Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s (1st April 2010)

Pages: 323

ISBN: 978-1-84738-722-6

When Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch she imagines a life which is full of fun, magic and well broomsticks but the reality is very different. After a love spell goes terribly wrong she finds herself at Hectate “Hex” Hall, a reform school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries.

And if this wasn’t bad enough after just one day she finds herself making enemies with three powerful witches who all look like they could be supermodels, a crush on the school’s hottie warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost and a room mate who is the only vampire on campus (who also just happened to be the most hated person at Hectate). Being a witch is not looking to be all it’s cracked up to be.

From the moment I read a sample extract on Hex Hall a couple of months ago I knew it would be a book that I would enjoy – full of magic, faeries, shapeshifters and the odd vampire and I wasn’t dissapointed. I found the writing engaging and the descriptions of Hectate vivid and could really imagine what it would be like.

On first impressions Hectate Hall felt a bit like Hogwarts and I noticed Sophie mentioned Hagrid when referring to Cal the groundskeeper but aside from being effectively a magic school I think this is where the similarities end.

One thing I was unsure of (and this is my only critiscm) is that it took a little while to get going, the prologue was very fast paced before chapter one put on the breaks slightly. It did however after a couple more chapters pick up again getting to a point where many chapters ended on cliff hangers and that meant I didn’t dare put the book down. Plus the twists in plot near the end really took me by surprise.

I think if you enjoy reading stories with witches, vampires and magic with a sprinkling of romance thrown in for good measure you’ll enjoy Hex Hall.