Review: Demonglass (Hex Hall #2)

by:  Rachel Hawkins
published by:  Hyperion Books

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?

I received an ARC of this book through International Book Tours.  My feelings are mixed about it.  I'm tired of series and trilogies.  This book ended almost mid-sentence so you HAVE to read the next book to find out what happens.  I find that really frustrating.  It's not like the next book is going to come out next week so our curiosity is satisfied in a timely manner.  Plus, I read Hex Hall a few months ago and I had already forgotten some of the minor details and characters and when they were brought up in this book I was like "wait who? what?"

Anyway...on to the specifics of this book.  The love triangle rears its ugly head.  It's a YA book, it had to right?  This one wasn't quite as bad though.  It wasn't Sophie's fault I guess is what I'm getting at.  It didn't come about through her brainless indecision.

I didn't think it was a bad book, it was ok, but I wasn't jumping around thinking "OMG this is the most awesome book EVER".   It was a necessary book to carry on the trilogy, to get you to read the last book.  I thought Hex Hall was pretty cute and I really liked the story line and Hawkins writing style, but this one just didn't grab me like Hex Hall did. 

I will say that I do like Hawkins casual writing style.  I do enjoy her humor and little bits of sarcasm sprinkled throughout her books.

Hex Hall

By:  Rachel Hawkins

From Goodreads:  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.

I thought Hex Hall was pretty good, not super awesome, but good.  I liked Sophie, she was a decent character, not too whiny or full of teen angst.  I liked Jenna.  She was a fun character, even though she was sad and moody most of the time.   I didn't like Elodie or the relationship that she had with Sophie.  The evolution of their relationship didn't seem realistic to me, but maybe I'm looking at that from personal experience. 

I thought the story line was fairly interesting and the ending twist was kind of a surprise.  I did like that this book was lighter than say Hush Hush or Twilight, not nearly so dark as either of those.  Obviously this is going to be the start of a series. I'd be likely to pick up the next book in the series to see what happens next.