Hexbound (Dark Elite #2) by Chloe Neill

Title: Hexbound

Author: Chloe Neill

Series: 2nd in Dark Elite

Pages: 224

Published: Available now from Signet Books

ISBN: 9780451230799

Source: Around The World Tours

Description: Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia’s School for Girls, but she’s already learned that magic can be your best friend…or your worst enemy.
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…

I Give This ...

The bad thing about reading a book on tour is the deadline.  Since you have to read it an pass it on in a certain time frame, it obviously needs to be read right away.  Which, may or may not be the best time to read it "mood" wise.  

I'm not really a mood reader, I usually can pick up anything and read.  I think that might not have been the case with this one.  It took me awhile to get into it, and I just wasn't really invested in the story.  Which was disappointing because I really liked the first in the series.  I didn't feel like Lily really did much as a character.  She still doesn't really understand her powers and it seems like everyone is tiptoeing around her.  I think she should be demanding more answers from everyone, starting with her parents.  I also got a little annoyed with Scout and Lily at times.  I can see that they are really good friends, but at times they are very juvenile.  

The parts of the story that I really did like seemed really short.  I liked the dealing with the two vampire covens.  I liked that they were in a turf war and didn't seem to really like the adepts.  There seems like there's more of a history there that I want to know more of.  I also wanted more of Sebastian.  I know he fits the classic bad boy mold, but there's a lot going on there that I don't think we know about.  

I will read the next one because this really wasn't enough to turn me off the series.  There's a lot left unanswered and I'm still willing to read what the author does next!

Firespell (Dark Elite #1) by Chloe Neill

Title: Firespell

Author: Chloe Neill

Series: 1st in Dark Elite

Pages: 246

Published: Available now from Signet

ISBN:  9780451228864

Source: Purchased

 

Description: As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face… When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building. The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster. Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet… 

I Give This ...

  

I've been meaning to start either of Chloe Neill's series.  But, there many books and so little time.  I started with this one because I have the 2nd in the series available, while I'm still collecting the book in the other series.   

I felt like this one started out really slow.  It just didn't grab my attention at first.  But about the time Lily follows Scout after one of her disappearances, I finally felt like maybe the story was going somewhere.   The rest, I just devoured.  

I really liked Scout and Lily's friendship.  It clicked for me as much as the instant best friends did for them.  I liked their conversations and how they interacted with each other.  I also like both of the interactions with the brat pack.  A couple times, I actually laughed out loud at their witty remarks.  I liked the romantic interests in the story as well.  Especially how Scout downplays her relationship with Michael.  I was a little perplexed at the sudden decision of Lyndsay to be included in everything.  I didn't think she was going to play into the story at all and then she was.  I wonder how that will play out in future books.

I liked the explanation of magic and the reapers.  It was an interesting twist on how people come into magic and what happens to them.  I also thought it was interesting on how all this is occurring in Chicago.  It made me wonder if this is happening in other locations or is Chicago just special.  A couple things definitely left me curious as to what is truly going on.  It's a series I will be continuing that's for sure!