Showing posts with label Rachel Hawkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachel Hawkins. Show all posts

May's Most Wanted 2013!







Out May 2013



Goddess (Starcrossed #3) by Josephine Angelini - out May 28th 2013 If I Should Die (Revenants #3) by Amy Plum - out May 7th 2013 Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry - out May 28th 2013
School Spirits (School Spirits #1) by Rachel Hawkins - out May 14th 2013 Towering (Kendra Chronicles #3) by Alex Flinn - out May 14th 2013 Witch Fire (Burn Mark #2) by Laura Powell - out May 1st 2013

So, here's what I'm hoping to get in May.
Which books are you looking forward to?

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Latest Blogs from our Favourite Authors - 8th May 2012



Here's a weekly round up of blogs from our favourite authors:





Is there an author you'd like to see updates from?
Just let us know and we'll add them to our list!
-CB xx
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Latest Blogs from our Favourite Authors - 1st May



Here's a weekly round up of blogs from our favourite authors:





Is there an author you'd like to see updates from?
Just let us know and we'll add them to our list!
-CB xx
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Review: Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins

Publishers: Hyperion
Published Date: March 13th 2012
From: Bought
My rating: 3 out of 5
Synopsis:
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?
Review:
After loving the previous books, Hex Hall and Demonglass, Spell Bound was one of those books that had been on my TBR pile forever so I HAD to buy as soon as it was published. Sophie is such a great character and Archer was everything I wanted him to be. Cal was an interesting addition. As betrothed to Sophie I was extremely curious to see how this love triangle would pan out. But the essential part of this story is that Sophie was a witch, now a demon, and now she was up against the world. Everyone who she thought was on her side is now the enemy. But what is the real enemy going to do next to ruin Sophie's world.

I won't deny that I found this book difficult to get into. By chapter 7 I was even a little bored and started reading other books. But I came back and stuck with it to the end. Sophie began to annoy me with her snarky comments when a very serious situation was going on. The split between her feelings for Archer and Cal even made me think she would finally stick with Cal. 

But when all the classmates returned to Hex Hall the danger was real. Now Sophie had to take things seriously and work out how to deal with the evil. What happens? She ends up making out with Archer in the cellar. Really? Someones already died from trying to get out through the fog surrounding the school and she's making out?  


I realise that the atmosphere of the books is supposed to be light hearted and enjoyable but I just didn't feel it worked in this book. Maybe if there had been a fourth book then Sophie might have grown as a character but this one felt like there was so much story trying to be crammed into such a short book.


In the end I was glad I read it and had closure from all the characters but it wasn't my favourite ending to a series.

You can reach Rachel Hawkins here:

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New YA Book Publications - week ending 16th March 2012

Week Ending 16th March

** HOT PICK  **


Steel by Carrie Vaughn


Out 13th March 2012



Goodreads:
It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate’s life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.
 Charlotte thinks:
I love anything with a sword-wielding sassy girl, add a bit of time travelling and a smidgeon of romance and I'm all over it. And Carrie Vaughn never disappoints!
x

  **  also out this week  **



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Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins


Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Synopsis:

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

Review:
I always wonder why authors spend so much time building up a setting and then completely switch to another for a sequel. I was all ready for another year at Hex Hall but, no, we're off to England to Thorne Abbey.

Once I get settled into my new abode (with the help of Sophie, of course) I actually liked it. All the English-isms were a little cliche (not all English people like fish and chips - i don't!) but I expect overseas readers will feel at home with them.

The story carries on a few weeks after the last book ends. But this time Sophie is in so much danger it's untrue. The author steps up the tension and suspense and with a smidgen of romance, Spellbound lives up to the expectations of Hex Hall.

Again, the story is evenly paced, clues drop in nicely every now and again, and I must admit, I thought the Dad was in on it so much to my surprise the twists are even better than the last book.

We have more of a love-triangle going on too as Cal enters the story in small doses, and Archer makes a welcome return.

All in all, I loved it, and couldn't put it down.


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Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins


Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Synopsis:
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 punish...more.
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 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.



Review:
For those of you that have severe Harry Potter withdrawal then this book is for you. Sophie joins Hex Hall having little know-how of her powers (which keep doing everything but what she wants) nor any real knowledge of her father.

But things get a whole lot stranger when she's made to join a coven, and her major crush turns about to be her enemy's boyfriend. Plus her new room-mate is a vampire who allegedly killed the previous occupant of her bed.

This book is wonderfully written, almost whimsical at times. The flow and pace keep you wanting more, and the story doesn't disappoint. I thought when I started that I would hate it but I ended up loving the characters, the setting and even the magical talk which is kept to a nice minimum.

My only wish was that there would be more interaction with Sophie and Archer, and maybe a little more emotion. What we had was nice but it was quite tame considering many YA books these days have more sexual tension than some adult books.

A wonderful and, I'm sure, a great start to a new series.


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