Scan barcode
kathydavie's review against another edition
3.0
Second in The Dark Elite urban-fantasy young adult series set in a contemporary Chicago and based in a girls' boarding school.
The Story
Lily is settling in to school and her new Adept status pretty well, heading out with Scout most nights to fight the Reapers. Although, that one Reaper boy, Sebastian Born, he's an odd one. Helping her out like that. Wanting to teach her. Giving her hints. What's up with that?
In the meantime, Lily is wading through vampires at night, stealing minutes to be with Jason, worrying over her parents while sneaking about the headmistress' office, and giving it right back to the brat pack as she learns more about her particular brand of magic.
The Characters
Neill's characters have healthy combination of stereotype and reality to them although I'd like to see more tension and depth to them.
My Take
Neill does a lovely job of teen slang and I love the snark between Lily and her friends. I'm rather suspicious of Lesley; there's an odd feel of evil about her!
Neill raises a number of questions in this second installment. Just what research does SRF fund? Why does Sebastian seem so sympathetic one moment and toeing the party line the next? Just what is it that Nicu feels about Victoria? Whose side are her parents on? What's the deal with the other Enclaves being told a different story about Scout's rescue?
The relationships at school are too tame. Lily easily has Jason for a boyfriend. Although, Neill does create what I consider an extremely minor problem between them. I mean, gimme a break, they're only 16. It's not like they're going to have a lifelong love affair! There's a teeny bit more tension between Scout and Michael while there's a bit more between Victoria wanting Creed who seems more interested in M.K. It'll be interesting to see what happens at Sneak.
Then there's the school's defenses. It seems pretty wide open. What is it that keeps the Reapers out as well as it does??
The Title
The title was a blip on the radar. Only once is Hexbound mentioned in the story.
The Story
Lily is settling in to school and her new Adept status pretty well, heading out with Scout most nights to fight the Reapers. Although, that one Reaper boy, Sebastian Born, he's an odd one. Helping her out like that. Wanting to teach her. Giving her hints. What's up with that?
In the meantime, Lily is wading through vampires at night, stealing minutes to be with Jason, worrying over her parents while sneaking about the headmistress' office, and giving it right back to the brat pack as she learns more about her particular brand of magic.
The Characters
Neill's characters have healthy combination of stereotype and reality to them although I'd like to see more tension and depth to them.
My Take
Neill does a lovely job of teen slang and I love the snark between Lily and her friends. I'm rather suspicious of Lesley; there's an odd feel of evil about her!
Neill raises a number of questions in this second installment. Just what research does SRF fund? Why does Sebastian seem so sympathetic one moment and toeing the party line the next? Just what is it that Nicu feels about Victoria? Whose side are her parents on? What's the deal with the other Enclaves being told a different story about Scout's rescue?
The relationships at school are too tame. Lily easily has Jason for a boyfriend. Although, Neill does create what I consider an extremely minor problem between them. I mean, gimme a break, they're only 16. It's not like they're going to have a lifelong love affair! There's a teeny bit more tension between Scout and Michael while there's a bit more between Victoria wanting Creed who seems more interested in M.K. It'll be interesting to see what happens at Sneak.
Then there's the school's defenses. It seems pretty wide open. What is it that keeps the Reapers out as well as it does??
The Title
The title was a blip on the radar. Only once is Hexbound mentioned in the story.
yodamom's review against another edition
4.0
YA) This book takes off from where the last book finished. Scout and Lily are still in school, still fighting the Reapers, but new evil's come and really challenge the team. Vampires that are not the sparkly sweet hearts from other YA books and something just gross and unknown to our heros. They have to figure out haw to live through this, what they are trying is not working. Jason and Lily continue to develop a relationship, but some truths are revealed that may end it all. I am most interested in Sebastian's future role in the story.
