Hexbound
Hexbound by Chloe Neill
The Dark Elite #2
Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia’s School for Girls, but she’s already learned that magic can be your best friend…or your worst enemy.
They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago’s nastiest nightlife—including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.
Then Lily’s invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He’s hot, powerful, and offering to help her harness the magic flowing in her veins in a way no one else can. He’s also a Reaper. Lily can’t hide her suspicions. But she’ll soon find out that the line between good and evil isn’t always clear…
They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago’s nastiest nightlife—including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.
Then Lily’s invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He’s hot, powerful, and offering to help her harness the magic flowing in her veins in a way no one else can. He’s also a Reaper. Lily can’t hide her suspicions. But she’ll soon find out that the line between good and evil isn’t always clear…
Lily had thought her life couldn't have gotten more turned upside down than it did when her parents sent her to St. Sophia's. She was wrong. Now she has to deal with powers that she doesn't know how to control, and fighting against the Dark Elite or Reapers, all the while trying to keep up with the school's rigorous curriculum. Of course there is a bright side to all this as she met a cute boy for her affections, but of course he has his own secrets as well. Meanwhile, a member of the opposite team corners her, leaving her with more questions than she can handle as the lines between good and evil get blurry.
I having a hard time deciding how I felt about Hexbound, and this series in general. In the first book, Firespell, I had an extreme case of plot deja vu. It just felt like the same story I had heard countless times before. However, about halfway through things started to pick up and spark my interest a whole lot more. So, when starting Hexbound I was disappointed to see that yet again, the beginning was very slow. To make matters worse, not a whole lot of time has been covered, making the series have a lack of momentum, or at least it really feels that way to me. Unfortunately, when things finally started to pick up, I realized that although there was more action, there wasn't really a substantial plot. In fact it felt more like a set up for the future, adding to my lack of momentum feeling.
That all being said, I do very much enjoy the characters in these books. I love seeing things through Lily's eyes as she is going through the growing pains of her new powers as well as all the secrets surrounding her parents. (On a side note, that was another disappointment for me, as nothing was really revealed there.) Scout adds just the right amount of wit and sarcasm to lighten up things just the right amount. Although, she herself is dealing with some things on her own, making me thoroughly impressed at how she was able to keep herself almost as cheery and spunky as always. As far as the love interest, Jason, I was glad to see more of the interaction between him and Lily, making the romance a little more established rather than the forced feeling from before. However, some reveals were made that may just threaten things, and when you combine that with the hints of a possible love triangle, this series is threatening to turn me into a cranky blogger.
Its funny how as I'm writing my review, more and more things are popping out to me as issues I had with Hexbound. However, as I was reading it, those things didn't seem so terribly bad, so I was able to enjoy it while reading it. So, while those issues are there, they aren't so horribly "glaring" to ruin the book, but that could easily change in the future. I'm really hoping for some concrete action as well as some definite forward momentum in the next book, otherwise I can see myself easily losing interest in this series. That would be a shame, because of the great characters, and the potential behind it all. In the end I can honestly say I enjoyed Hexbound, and sometimes that is really all that matters in the end.
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