Hexbound by Chole Neill

Book Summery:

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…-goodreads.com

Book Review:
Chole Neill has done it again! I found her second second installment of The Dark Elite series to be memorizing, enchanting, and action-packed. While I enjoyed Firespell (review), the majority of the book contained world-building and left us off with a huge cliffhanger ending. In short, it was a pretty good first-of-a-series-type-book, but left me wanting more. That's where Hexbound comes in. The story jump-starts on page one, and keeps going throughout the entire book. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I love Lily and her band of friends, supernatural and not. They're all great characters with vivid unique qualities. I still think there's more to Lesley than meets the eye...but that's another discussion all in itself. The mystery of the "rats" makes for a great plot, and meeting new adepts who help solve the mystery was a great way to introduce more vivid, lovable characters. Overall, Neill has won me over. I'll continue reading more of the series, as she releases them. I also want to finally pick up the Chicagoland Vampire series. If they're half as good as The Dark Elite series, I won't be disappointed!

Favorite Quote:

"Scout blew out a dramatic breath that puffed out her cheeks, grabbed Michael's hand, and pulled him down the hall. 'Fine. Have a hot make out session, But we're going to be like twenty feet down the hallway. I hope they get eaten by one of those headless horsemen.' She muttered. 'Or the Chicago version, anyway.'

As they walked down the hallway, I kept my glaze on them, still too nervous to look at Jason.

'What would that be exactly?' I heard Michael ask.

'What would what be?'

'The Chicago version of the headless horseman?'

'Oh, I don't know. Maybe a fangless vampire? Or-or a werewolf with mange?'

'We can still hear you!' Jason called out. 'And werewolves don't have mange!' (p. 18-19)

Cover Art Commentary:
Love the dark background with just a few highlights from Lily's "spark." Very fitting. Looks great next to Firespell, the first book in the series.

Overall Rating:

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: