Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Book: Spell Bound
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall
Publishing Date: March 13th, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
My rating: 3 Stars

**There will be spoilers, but I'll tell you beforehand**
It's finally over! *big exhale* I'm giving this book 3 stars because, despite the quips and awesome make out scenes, it was still lacking a lot of important parts that make up a novel. But I'll begin with the things I liked about it.

Sophie's character. Sometimes she was a bit blabbery and annoying, but I never thought her choices were dumb. Her internal monologue actually made me laugh multiple times, and she exemplifies the teenager with tons of supernatural issues perfectly. She deals with them with a certain amount of light-heartedness and fear, which I thought were sincere and real. Not many authors remember to make their heroines have a bit of common sense, and I'm glad Sophie had some of that.

Her relationship with Jenna. I loved it in the previous books, and in this one, it was the same sort of snappy camaraderie that makes them so likable.

The fact that even though the plot was serious and pretty darned freaky, Hawkins managed to insert humorous parts that alleviated the heaviness. Some could argue that it ruined the atmosphere and made problems seem insignificant, but I liked it.

What I didn't like, however, was the suddenness of the plot. I finished the book in one day, so it was a short read. But I thought everything was executed too quickly, especially the part with the war. I mean, it took up, what, five pages? And it seemed too easy. It was like get in, faint[ witches kill themselves, fiance dies (hide spoiler)], and everything is happily ever after. There was some unfinished business, and I didn't like it. What happened to the Vandy, Torin? And the thing with the dream at the end seemed like Hawkins just wanted to hurry up and finish the book. I would've liked to see what happened immediately after the battle sequence, not Sophie just passing out.

Okay. You are now venturing into spoiler territory. I repeat, SPOILER TERRITORY. Read on at your own risk.

Also, the thing that irked me most was how Hawkins solved the issue of the love triangle in the end. I mean, killing off the other guy? That just seemed completely undeserved, and I felt really sad at the end, even though Cal comes back to haunt them. It just didn't feel complete to me, and it was more than cliche.

That said, I did enjoy this book, and I recommend it for anyone who wants a whole lot of magic and cheese.

View all my reviews