Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins is the sequel to Rebel Belle and the second book in the trilogy. It picks up the story more or less where the first book left off and is not the sort of series I'd recommend reading out of order. Also, this review contains spoilers for the first book in the series.

Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and her best friend, Bee, has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can focus on the important things in life: school, canoodling with David (her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie), and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.

Following on from the first book, Harper, the overachiever, still has Buffy-like powers and still has to use them protect her now-boyfriend and work with her mage ex-boyfriend to do so. Her ex-boyfriend has also started dating another girl, who is a bit suspicious of seeing him with Harper so often, so no teenage dramarama there at all /sarcasm. There's also the part where her best friend has been kidnapped by a group of people that, based on the events in Rebel Belle, definitely seem dangerous. The stage is set for drama and danger.

This book has an interesting plot structure and deftly avoids any "middle book syndrome". One of the major unresolved issues that book one suggested might end up being the main plot of Miss Mayhem is resolved quite quickly. The story then seemed like it was going to be a fairly standard, but enjoyable, read about the main character overcoming obstacles thrown at her. And it sort of was (that is, definitely enjoyable, sort of about overcoming obstacles). There was also some teenage drama and angst thrown in for good measure, and a little bit of the reader noticing things the main character did not.

But then, rather than building up to some sort of generic "this is what you're going to have to save the world from in book three" kind of story line, we get a rather unexpected ended. Kudos to Hawkins for mixing up a common formula. Obviously, I'm not going to spoil the ending in this review, but I disagree with one of the quotes on the back of the book: it is not, per se, a twist ending.

I quite enjoyed this book and got through it quite quickly once I started reading it properly. I definitely recommend it to fans of Rebel Belle, and I recommend this series to people who enjoy the teenagers vs supernatural phenomena kind of YA books. I will definitely be reading book three when I can (it's not out until April and then only in the US).

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2015, Putnam (in the US)
Series: Rebel Belle book 2 of 3
Format read: Hardcover (gasp!)
Source: Non-Amazon online bookshop

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins is the first book in a new series by the author of the Hex Hall books. I grabbed it partly because I enjoyed the earlier (and unrelated) books and partly because the blurb sounded pretty great. Who doesn't want to read about a cheerleader (/future valedictorian) who gets Buffy-like superpowers and has to protect the weird kid?

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I got through it very quickly, almost in one sitting (but there was sleep required). It's exactly the sort of fun popcorn book I like to relax and unwind with, which does not require a great amount of thought. And really, what's not to like about a girl who kills an attacker with a pink high heel?

What I found interesting was the way in which Southern stereotypes are presented as though they are self-evident. It gave me the impression that perhaps they are more widely know within the US than outside of it. Cotillion, for example, was a mystery until there was sufficient context for me to realise it was basically a déb(utante ball). Another example is that "y'all" doesn't automatically conjure up Southern Belle for me and the general emphasis on manners was unexpected. I mean, it could just be my experiences rather than a general thing. And it's true that the only non-movie thing I can think of set in the South is True Blood, take from that what you will.

Moving on to another cultural note, my impression before I started reading was that this was going to be "cheerleader has to protect nerd" but it's more like "all-round overachiever girl has to protect hipster boy who's almost as smart as her". I was bemused at her deep hatred of his hipster clothing, but I suppose it's understandable on some level.

I suppose I should talk about the story as well. There's a lot of running around trying not to get anyone killed while as trying to balance the million things Harper has going on in her life. Her perfect grades and her perfect boyfriend become a bit challenging to hold on to, which is understandable, obviously, but not for Harper who doesn't want to give up anything. I might have had (wildly) different priorities in high school, but I found her very easy to relate to.

