her as a bonafide sixteen year old. The creepiness that usually comes along with the paranormal genre was just lacking. Or missing altogether. But nonetheless, this was a very good, quick read.

Rating: 4/5


**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author's Challenge!