Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: "Meet Daisy Winters. She’s an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair; a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who’s nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.

While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince’s roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself."

Simple. Sweet. Scotland.

And funny. I just love this author's humor.

296 pages

goodreads | MOBIUS

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: ""In the sequel to REBEL BELLE, Harper Price and her new boyfriend and oracle David Stark face new challenges as the powerful Ephors seek to claim David for their own."

Miss Mayhem is the eagerly anticipated sequel to the wonderful Rebel Belle, but unfortunately, it did not live up to its promise. Rebel Belle would have made a great stand-alone novel. I'm not sure why there's such pressure to make a trilogy - I'd rather have one really great book all alone rather than one great book followed by two lesser books. Anyway, I would recommend Rebel Belle over and over again, as well as the Hex Hall series, but Miss Mayhem can be skipped. Harper is still a great heroine, but the action and story progression are lacking. The cover of Miss Mayhem is nowhere near as pretty as Rebel Belle either, another disappointment.

277 pages

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound is the third book in the Hex Hall series, and I am not sure if it will be the last. While I loved the first two books in the series, Spell Bound left me feeling disappointed and wanting more. It was not a satisfying ending for many of my favorite characters, so I'm hoping that this is not the last of Sophie Mercer's story. You get to meet more of Sophie's world, and see what happens when the opposing forces in her world clash. Not everyone is who they say they are and not everything is as it seems. 

327 pages

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: "After learning that she is capable of dangerous magic, Sophie Mercer goes to England with her father, friend Jenna, and Cal hoping to have her powers removed, but soon learns that she is being hunted by the Eye--and haunted by [spoiler]." 

Demonglass continues Sophie Mercer's story from Hex Hall. Sophie's world and the world of the Prodigium expand greatly in this sequel. I can't talk too much without giving away spoilers, but it ends on a major cliffhanger, and I will be anxiously starting the next book soon! 

359 pages

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: "When Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she is exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapshifters." 

I enjoyed Rebel Belle so much that I requested all the available books by Rachel Hawkins. Much to my delight, she has an established series with Hex Hall (which is followed by Demonglass and Spellbound), and School Spirits.

Hawkins' heroines have personality and spunk - they often say things or react to situations in a way that I can relate to. These are quick, easy reads - she doesn't get bogged down in detail. The stories are built up and told almost too quickly! I never wanted it to end.

323 pages

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: "Seventeen-year-old Harper Price's charmed life is turned upside down when she discovers she's been given magical powers in order to protect her school nemesis David Stark, who's an Oracle." 

I really enjoyed this book - I read it all in one day while I was out sick. It is a really fast read as the author doesn't get bogged down in too much back-story, but rather fills you in on a need-to-know basis as Harper slowly learns more about the magical world. Harper thinks she has life all figured out, so it's fun to watch her try to balance her "perfect" life against her new life & death responsibilities. 


345 pages