Book Review: Hex hall by Rachel Hawkins

  

Goodreads Overview:

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 tag-along 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.

Jacque's Review:

This was a free ebook that I downloaded quite some time ago. When I was on vacation, I finished the book I was reading and scrolled through my unread books and decided to read this one. It was a really cute story and I loved all of the characters. Most of the Prodigium grew up in magical families and were well aware of the history and dangers to their kind. Sophie grew up with her human mother and has never met her magical father. She has spoken to him on the phone, but she has lived a pretty normal life up until recently.

When her magic starts drawing unwanted attentions she is sent to a boarding school for Prodigium where she will stay until her 18th birthday. Hopefully she will learn to use her powers in a more controlled and discreet manner and come to understand her magical history. At first, Sophie considers it a prison sentence, but she soon meets some interesting students and quickly learns the real dangers this school can protect her from.  

Archer Cross is an attractive warlock that immediately catches Sophie's attention, but his girlfriend is the beautiful and snobbish ringleader of a coven of witches named Elodie. When Sophie refuses to join the coven, Elodie takes her anger out on Sophie in a variety of ways. The two spar back and forth through a number of magical pranks.

The most interesting part of this book was the mystery behind who was viciously attacking students on campus. The school is protected by magical wards, so it is assumed it has to be another student or staff member. All signs pointed to Sophie's roommate, the only vampire attending the school. She is deemed guilty until proven innocent, so Sophie sets out to prove who is really behind the attacks. 

I was shocked by several of the twists at the end of this book. There were several characters that were not what they seemed and Sophie is left contemplating leaving the magical world forever. I don't think she will actually go through with it, so I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what will happen next.