Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill

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…


Type: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires/Witches/Shifters
Heat: 1.5 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5


Lily and Scout continue to be awesomely sarcastic and are wonderful girls who both did a bit of growing up in this book. They fit so well together and play off of each other nicely. I liked getting to see each of them learning more about their magical talents and getting better control over what they could do with them. The girls have some kickass, impressive powers. It was also nice to see Lily getting to show her creative side with both art studio and helping to plan the school dance. That life wasn't completely dominated by the paranormal and see was getting to do something she loved and that also very much a part of her. One of my favorite parts was the girls and their respective boys. I love getting to see them all interacting and kinda, sorta starting relationships. That first crush/like/love is so sweet to watch. Lily and Jason finally have their first date. The two of them are so cute together and I really enjoy their banter and how they interact. His being a werewolf though does pose a problem or two that we hear about towards the end of the book in a rather awkward way and that I'm not really loving. I'll still be rooting for them since they provide so many aw moments and a good laugh now and then. 
"Lils, you've barely even planned Sneak yet. Give it time. He'll get there." 
"He did ask me out on Saturday." 
"OMG, you two are totally getting married and having a litter of babies. Ooh, what if that's literally true?"

The "monsters" this time were oh so freaking gross and provided some crazy action. There were some shuddering bleeeh moments with them that had me going ew, ew, EWWW! If things keep going the way it seems the Reapers are some seriously foul and twisted individuals. As for the Reapers there were some odd moments between Sebastian and Lily. From the book blurb I expected a much more front and center storyline concerning Sebastian and that Lily would actually have to battle some type of dilemma or temptations when it came to her magic and good vs evil. Neither really happened. Yes, we got a little Sebastian and I do wonder how bad he really is but it just wasn't what I was expecting or nearly as dramatic as the rather misleading blurb makes things seem.  

The mystery surrounding Lily's parents and what they are actually researching continues to unfold and become more suspicious. They've rubbed me the wrong way from the very start with how they sent Lily off and didn't even see her all the way to her new school. With the new information Lily uncovers about them I can't say I'm seeing them in any prettier a light. I really hope things don't turn out the way they look to be going.

Overall, I didn't love Hexbound quite as much as the first book in the series, Firespell. Nothing was really resolved and it seemed like all of the events happening were just a set up for future books/storylines. That's not saying I didn't enjoy it though, because, honestly, I just couldn't put the book down once I started it. It's action packed and the main characters are both endearing and engaging. I just would have liked for at least on big thing to have been taken care of during the book and that didn't happen here. So it wasn't quite as fabulous as book one but still a pretty good read. Charmfall, book 3, is on my buy list now and I can't wait to see what happens next with the many storylines that were set up in Hexbound.

And, well, one more quote just because I thought it was kinda funny and I can. 
"You look like the cat that ate the canary." 
"As a vegetarian, I object to that metaphor." 
Scout grinned teethily at me. "As a carnivore, I object to your pickines. Now spill the goods."

2 comments:

  1. The Cover is gorgeous. Haven't read this one yet, nor the prequel but I love those quotes so I'll give it a try. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought both covers for the series so far were beautiful. Kinda haunting. Hope you like the books. I laughed a good bit. Neill has a great sense of humor!

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