Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Pages: 323

Release: March 2^nd, 2010

Synopsis:(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.

My Thoughts:

I love boarding school stories! I don’t know why but I got really excited when I realized that this book was a boarding school series about WITCHES! So, after putting off reading it (for reasons unknown), I finally read it and I absolutely loved it.

Hex Hall is a very nice read for many reasons but, I found it most refreshing because of how quickly it read, without lacking quality, and how likeable I found all of the characters, even the antagonistic ones. It was a nice break from what I have been reading lately. It was just so easy to love!

I will say that you should be cautious getting attached to characters in this book, because I was surprised more than once by a character’s true nature! With that being said, READ IT if you haven’t. It’s such a fabulous book and I am looking forward to buying the next in the series.

In Short:

Rating: 5/5

Purchase or Check Out? Purchase! (although I borrowed)

Would I read it again?: Yes

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa

Pages: 363

Release: February, 1^st 2010

Synopsis:(from Goodreads) Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My Thoughts:

I had seen this book everywhere for over a year and on numerous occasions I considered picking it up but for some reason I never purchased it. I can’t tell you why I took so long to read this book, because the cover is gorgeous and the storyline seemed enticing enough but I finally, last week, decided to read it and all I could say to myself was “WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?”

I could talk about why I loved the plot or how adorable Meghan’s baby brother, Ethan was but I think the real thing I need to mention right off, is ASH! When he was first introduced I said to myself, “I’m going to like him,” and boy was I right! You can never go wrong with tall, dark, and handsome.

I was interested to see what would happen romantically in this novel and although things turned out like how I anticipated, I was a little surprised at the level of insta-love that happened but, hey, I understand that’s a common occurrence in a lot of YA books so it was something I got over easily.

I don’t want to give anything away and I feel like it would be easy to include spoilers if I mention too much about the characters so I will just say, this series is faeries done in the absolute best way! It’s imaginative, rich in details, and the characters are very well developed which makes them easy to get attached to. I definitely suggest that you should read this if you are one of the very few, like me, who had yet to pick it up! I’m looking forward to picking up the next few books in the series.

In Short:

Rating: 5/5

Purchase or Check Out?: Purchase!

Would I read it again?:  Yes