Review: Spell Bound

Review: I'm leaving out the Goodreads summary because it has a pretty big spoiler for those who haven't read the first book. Basically, Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins is the third installment in her Hex Hall trilogy. I don't really know what to say about this book. As always, I loved the characters. Sophie, Archer, Jenna, Cal, and even Elodie because they all rock in their own separate way. Sophie and Archer were all snarky and witty as usual, but sometimes I felt like Sophie was trying too hard. There were a few comments she made in the first two books that I felt like she was trying too hard to be funny, but in Spell Bound, she was like that the entire time. So instead of sarcastic with a few trying too hards, she was trying too hard with a few genuinely funny remarks.

I don't really know what to say. I was so excited about this book that I broke my parent's "No buying books" rule and ordered it from Amazon. I really loved the first two books, Hex Hall and Demonglass and it felt like a miracle when Demonglass didn't feed the whole second book curse. Spell Bound wasn't necessarily a bad book, but it wasn't as good as I thought it'd be.

To be honest, not much happened plot-wise until midway through the book. I know that Rachel Hawkins was assembling the characters and giving a "oh hey, here's what happened in the other two books" but it really felt like she was stalling. When things started happening, it was just awkward. The tension and excitement weren't as well written as they were in the other two books. Sorry for the poop reference, but it was like the book was constipated. Everything seemed a little forced and out there, including the characters.

I don't really want to spoil anything for you guys, but the surprises written into this book weren't very surprising. I'm not sure if it's because I've read so much that I know how to pull out contextual clues like a private detective or if Rachel Hawkins really wanted us to figure it out before Sophie.

There were still some very funny scenes and good quips in there (The one that comes to mind made me cackle and run around the house like a crazy person) so this wasn't a bad book. The one scene that I was anticipating still put me to tears and there were some good emotionally charged events. There were a lot of loose ends that didn't get tied up in this book, but I heard that Rachel Hawkins is writing another Hex Hall series. I'm not sure if it's true or not because I can't find the link where I read it, but if she is writing another series, then the loose threads make sense.

Rating: 3/5 stars