Firespell by Chloe Neill

Summary:
As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building. The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…-Goodreads.com

Review:
This is my first book from Chloe Neill. Overall, I was pretty impressed. I love the main character Lily (hehe) and looking at the story through her eyes. My biggest complaint is that the story seemed a bit uneven. Lily is new to St. Sophia's and so the reader adjusts to the new settings and characters right along with Lily, but the majority of action and revelations come at the end of the book. It leaves the reader wanting more when the story is over, perhaps this intentionally. However, I felt like things had just started to get interesting when I turned the last page. I didn't allow this to detract too much from my overall opinion of the book. Neill creates a dark, creative, and interesting world, one that has the reader staying up late, furiously flipping pages.

Cover Art Commentary:
Very fitting. This is a very dark book, so the dark background suits the story quite well. The girl on the cover is almost exactly how I pictured Lily! :)

Overall Rating: