Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. With her powers locked inside her, Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies--the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn't so sure.
The only known spell that can help Sophie regain her magic is at Hex Hall--the place where it all began, and now the headquarters of the evil Casnoffs. Together with her best friend, the vampire Jenna; her boyfriend, Archer; and her fiance, Cal (yeah, her love life is complicated); and a ghost for a sidekick, Sophie must battle an army of demons. But even with her friends at her side, the fate of all Prodigium rests on her shoulders alone.
Sophie's bound for one hell of a ride...Can she get her powers back before it's too late?
WARNING: SPOILERS FROM DEMONLGASS WILL BE IN THIS REVIEW
Spellbound is the conclusion to Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall trilogy and I am looking forward to seeing what the new series will be like! Haven't had the chance to read the cover description yet, but now I am ready!
Spellbound picks up right where we left Sophie in Demonglass. She went through Itineris and ends up somewhere in a forest that should be near the Brannicks, an enemy of the Prodigium, but who according to Cal can be trusted. Sophie is still a little freaked out though, but when she learns that her mother is with this group--who are surprisingly just a group of three and not like hundreds--she learns a far great deal about them and her family history.
I was a tad miffed that the cover description basically tells us that everyone was okay. Mentioning that Sophie will team up with Jenna, Archer and Cal to "save the day", was a letdown in some ways. Not that I expected any of them to be dead, but still it was like spoiler alert! Sophie and her friends, along with the Brannicks and her parents team up to figure out a way to stop the Casnoffs, both Mrs. Casnoff and her sister, Lara.
Their plans? Basically wanting to make more demons and a sort of "take over the world" scenario. Not really in that sense, but more in the Prodigium world sense. But before plans can be made, Sophie is magically whisked away to Hex Hall, along with all the other students, including Jenna, Cal and Archer. But it won't be for their normal school year, far from it. The Canoffs plan on making the students demons. There's also the fact that Sophie is the key to their plan.
Spellbound was pretty fast paced. I started it Friday, didn't read over the weekend and managed to finish the last half in under three hours. So yeah, fast paced! Sophie and her friends even track to the Underworld to help aid them in their plans, and this Underworld was creepy in its own way. In this hellish world you are forced to visit your worst memories or memories linked to you in some way. But the action was constantly moving, even when the group was back at school, they were still trying to figure out a way to put an end to the current problem, mainly stopping the Casnoffs, but it kept changing in different ways. Hard to explain, but makes sense when reading the story!
As far as romance in this story, it definitely got complicated. Sophie knows in her heart she loves Archer. Yet she is still technically betrothed to Cal and Cal does have feelings for her. He even kissed her before sending her off to the Itineris last time around, and yeah, there's still some romantic tension between them. Elodie being there doesn't help either at times since she has taken to possessing Sophie when the mood fits or the occasion calls for it. Archer and Sophie are still their usual selves, amidst the joking with one another, there's still sparks flying constantly between them.
I was shocked by the ending! I wasn't really expecting this one key factor to happen, although there was a hint at it, I just didn't recognize it before it happened! That tends to happen when I get so wrapped up with a story! The ending even sets Sophie's future ahead of her, one that I wonder will play in the new spinoff. But of course, I still don't quite know what that one's even about! Will get to it asap though!
Spellbound was a terrific ending to the Hex Hall trilogy! This has been a fun, spunky series sprinkled with a good dose of action, humor and romance! Those are definitely elements I enjoy in my series!
Overall rating 4.5/5 stars
I have yet to read this series, but I know SO MANY people are huge fans! I actually have the first two, autographed even! This year I will start it. :)
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