Rebel Belle was a very fun read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out in April. I highly recommend it to fans of YA and Buffy looking for a non-taxing and entertaining read.I think I'd go so far as to say I enjoyed it more than the Hex Hall books.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Putman (Penguin)
Series: Yes, book 1 of 3?
Format read: Hardcover, gasp!
Source: Purchased from a non-Amazon-owned online book shop

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins is the first in a new spin-off series from the Hex Hall books (Hex Hall, Demonglass / Raising Demons and Spellbound). You definitely don't have to have read the Hex Hall books to enjoy this new series, however. The blurb:

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

I enjoyed this book a great deal. Izzy's inner monologue had me laughing out loud many times, particularly as she tries to work out how to be normal (often comparing the situations she finds herself in with a teen soap opera she bought as "research"). It had me from the first chapter, in which Izzy fights a vampire pretentious enough to wear body glitter (best Twilight jab I've read so far).

School Spirits has shades of typical new girl and new school YA, but with the twist that Izzy has never actually gone to a school before. And before moving to Ideal, Mississippi she didn't even own a TV. So fitting in and pretending to be normal is slightly more of a (hilarious) challenge for her. And although Izzy doesn't have any magic powers (other than an ability to sense magic/magical creatures) she does have a lot of skills that normal teenagers don't. Like vampire fighting and a knowledge of ghosts.

On a side note, I liked the way the love interest plot line played out. There was mercifully no love triangle and while there wasn't much mystery about which boy was in fact the love interest, it was enjoyable to watch it play out.

While most of School Spirits was light and fun reading, it took an unexpected serious turn at one point which added some depth and, dare I say, reality to the story. I can't elaborate further without spoilers but for me it was that moment that took the novel from pure fun to something a bit more serious. Also, the ending was a bit unusual and I'm dying to see how that plays out in the sequels.

All in all, I found School Spirits quite an unputdownable read. It was fun, hilarious and over too soon. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an enjoyable quick read and, of course, to fans of paranormal YA.

5 / 5 stars

First published: May 2013, Disney Book Group (US edition — no word yet on UK/Aus release dates)
Series: Yes. Book 1 of ? (3?). Same world as the Hex Hall trilogy, but does not have to be read after Hex Hall.
Format read: eARC
Source: the publisher, via NetGalley

Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins

Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins is the concluding volume in the Hex Hall trilogy. You can read my reviews for Hex Hall and Demonglass (US) / Raising Demons (UK/Aus) at those links. I bought the UK/Aus ebook edition of Spellbound but because I have the first two books in US paperback editions, I have also included the US cover below. Well, actually, I included it because for the first time I prefer US covers for a series. But anyway. (I can’t help but wonder why all the US covers feature a cat. There are no cats in the series whatsoever! Is it just supposed to be a generic “oh look witch” indicator? Inquiring minds need to know.

Being the third and final volume in the series, this review is going to be vaguer than usual thanks to avoiding spoilers.

Spellbound picks up exactly where Demonglass/Raising Demons left off. There is a lot more action spread throughout the book (compare with book 2 where most of the excitement was towards the end). There’s still piles of sarcasm from Sophie, the main character, but in contrast with the early books, in which she just enjoyed being snarky, now she’s sarcastic out of fear and nervousness. There were still some funny lines that made me laugh out loud, but overall the plot, subject matter and stakes were more serious.

In my review of Demonglass, I said that there were higher stakes and more serious business than in Hex Hall. This trend continues with Spellbound raising the stakes as far as possible (because what can out, er, stake an apocalyptic war?) and throwing the characters further into the deep end.

In some ways, the good guys’ plans seemed a little simplistic, but on the other hand, considering that Sophie, a teenager, was a key player, that’s probably realistic. I appreciated that when they decided “ok, we’ll try and do blah and hopefully that will save the day”, it might have looked like it would be too easy, but it never was.

As far as the romantic plot line went, the love triangle annoyed me, but I think that’s mainly because I’m really over love triangles in YA. It wasn’t actually poorly executed, despite me being on the “wrong team”. and hoping the other guy would get killed. I would have appreciated a less formulaic and more surprising approach, but it certainly wasn’t something which ruined the book for me. (And for more on why I’m complaining about love triangles, I recommend this post by Shaheen.)