This 2nd book was much better than the first. I am looking forward to the third
This 2nd book was much better than the first. I am looking forward to the third
shhchar's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book--I flew through it really quickly. Lily and Scout are back, fighting crime in the underground tunnels of Chicago. I won't go through the whole story line; because for the most part I loved it all.
Here is what I DIDN'T love:
The back of the paperback novel is literally the description of the FIRST book, Firespell. Not Hexbound.
They never explained Hexbound (the title's meaning) it was mentioned once as Scout, Lily, Cheer-reaper and the French Hornist were underground. . . But never fully explained.
The climax was long coming, and really not much of a climax.
But I'll still stay tuned for the next books! Let's hope we hear more about Sebastian as well!
Here is what I DIDN'T love:
The back of the paperback novel is literally the description of the FIRST book, Firespell. Not Hexbound.
They never explained Hexbound (the title's meaning) it was mentioned once as Scout, Lily, Cheer-reaper and the French Hornist were underground. . . But never fully explained.
The climax was long coming, and really not much of a climax.
But I'll still stay tuned for the next books! Let's hope we hear more about Sebastian as well!
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
I love Chloe Neill's writing. I love the worlds that she has created in both her Chicagoland Vampire series and in this series The Dark Elite. I thought that this book seemed a little too short with the conflicts not really being present until the very end. I thought that there were instances that raised questions to be answered in later books, and that's what I mainly felt this book was. The book leads you on in the storyline, introducing new information to be pondered and questioned, and hopefully answered in Charmfall out in January '12.
But all the things that were in the first book that I loved were in this book as well. I love the interaction between Scout and Lily. I love the way the Neill write her female friend characters. They are always people the I wish were real so I could be friends with them too. It's one of the main reasons I keep coming back to this series.
I also like the world the Neill has created. She does such a great job at being descrptive, yet not drooling on too much about landscape or architecture, I really want to live in the worls that she creates.
We get to see a little from other Adepts in this book not just group 3 which is nice since they are supposed to be all over the city. We also learn a little more about Lily's parents and Jason's "secret".
I will continue to read this series, again, I just would have liked a little more storyline instead of it feeling all centered towards the ending. I look forward to Charmfall. Until Then!
But all the things that were in the first book that I loved were in this book as well. I love the interaction between Scout and Lily. I love the way the Neill write her female friend characters. They are always people the I wish were real so I could be friends with them too. It's one of the main reasons I keep coming back to this series.
I also like the world the Neill has created. She does such a great job at being descrptive, yet not drooling on too much about landscape or architecture, I really want to live in the worls that she creates.
We get to see a little from other Adepts in this book not just group 3 which is nice since they are supposed to be all over the city. We also learn a little more about Lily's parents and Jason's "secret".
I will continue to read this series, again, I just would have liked a little more storyline instead of it feeling all centered towards the ending. I look forward to Charmfall. Until Then!
xvicesx's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sad to rate something by one of the more amazing authors I know as a mere average but for a YA novel, I really think Neill has a lot more to offer. I mean, she writes fantastic books, what's up with this washed up series? I seem to keep reading it only in hopes of some kind of development into Neill's usual captivating style. Sad.
megz88's review against another edition
5.0
Getting better with each book I read. Too bad the next one is the last of this series. :(
paradoxically's review against another edition
1.0
Ah, I figured out what was bugging me about these books. They just sound so juvenile that I wrinkle my nose and roll my eyes and feel like I have to slog through them. I am well aware that they are YA books, but YA books don't have to sound so... argh. It seemed like the dialogue was forced at times--like the author had to make the characters sound modern and try to sound cool.
I don't care if you're trying to write teenagers. I don't mind it once in a while, but it's all the time and they never switch it off. Also, knuckle bumps are stupid. Give me some skin? Arghhhh.
All of the characters were flat to me. And cliche. Did I mention the huge cliches? There is the small popular crowd headed by the bitchy queen of the school, affectionately called the brat pack by the Lily and Scout. There is no redemption there, there is not even a token attempt at rounding them out. Michael and Jason are interchangeable in my mind and Scout is just... annoying. Kind of like the main character, actually.
