Hex Hall

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.
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Beth says 4 Stars...

I've wanted to read this book for a while and just hadn't had the chance. I'm glad I finally managed to have the time to pick it up. There was some serious cuteness going on, but in a slightly darker way if that makes any sense. The setting of the boarding school was familiar to me through both my own experiences and as a common setting of paranormal novels. I really appreciated that there were many different types of magical beings at the school, which made it a little different than all of the others I'd read about. Obviously there was the requisite high school drama, but just bumped up a few notches. The plot went along relatively well, though it moved slowly at some points. I thought the foreshadowing was well placed, and I didn't quite predict the ending. However, it wasn't quite out of nowhere. I got involved in the story and ended up caring about where it finished.

The characters were fine... but nothing that extraordinary. Sophie wasn't annoying at all, and really provided a good proxy for me as a reader because she didn't know everything. When things were explained to her (and me) it didn't feel forced or contrived, which is a huge problem that many books I've read recently have had. The supporting cast had all of the requisite members, from the outcast friend to the super hot guy who's off limits and cocky. The book definitely lacked a strong adult presence and suffered slightly from the lack of wisdom-giving.

Overall this was a really fun book. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the second novel in the series. If you want something that's fun, light, and has a touch of magic without being overly saccharine sweet, this is one for you!
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