Review: Hex Hall Series

I started this series awhile ago a couple of years ago and recently realized that the third book in the series had come out. I had forgotten what had happened in the first two books, so I had to reread them before continuing on to the third. Warning: There will be spoilers!

The series centers around Sophie Mercer, who is a witch, or so she thinks until towards the end of the first book. She finds out she is a demon, one of the most powerful supernatural creatures or prodigium in existence. The series starts out with Sophie having to attend Hex Hall after she does a spell that goes wrong. Hex Hall is a school for "bad" supernatural teenagers. Throughout the series, she has to grapple with being a demon while also being a teenager. She deals with love, family, school, friends and unlike most teenagers, the possible destruction of all supernatural creatures.

I find the books a bit fluffy, but I do enjoy them. I even read the spin-off series, School Spirits. My favorite part is probably Sophie. She is pretty sarcastic and uses sarcasm to cope with all the chaos around her. I also like her relationships with Elodie, her nemesis in the first book, and Jenna, her vampire best friend. I especially love the banter between her and Jenna.

There is a love triangle in this book and while normally I am not a fan of love triangles, I thought this one worked fairly well and was realistic. Sophie, like many other witches and warlocks, is betrothed to a fellow warlock, Cal. However, Sophie falls for Archer, resident bad boy. Both boys represent a clear choice for Sophie, in regards to which direction she wants to head and I think Hawkins handled it well. I also liked her resolution with the triangle, though it did seem a bit convenient.

However, sometimes I feel like the endings were rushed in the books,  especially the last one. I felt the last one felt a little jumbled in the plotting and the ended was very rushed.

Overall, I really liked this series and as I mentioned before, I have started the spin-off series. I think this series would translate really well to a movie or TV show, as it does have fun characters and the plot is very compelling, plus there is lots of action!

Review: School Spirits

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: May 14, 2013
Pages: 304

Source: Library

Why I read it: I have read the first two books in the Hex Hall series and didn't realize that the author had a new spin off series. Of course I had to read this!

Izzy is a member of the Brannick family, a family that hunts magical creatures. She, her sister, who has mysteriously disappeared, and her mom are the last of the Brannicks. They keep to themselves, and move around hunting different magical creatures. After Izzy botches what should be a simple vampire case, her and her mother move to a small town in Mississippi. The local high school has a mysterious haunting and Izzy is supposed to solve the case. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she begins to befriend people at the school, which interferes with her work and her disguise that she is a normal teenage girl.

I could not put this book down! I had read the first two books in the Hex Hall series and when I saw the author had a new series, I really wanted to read it. I didn't realize the book was a spin off, as I haven't finished the Hex Hall series.

The novel is fast paced and the mystery surrounding the haunting of the school is compelling. The characters are also really compelling. I loved the group of friends that Izzy meets at school through the PMS, also known as the Paranormal Management Society, especially Romy and Dex. I loved Romy's quirks and her warmth and Dex's quirks, like wearing old fashioned clothing and her flowery speech. I can't wait to see where they fit in the next books. 

Izzy is also a great character too. She struggles with trying to fit in and is a bit snarky and jaded, which of course, a monster hunter would probably be. Romy and Dex are really good friends to Izzy, and I warmed up to them quickly. Dex is also romantically interested in Izzy and she is interested in him too, but I felt like that plot line didn't overshadow the rest of the story. Izzy knew that her mission was the most important while struggling with her feelings for Dex and also her growing friendship with Romy. I though the conflict between the two was handled well and not too much hand wringing over Dex.

The ending felt a little rushed and actually I felt a little thrown off from what I expected to happen. It seemed thrown together and I wonder how the next book will start off, based on what happened at the end of this book. However, of course I will read the second book to see the new developments!

Review: A Local Habitation & An Artificial Night

I was going to do separate reviews for these books, but as I read them in quick succession, I am combining the reviews. These books are the second and third books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. There are 5 so far, and I'm already starting on the 4th one.

A Local Habitation is the second book in the series. It revolves around October Daye trying to solve a series of murders at the county of Tamed Lightning. An Artificial Night is the third book and this one involves Toby going up against one of the "first born" Blind Michael in order to stop him from stealing both human and fae children.

