3.5 stars. I needed a palate cleanser after going from unbearably grim with Out to sickly sweet with Romancing the Duke. I was in the market for something less polarizing and more neutral in tone. That palate cleanser was Hex Hall and it did the trick. YA fiction to the rescue!
After trying to help out a classmate with a love spell that went very, very wrong, Sophie Mercer is sent to Hex Hall, a private boarding school for magical teenagers that have lost their privileges of living in the normal world. There are witches, faeries, shapeshifters, and a couple of vampires (one of which is her new roommate). Things are weird from the beginning when a witch clique tries to get her to join their coven and they only get weirder as she learns that someone has been attacking students. Because they’re being found bloodless, her roommate is the prime suspect.
Hex Hall is no Harry Potter and I might not be bothered to pick up the sequels, but it was a fun read that was perfect for my state of mind at the time. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to readers into YA fantasy. The friendship between Sophie and her vampire roommate was a highlight. It’s great seeing writers focus on female friendship! Also, Lord Byron haunts the school as an immortal vampire teacher which is just one of the best jokes ever.
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