Rachel Hawkins. DEMONGLASS

The much anticipated sequel to HEX HALL has arrived!! Yay!

We join Sophie Mercer six months after the crisis at the end of HEX HALL. Her mom's been staying on at the school, which has been a little weird. But what really surprises Sophie is that after all the years of wondering about him, her dad shows up. She finally gets to meet the only other demon besides herself in the known world.

He surprises her by announcing that he's taking her back to England for the summer. Sophie agrees, but only if her best friend Jenna can go with them. Dad agrees. Dad also wants to take Cal with them. Sophie's curious, but since Cal is a healer, she figures that it should be fine. She promises herself that she isn't going to England to be closer to Archer Cross, even though he was last seen there. He turned out to be her number one enemy - surely she isn't  still in love with him, right?

After arriving in England, Sophie is shocked to learn that there are two other demons her age. Someone is creating demons, and they have to find out who and why. Sophie helps her father with the mystery, learns to reign in her powers, and fights off threats from The Eye all at the same time. It's a busy summer for her!

I loved this! It's creative, fun and fast paced. I enjoyed spending time with Sophie and her friends again. Her father was a wonderful character addition. I found him charming, strong and a great comfort to Sophie. And I CAN'T WAIT for the next installment, since this one ends with a BIG cliffhanger!

For more about Rachel Hawkins check out her website here.
For my previous interview with her go here.

Ellen Booraem. SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS

This book is SO MUCH FUN!! I really adore it! It's creative and truly one of a kind.

Mellie Turpin spends her early years with a fairy named Fidius. She enjoyed Fidius, especially when he turned her squash into candy corn and flicked his wrist to clean up her room. She thought her friends in Kindergarten would enjoy him too, but when she shared her idea to bring him to school, Fidius disappeared. The only thing she had to remember him by was a porcelain look-alike fairy. Unfortunately, Mellie had already promised to bring Fidius to school, so reneging caused a lot of name-calling from the kids at school. They dreamed up the nickname "Fairy Fat."

After hours with the school counselor and her parents convincing Mellie that there really is no such thing as fairies, Mellie finally went on with her life. She convinced herself that Fidius must have been in her imagination.

Years later, when Mellie's grandfather dies, they inherit his small inn and pub. The family decides to move there and fix it up. Mellie is glad to start over in a new town and lose the "Fairy Fat" moniker. However, when investigating the basement pub, she discovers something that she though she left in her crazy past for good. Small persons with wings (don't call them fairies). A bunch of them. They are real and her parents knew it! Not only are they real, but her family has a complicated relationship with them. Furthermore, they have some tough decisions to make about their future.

I loved this for so many reasons. First of all the characters are wonderful! The fairies (I'm just going to call them that here because it's quicker to type & easier to use in sentences than small persons with wings, although after typing all of this, I guess it would've been quicker to just..) anyway, the fairies have such great personalities. Durindana is a riot with her attitude coupled with her sweetness underneath. OMG, I love when she yells "Ai-yi-yi!" Maybe I can start using that on the kids at school. The fairies really are entertaining. They are obsessed with fine things, fancy clothing and high drama. Since they are about 1300 years old, their speech is part English, with Latin and French intermingled.

Melllie is witty and smart, yet still self conscious and afraid to make friends. It's believable that she would resist her neighbor Timmo's friendship. I love the way Mellie's mom tells her that she will "grow into her grandeur." That is one line I will always remember. It's beautiful. Mellie's parents, her grandfather and her friend Timmo are all original, interesting characters that you will adore. (That grandfather - what a sharp tongue. And so funny!)

The plot is unexpected, suspenseful and fast paced. Overall, this is clever and brilliantly executed. I was so sad it was over. I enjoyed spending time in Mellie's world.

Check out the author here - she must be so much fun, since she's written such an entertaining book!

Rachel Hawkins. HEX HALL

I love this stellar debut by Rachel Hawkins! It’s so full of awesomeness! It has witches, faeries, shapeshifters and vampires all in one book. Actually, they're all under one roof going to school together. Well, that isn’t entirely correct – it’s more like reform school, but still. Let me back up and start from the beginning

Sophie Mercer found out she was a witch when she came into her powers around twelve years old. Her mom, who is not a witch, told her as much as she could about her powers. Sophie has tried to keep her powers under wraps since then. She has used them from time to time to help people, but usually that’s when a human discovers her, freaks out, and they have to leave town. The most recent spell attracted too much attention from the powers that be, so now she is being sentenced to Hecate Hall – a reform school for wayward Prodigium (witches, faeries, shapeshifters, etc.).

Sophie is somewhat relived to be able to finally make friends and feel at home around others like herself. But when her roommate turns out to be the outcast vampire that everyone hates, her popularity doesn’t exactly soar. The three popular supermodel-looking witches view her with disdain. To top it off, she makes a fool of herself in front of the super hot warlock that she has developed a major crush on.
Then darkness envelops the school. A witch had been murdered several months before Sophie’s arrival. Everyone assumed it was a one time event. But after another girl is attacked in the same manner, people are spooked. They all assume it’s Sophie’s roommate, the vampire. But Sophie gets the feeling it is something way worse that has made its way inside the school.

The author called this a cross between Harry Potter and Mean Girls. That’s a nice succinct description. But it is so much more! I love the mythology and lore behind these different creatures. I love that they all live together in this school (although with some discrimination among the different species, which is to be expected). I love how Sophie learns of her intriguing ancestry. Really, I could go on and on. The writing flows beautifully. The characters are so much fun! I couldn’t put it down!

To find out more about this intriguing new author go here for her website and here for her blog.
Highly Recommended!! I look forward to more from Rachel Hawkins!
*******T-Shirt GIVEAWAY!! COMING TOMORROW!!!******

Justine Larbalestier. HOW TO DITCH YOUR FAIRY

This one’s been on my list for ages! Justine Larbalestier wrote the awesome MAGIC OR MADNESS trilogy, so I knew this would be good!

Fourteen-year-old Charlie lives in New Avalon where everyone has a personal invisible fairy. Each fairy has a specialty that helps you with your life. For example, Charlie’s friend Rochelle has a shopping fairy, which means that Rochelle always finds the perfect clothes at the right price. Stefan has a “getting out of trouble” fairy and other students have sports fairies that help them perform at their best. Unfortunately, Charlie isn’t as lucky as all those people. She has a parking fairy and she doesn’t even drive yet. But that doesn’t stop Danders, the school bully, to force her to help him get good parking spots all over town. Charlie detests her fairy and is determined to get rid of it, somehow, someway. When she finds out that Fiorenze’s mom is a fairy expert, she hopes for a way to finally ditch her fairy and maybe even get a better one.

This was a hoot! I thoroughly enjoyed New Avalon! The idea of having a personal fairy is fun and intriguing. The author is so inventive. This was just as fresh and creative as the MAGIC OR MADNESS trilogy. I enjoyed and was impressed by the new vocabulary and the lore of the fairies.
Highly Recommended!