Rachel Hawkins’s Spell Bound is the third in the Hex Hall trilogy. After escaping the Prodigium Council by way of Itineris, Sophie finds herself in the middle of nowhere. Her powers are sealed away, leaving her defenseless when she comes face to face with the Brannicks, a family of warrior women that hunt down Prodigium. Fortunately, the Brannicks are not the people she learned about in Hex Hall. While against the Prodigium, the believe that a war is coming and acknowledge that Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the Casnoffs and their army of demons. Unfortunately, Sophie is currently powerless and must return to Hex Hall to regain her magic.
Sophie has proven to be a strong lead character for this series. She is brave, smart and sarcastic. She entered Hex Hall unaware of the world of the Prodigium and the magnitude of her abilities. She battled her way through mean girls, demons, and detention in the first book, before discovering that she was a demon. Her fear of hurting those close to her and desire to rid herself of her powers brought her to London. In London, she met the demons Nick and Daisy who taught her to accept herself and her power. Now, in Spell Bound, she fights for the friends she has made and the powers she has come to appreciate. Sophie faces many emotional and physical challenges in this book and must overcome them with the friends she has made in Hex Hall.
Spell Bound is a decent conclusion to this series. It is an action packed book from beginning to end and the pacing is extremely fast. Unfortunately, this book suffers from the fast pacing. Aspects of Sophie’s journey seems surprisingly easy as the author sprints towards a rushed finale. The plot dashes from scene to scene, without allowing time to develop the setting. Character development was also cut out of the story to advance the plot. Many of the settings and characters would have been greatly improved if there was enough time to develop them. The series also shifted tone at the end of Demonglass and for most of this book. The plot of self-acceptance and growing up became a battle of good versus evil. The book went down a darker route, making some of Sophie’s jokes seem out of place. Although the book has its faults, it does many things right. While it fails to develop it characters, it shows how much the bond between Sophie and her friends have grown. The supporting cast played an active role in aiding Sophie as they helped her through emotional and physical pain. Sophie’s iconic humor is back to add some levity to the somber book. While it works sometimes, a couple of her jokes fall flat. This book does a decent job of wrapping up the series, but the finale feels rushed and unsatisfying. I give this 327 page book 3.5 stars.
Sophie has proven to be a strong lead character for this series. She is brave, smart and sarcastic. She entered Hex Hall unaware of the world of the Prodigium and the magnitude of her abilities. She battled her way through mean girls, demons, and detention in the first book, before discovering that she was a demon. Her fear of hurting those close to her and desire to rid herself of her powers brought her to London. In London, she met the demons Nick and Daisy who taught her to accept herself and her power. Now, in Spell Bound, she fights for the friends she has made and the powers she has come to appreciate. Sophie faces many emotional and physical challenges in this book and must overcome them with the friends she has made in Hex Hall.
Spell Bound is a decent conclusion to this series. It is an action packed book from beginning to end and the pacing is extremely fast. Unfortunately, this book suffers from the fast pacing. Aspects of Sophie’s journey seems surprisingly easy as the author sprints towards a rushed finale. The plot dashes from scene to scene, without allowing time to develop the setting. Character development was also cut out of the story to advance the plot. Many of the settings and characters would have been greatly improved if there was enough time to develop them. The series also shifted tone at the end of Demonglass and for most of this book. The plot of self-acceptance and growing up became a battle of good versus evil. The book went down a darker route, making some of Sophie’s jokes seem out of place. Although the book has its faults, it does many things right. While it fails to develop it characters, it shows how much the bond between Sophie and her friends have grown. The supporting cast played an active role in aiding Sophie as they helped her through emotional and physical pain. Sophie’s iconic humor is back to add some levity to the somber book. While it works sometimes, a couple of her jokes fall flat. This book does a decent job of wrapping up the series, but the finale feels rushed and unsatisfying. I give this 327 page book 3.5 stars.