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???)

 

Waiting on Wednesday #1

Waiting On Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to post about books that you absolutely need to have your hands on. NOW.

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?

-goodreads


YOU GUYS. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I need this book! I must have more Sophie and Archer!

My Book Boyfriend: Archer Cross

 

For those of you who don't know, My Book Boyfriend is a (super fun) weekly meme started by The Unread Reader, one of my favorite book bloggers on the web, where bookworms like me post about swoon-worthy literary guys. If you want to start this meme, you can find out how on the introduction post here.

My Book Boyfriend of the week this week is none other than....
ARCHER CROSS from the Hex Hall series.
Oh Archer. Oh goodness gracious. I'm not even sure there are words out there to describe how much I love Archer Cross.... gosh darn it just thinking about him makes me all... giggly (so I try to refrain from thinking about him and Hex Hall in general lest I get looked at strangely for grinning like a fool in public).
But anyways... here's a short description of Archer:

• came to Hecate when he was 14
• is a warlock
• kind of has that whole adorable-bad-boy thing going on
• was once betrothed (which is totally normal in the Prodigium world)
• has curly black (but really it's dark brown) hair and dark brown eyes
• thin but muscular
• "resident heartthrob"
• extremely fluent in the language of sarcasm 
• (without giving away any spoilers...) let's just say there is more to him than meets the eye 

 "Archer?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Hey, you might be able to take away my magical powers,    but the power of sarcasm was still at my disposal. “Is your last name Newport or Vanderbilt? Maybe followed by some numbers? Ooh!” I said, widening my eyes, “or maybe even Esquire!”
I’d hoped to hurt his feelings or, at the very least, make him angry, but he just kept smiling at me. “Actually, it’s Archer Cross, and I’m the first one. Now what about you?” He squinted. “Let’s see . . . brown hair, freckles, whole girl-next-door vibe going on . . . Allie? Lacie? Definitely something cutesy ending in ie.”
You know those times when your mouth moves but no sound actually comes out? Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. And then, of course, my mom took that opportunity to end her conversation with Justin’s parents and call out, “Sophie! Wait up.”
“I knew it.” Archer laughed. “See you, Sophie,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house." 

"She was my assignment."
"From The Eye?"
"No, from the Boy Scouts. That Witch Dating badge just kept eluding me."
"Well, you must have at least three Total Douchebag badges by now, so that has to count for something." 
-Archer and Sophie

"So did The Eye come here looking for me?"
"Actually, we came because we heard it was free corn dog night. Imagine our disappointment." 
-Sophie and Archer

Cal:  "Oh, come on, Sophie. Don't you get it? He's L'Occhio di Dio's ultimate weapon. They used him as a spy at Hecate for years, so what makes you think that's stopped now? This is probably just his new assignment, getting close to you so he can use you for information about the Council."
Archer: "Actually, I was just going to use her for her body, but that's a good idea, too."