I do like the series so far. I think McGuire does an excellent job of world building. However, I feel like Toby repeats herself too much, especially by the third book, when I have a pretty good grounding of the world so far. Toby remarks several times that in the world of Fae, one must never thank anyone, and that she doesn't want to be a hero. I understand that Toby doesn't want to be a hero, and I think it's a compelling part of the books. She's a reluctant hero and just does what she thinks needs to be done. But the character mentions it too much. I don't dislike her, but she can be frustrating. She goes on suicidal missions with her friends and family worried about her. I understand that she is compelled to go on these missions, but she does it at the expense of her friends and family.

My favorite part of the books is the characterization. I love so many of the characters, especially the Luidaeg, May and Tybalt. Oh and of course Spike, the rose goblin. I have to admit that when Spike accompanied Toby to Blind Michael’s lands in An Artificial Night, I was worried more about Spike than I was Toby. I had to flip to the back of the book and skim quickly to make sure the rose goblin survived! As for Luidaeg, I like her relationship with Toby, but she seemed like more of a hero than Toby did. She was the one helping Toby make it to Blind Michael’s lands and back. And of course, Tybalt! The series needs more Tybalt! He is becoming less of a foe of Toby's and their relationship definitely hints at something else. I've heard he features more and more into the series as it progresses. And I really like May, and developing her own personality beyond Toby's.

I liked An Artificial Night a little more than A Local Habitation. However, I know very little of the mythology behind Tam Lin and the hunt, and had to look up the legend of Tam Lin and I had a better grasp of the book. I do love how McGuire incorporates legend and fairy tales to create her own world.

While the series isn't perfect, I am enjoying it so far and will continue to read it.  

Retro Friday: Rosemary and Rue

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! (From Angieville)

Summary from Goodreads: October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas...

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer.

This book isn't maybe the oldest or most under the radar books I could have chose, but I chose it anyway. I first heard about this author and this series on the Black Phoenix Alchemy forum. Seanan McGuire is a member over there and there is a whole thread dedicated to her books. I have been getting into sci fi/fantasy recently and have yet to read an urban fantasy. From all the glowing recommendations over at the BPAL forum, plus good reviews for the series on blogs like Fantasy Book Cafe, I thought I would give it a try.

The description on the back of the book made it hard for me to want to read it at first, however. I find that faeries have been watered down so much, that reading about faeries doesn't really appeal to me. I was hoping that McGuire went down the route of the traditional faeries, before they became like Tinkerbell. I wanted the faeries to have some edge and not just be light and happy pixies.

The story follows October (Toby) Daye, a half fairy, half human changeling. She was a private investigator for a member of the fairy nobility, and due to the drawbacks of a position like this, she was exiled in a pond as a fish for 14 years. The book begins not long after she has been transformed back into herself. Toby wants nothing to do with the faerie world, not surprising considering her past experiences. However, she is drawn back into the world, when an acquaintance/friend, Countess Evening Winterrose is murdered and Toby is the last person she calls. Toby is forced to investigate the crime and find the culprit, otherwise her own life may be in danger.

I had mixed feelings about the book. I did enjoy it, but there was a lot of info dumping from Toby and explanations of how the world worked. McGuire did a good job creating the world, but over half of the book felt like explanations of how the world functioned. The book is in first person, and it seems a little odd that Toby would be explaining things that are second nature to her, but I realize that McGuire has to set up the world. It wasn't until the end of the book that the action really started. There is a lot of build up and not enough action. I did like the world building, despite the info dumping. I loved all the little details that McGuire added, such as cats being in tune with the faerie world and the rose goblins. I really want a rose goblin after reading this book!

However, I have heard that the later books are excellent, so of course, I picked up the sequel, and I'm liking it so far, especially now that all the exposition on the world is mostly over.

I loved the characterization. Toby isn't a perfect character and even though she is a half faerie, she struggles with magic to the point that it can be crippling. My other favorite character is Tybalt. I have heard he features even more into the later books and I can't wait! Even Dare, a very minor character that dies, was well developed and I felt a little twinge of sadness when I realized she wasn't going to make it to the next book. I also liked how San Francisco was a character.

As said before, I'm on the second book and I can't wait to see where McGuire goes with these characters. Again, I love her characterization in the second book, and the ability McGuire has to make "monsters" likeable.