The ending was satisfactory with the world saved (yeah, so not a spoiler) and all the characters were nicely accounted for. Overall, I enjoyed Spellbound more than Demonglass but I had less fun reading it than I did Hex Hall. I continue to recommend this series to anyone who likes YA, paranormal adventures and snarky sarcasm.

4 / 5 stars

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Demonglass (titled Raising Demons in the UK/Australia) by Rachel Hawkins is the second book in the Hex Hall trilogy. You can read my review of book 1, Hex Hall, here.

The shenanigans and sarcasm from Hex Hall return in full force in Demonglass. Sophie is off to spend summer break in the UK with her absentee father and, luckily, her best friend Jenna is allowed to come with her. Conveniently, from a plot-ish point of view, one of her love interests also goes with them.

Where Hex Hall mostly involved school yard pranks and mischief with only mysterious murders and a bit of life-threatening danger at the end, Demonglass ups the ante. There’s a lot more danger and risk with more adult-involvement (as in, less teenage mischief more serious business).

Happily, Sophie’s sarcasm continues apace.

One thing that bothered me plot-wise was the love interest/triangle. I’m a bit over love triangles and I suspect I’m rooting for the losing side (which seems to often be the case, hmm). The other thing that probably wouldn’t bother most readers that got to me were a couple of misused words (eggcorns, to use New Scientist’s term): brisk instead of brusque, shattering instead of chattering. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but it was enough to throw me out of the story.

On the other hand, it was interesting to watch Sophie’s relationship with her father develop (although I think elaboration would be spoilery). That and the fact that Jenna got some happies were two of the highlights.

The big finish was definitely big and the last few chapters crammed in a lot of sudden action and excitement and also a cliffhanger. Good thing I already have the concluding volume, Spellbound, lined up and ready to go.

Overall, a must read if you enjoyed Hex Hall. I liked it slightly less but the ending more than made up for it. Oh, and I was still definitely laughing out loud. If you haven’t started the Hex Hall series, definitely do if you like YA with magic and sarcastic, snarky main characters.

4 / 5 stars

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

I admit part of the reason I picked up Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins was because of the smashing cover. This is one of the few times I’ve preferred the US cover to the Aus/UK one (see small Aus/UK cover below on the left). The other reason was — thanks to jet lag — I felt like an easy/fun YA read.

And what a fun read it was. I wasn’t expecting Hex Hall to be quite as laugh-out-loud funny as it was. From the prologue, in which we learn just why Sophie is sentenced to the supernatural reform school, to a plethora of sarcastic comments, I was sniggering or laughing every few pages.

The story is told in first person from the point of view of Sohpie, a witch who did one too many spells in front of humans. But she was raised by her human mother after her parents broke up and didn’t get to speak to her father until she came into her powers. Before arriving at school, she had never met any other supernaturals (the school has witches, shapeshifters (including werewolves), faeries and vampires) and knows very little about their society. She quickly manages to antagonise the three bitchy witches, but at least she’s room-mates with the only vampire student so they can be outcasts together.

Then things start to go wrong. A student is attacked and Sophie’s new vampire friend is the prime suspect. Sophie doesn’t believe her friend did it, but everyone else does. No one will listen when Sophie starts looking for the real culprit.

As I said at the start, this was a really fun book. Without getting overly gloomy, it touches on racial tension (faeries and shapeshifters don’t really get along, hopefully something that will be explored more in the sequels) and fear of the unknown (humans who find out about supernaturals tend to get homicidal on them). And of course, there’s the whole being an outcast element. Actually, it was nice that the vampire girl was more of an outcast than Sophie started off being. Too many books have the Chosen One also being a complete outcast. At least while Sophie has elements of Chosen One-ness, it’s mainly the bitchy coven that hates her straight away, not the whole school.

Did I mention funny? I’ve ordered the second book, Demonglass, from Book Depository and look forward to reading it.

4.5 / 5 stars