WoW: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event--hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine--that spotlights upcoming books that are eagerly being anticipated. My can't-wait-to-read choice for this time around is...

SPELL BOUND by Rachel Hawkins

The third book in Rachel Hawkins' HEX HALL series.  Not due out until March of next year, but I couldn't be more excited for this one.  Another I will certainly be buying.  You know, HEX HALL was pretty good...but it was the 2nd in this series: DEMONGLASS that made me fall in love.  DEMONGLASS was pretty great.  If you aren't familiar, I suggest you get familiar and before March. :) 
Oh, question: Does anyone know if this is the last in the series?  Just curious.  I don't really want it to be over.

That's what I'm waiting on this week?  What about you?

Book Review: DEMONGLASS

Title: DEMONGLASS
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Other books by Author: HEX HALL
Publication Date: March 2011
My Rating: 4.5/5--Really good! Worth your time!
One Word Plot: Demons
Good if…you liked the EVERNIGHT Series

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 Acher to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

My Thoughts...  Better than the first!  Action packed.  Funny.  Mysterious.  Everything I loved about HEX HALL was magnified and better in this 2nd book.  I was pleasantly surprised, as I read a few not-so-wonderful-review prior to reading this and very nearly let this one slip me by.  I'm so happy I didn't pass this one up and Rachel Hawkins did an excellent job of filling the reader in.  You really don't even need to read Hex Hall first to understand what's going on.  It was good and I want to buy it since I feel like it's definently re-readable.  :)

MARCH {Upcoming Releases}

Here's some of the YA books coming out in March that I'm most looking forward to...

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Sequel to HEXHALL

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 Acher to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?
Release Date: 03/01/2011

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams. As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear. And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.

Release Date: 03/01/2011

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

The Fourth Novel in Claudia Gray's EVERNIGHT Series

Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . . Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling. Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her. A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

Release Date: 03/08/2011

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

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.

Release Date: 03/15/2011

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH Book 3

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters. Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again. Except, Catcher has his own secrets -- dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah -- can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

Release Date: 03/22/2011

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.  When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?
Release Date: 03/22/2011

Wake Into Me by Lisa Cach

Caitlyn Monahan knows she belongs somewhere else. It's what her dead mother's note suggested, and it's what her recurring nightmares allude to. Desperate to flee these terrifying dreams--and her small town--she accepts a spot at a boarding school in France. Only, when she arrives, her nightmares get worse. But then there are her amazing dreams, so vivid and so real, with visits from an alluring, mysterious, and gorgeous Italian boy from the 1500s. Caitlyn knows they are soul mates, but how can she be in love with someone who exists only in her dreams? Then, as her reality and dream world collide, Caitlyn searches for the real reason why she was brought to this school. And what she discovers will change her life forever.
Release Date: 03/31/2011

Book Review: HEX HALL

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Rating:
Good if...you liked Evernight and want the witch version.

Summary (Amazon):
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. 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.

My Review:
Okay--what's not to like? A girl, who's a witch, goes off to witch school where there are witches, warlocks, shapeshifters, fairies, ghosts, and even a vampire. The concept of this book is awesome even though I don't think Rachel Hawkins executed it quite to it's fully potential. Don't get me wrong--I really liked this book--I just wanted a little more. Witches were the main focus of the story and the other creatures (aside from her Vampire roommate) didn't get much play. But I did love all the spells, the cool magic, and her friendship with Jenna. My least favorite part of this book was all the unanswered questions at the end--I know that's the point of having a sequel but I needed just a little more closure. I guess I'll have to wait for DEMONGLASS which is due out in March 2011. Oh, and this really reminded me of the vampire novel EVERNIGHT only I liked Evernight just a bit more.