And arggghhh. I'm sorry, you trap a couple of Reapers who, dear characters, please remember, like to drain and kill people for their power and what do you do? You chat with them. No, not even chatting. It's godawful teenage banter. Yes, nice to see you taking this so well, but I really didn't need to read pages of them talking with absolutely nothing substantial coming out of it.
Overall the book was horrifically dull. It was worse than the first book by a large margin (not that I especially liked the first book or anything). I'm pretty much dropping the series at this point. 1-2 stars. I could hardly stand reading this book, so rounding down.
I don't care if you're trying to write teenagers. I don't mind it once in a while, but it's all the time and they never switch it off. Also, knuckle bumps are stupid. Give me some skin? Arghhhh.
All of the characters were flat to me. And cliche. Did I mention the huge cliches? There is the small popular crowd headed by the bitchy queen of the school, affectionately called the brat pack by the Lily and Scout. There is no redemption there, there is not even a token attempt at rounding them out. Michael and Jason are interchangeable in my mind and Scout is just... annoying. Kind of like the main character, actually.
And arggghhh. I'm sorry, you trap a couple of Reapers who, dear characters, please remember, like to drain and kill people for their power and what do you do? You chat with them. No, not even chatting. It's godawful teenage banter. Yes, nice to see you taking this so well, but I really didn't need to read pages of them talking with absolutely nothing substantial coming out of it.
Overall the book was horrifically dull. It was worse than the first book by a large margin (not that I especially liked the first book or anything). I'm pretty much dropping the series at this point. 1-2 stars. I could hardly stand reading this book, so rounding down.
rosetyper9's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this series. I love the friendship and dynamic between Scout and Lily, they are so cute and funny together. I love all of the characters in this series, they are all very vibrant for YA fiction and they stick with you for a long time after you close the cover. I also enjoy the dynamic between Scout and Lily in conjunction with the brat pack and with the boys, Chloe Neill has a wonderful talent for writing excellent relationships.
The plot, or rather the climax of this book was a tad bit off for me. I had a hard time pinpointing where it was. I was just reading, there was drama, stuff happened, and then the book was done. I didn't get the "oh no, stuff is about to hit the fan" feeling, nor did I get the satisfaction of a nice well rounded ending because of the climactic moment. I am not saying the plot is bad, or that I didn't enjoy it, just something I noticed and I hadn't realized how much book structure meant to me.
As I said, I enjoyed the characters in this book, and I enjoy the world that Chloe Neill has created and superimposed on our own. I can't wait to see where she takes this series, there are so many things she can do, and so much growing for a lot of the characters. This book also showed us another side of the Dark Elite and I even believe caused Lily to do some doubting of the Adepts. I love the layer of conflict Ms. Neill is setting up for Lily, can't wait to see where she takes that as well.
Overall this is a short entertaining read and I will definitely keep reading Chloe Neill, she has a lot of stuff to still bring to the table.
The plot, or rather the climax of this book was a tad bit off for me. I had a hard time pinpointing where it was. I was just reading, there was drama, stuff happened, and then the book was done. I didn't get the "oh no, stuff is about to hit the fan" feeling, nor did I get the satisfaction of a nice well rounded ending because of the climactic moment. I am not saying the plot is bad, or that I didn't enjoy it, just something I noticed and I hadn't realized how much book structure meant to me.
As I said, I enjoyed the characters in this book, and I enjoy the world that Chloe Neill has created and superimposed on our own. I can't wait to see where she takes this series, there are so many things she can do, and so much growing for a lot of the characters. This book also showed us another side of the Dark Elite and I even believe caused Lily to do some doubting of the Adepts. I love the layer of conflict Ms. Neill is setting up for Lily, can't wait to see where she takes that as well.
Overall this is a short entertaining read and I will definitely keep reading Chloe Neill, she has a lot of stuff to still bring to the table.