Review: Spell Bound

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3)
by Rachel Hawkins
Published March 13th 2012 by Hyperion Book CH

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?



Rating: 4.5 sparkling stars
Review:
To quote a certain gal we all adore, Holy Hell Weasel. 
This book was flippin' amazing!!! Aaaah! I cannot believe this series is over already! Why Rachel Hawkins, WHY?! 


Let me just start off by saying that I am absolutely in LOVE with this series! Literally, the weekend after this book came out, I rushed to the nearest Barnes and Noble, grabbed the book, and just sat down in the store and read it. In one sitting! Goodness gracious, I couldn't put this book down!


Spell Bound picks up immediately after Demonglass and believe me, it will grab your attention hook, line, and sinker! Seriously, you will be speeding through the book without even realizing it. There were quite a few twists and turns and surprises in this book--some I anticipated, and some I totally didn't! This book was fast-paced and flowed so smoothly. The ONE thing that prevented this book from being a full-blown 5 stars was that Last Battle. It was pretty much the climax, the culmination of all the things that's happened to Sophie, but it ended way too soon! I wanted more fighting, more action, more bad guy butt-kicking! 


But luckily, the characters more than made up for any shortcomings. Sophie Mercer is, without a doubt, one of my favorite YA characters EVER! She is so loyal and compassionate and snarky as heck! You gotta love a girl with a sense of humor like her. So much bad stuff has happened to her throughout the entire series, but she emerges tough as ever and still manages to retain her enviable sarcasm.

And of course I must mention the boys! I was so glad/excited to finally see how Cal and Archer actually interact when the whole love triangle is actually in the same room! It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I think Hawkins handled her love triangle a lot better than some of the other authors out there. Archer was just.... gosh, pure perfection! Definitely one of my all time favorite Book Boyfriends. He and Sophie are the perfect sarcastic couple extraordinaire! At the same time, Cal was pretty awesome too. I am a devoted Team Archer kind of gal, but Cal, he was just such a good, selfless guy... and that major stunt he pulled at the end! UGH! Heart-wrenching! I feel like Hawkins resolved the love triangle as best as it could've been resolved.... but still! It kinda broker my heart a little...

The Brannicks were an interesting addition---and OMG I had my suspicions about how they fit into Sophie's life, and I was so right!!!--- Contrary to the blurb, the Brannicks didn't actually play a super huge part in the novel..... But good golly miss molly, I heard Hawkins is writing a spin-off and I just KNOW it's gonna feature some Brannicks.... like, say, Isolde and Torin! I definitely see more happening there! 


Good Lord, please oh please oh PLEASE let there be more adventures in the world of Hex Hall! (Possibly with some cameo appearances???)