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audreychamaine's review against another edition
3.0
When Lily Parker finds out that her parents are going to Germany on sabbatical for two years, she's excited. At least, until she learns that it means she will be leaving her public school in upstate New York to go to an intimidating, private all-girl's boarding school in Chicago. There she meets her new bff, Scout, a very rich, yet misfit student, garnering the hatred of a group of popular, mean girls. While this all sounds pretty standard, things take a turn for the strange when it becomes apparent that Scout is involved in some strange fight against monsters under the streets of Chicago. Lily is inevitably pulled into this struggle, setting up further books in the series.
Firespell doesn't really do anything new, by placing a normal girl into a school where things are not what they seem, and thus exposing her extraordinary hidden abilities. For what it is, this is a good, fun, quick read. There is an X-men quality to the characters' abilities, and potential for some good character development. Neill has also baited the reader with a mysterious sub-plot involving Lily's parents, so it will be nice to see how that develops later in the series. Overall, Firespell was a solid, if not overwhelmingly awesome, book and I look forward to reading more.
Firespell doesn't really do anything new, by placing a normal girl into a school where things are not what they seem, and thus exposing her extraordinary hidden abilities. For what it is, this is a good, fun, quick read. There is an X-men quality to the characters' abilities, and potential for some good character development. Neill has also baited the reader with a mysterious sub-plot involving Lily's parents, so it will be nice to see how that develops later in the series. Overall, Firespell was a solid, if not overwhelmingly awesome, book and I look forward to reading more.
friendlyghosty's review against another edition
2.0
Firespell is different. Not part of the cookiecutter trend of vampires and werewolf stories that seem to infiltrate every story. (not that that's bad...but this book just stands out) While it does have a werewolf in it, you dont get the same vibe off him. I really found myself rooting for Scout and Lily. Great, great characters.
The relationship between Lily and Jason often confused me though. it was interesting and unusual, but it kind of just hits you in the face with its suddenness. On the other hand, Scout and Michael's i feel was MUCH more complicated and deeper. i often wanted the story to be in Scout's point of view instead. all the action happened to her. Im just kind of tired of clueless characters, you know?? The day-to-day life was a little much though. i understand she was at a new school and maybe the author was trying to help us have the experience with Lily, but it got a bit repetitive.
Anyway, completely original, this story caught my attention immediately. I read it in barely two days, and that was only because i fell asleep while reading it. I am so pumped to getting the second one, HEXBOUND, but that comes out in 2011. sigh. I have no doubt it will be worth the wait because the author has set up a fantastic dark world with many secrets and prosed questions i feel will be answered later!!!
The relationship between Lily and Jason often confused me though. it was interesting and unusual, but it kind of just hits you in the face with its suddenness. On the other hand, Scout and Michael's i feel was MUCH more complicated and deeper. i often wanted the story to be in Scout's point of view instead. all the action happened to her. Im just kind of tired of clueless characters, you know?? The day-to-day life was a little much though. i understand she was at a new school and maybe the author was trying to help us have the experience with Lily, but it got a bit repetitive.
Anyway, completely original, this story caught my attention immediately. I read it in barely two days, and that was only because i fell asleep while reading it. I am so pumped to getting the second one, HEXBOUND, but that comes out in 2011. sigh. I have no doubt it will be worth the wait because the author has set up a fantastic dark world with many secrets and prosed questions i feel will be answered later!!!
vikingwolf's review against another edition
2.0
This is just the same-old-same-old as far as paranormal YA books are concerned.
1-new girl has to go to boarding school away from family and friends
2-school is posh, gothic and creepy
3-school is ruled by bitchy girls who make life miserable
4-new best friend is not one of the popular crowd
5-girl feels out of her depth
6-book takes ages to get going
7-creepy things start to happen
*yawn*. In every Chloe Neill book there are such annoying characters and this is no exception. I never seem to connect with her female lead who is either pathetic or irritating or both. Scout is the only semi-interesting character in this one. The plot follows the usual line of the new girl not wanting to be at a school where everyone is posher than her and there are uber-bitches in residence, and we get chapter after chapter of slow plot building that gets very boring, with superficial characters you don't really care about. This book definitely comes under the predictable, same-plot YA clone book that I can't be bothered with. There is nothing new to offer and I'm not a fan of the writing style of this author.
1-new girl has to go to boarding school away from family and friends
2-school is posh, gothic and creepy
3-school is ruled by bitchy girls who make life miserable
4-new best friend is not one of the popular crowd
5-girl feels out of her depth
6-book takes ages to get going
7-creepy things start to happen
*yawn*. In every Chloe Neill book there are such annoying characters and this is no exception. I never seem to connect with her female lead who is either pathetic or irritating or both. Scout is the only semi-interesting character in this one. The plot follows the usual line of the new girl not wanting to be at a school where everyone is posher than her and there are uber-bitches in residence, and we get chapter after chapter of slow plot building that gets very boring, with superficial characters you don't really care about. This book definitely comes under the predictable, same-plot YA clone book that I can't be bothered with. There is nothing new to offer and I'm not a fan of the writing style of this author.
allisonw9909's review against another edition
4.0
Took a little bit to get going but after that I really liked it. There was so much happening by the end that I wasn't sure how they were going to fix it. I liked the way they ended it with Sebastian helping her, so that is what the next book will most likely be about. Scout was interesting but I think I wanted a little more from her or something. Though they all had magic and Jason a were, they rarly used that so it didn't really feel paranormal. Her parents are something to consider with the lies they told Lily. This was a good first book.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Plot:
Lily's parents are going to Germany and decides to leave her behind in a fancy private school. She misses her home and her friends, but one good thing is the girl she shares the 4 bedroom room with. But then Scout is pretty weird and sneaks off in the middle of the night. Something strange is going on, and on top of it all she has a run in with the mean girl squad.
My thoughts:
I did enjoy Chloe Neill's voice, and reading this one made me want to check out that adult series of hers too.
Sure not that much happened at first, but I liked that. the book was building up to something. We got to see the school, see her make a friend, meet the Mean girls (oh why are there always mean girls, they are so bitchy and think they are all that.) And then she started having doubts about why her parents had gone away, why she was there, and what the heck Scout was up too. When she finally did learn the truth things picked up, and there was some action at the end. It also promised for one exciting book 2.
I liked Lily even if she was a bit too curious for her own good at one point. She was also very human in her fears later, and she showed great courage. There was also this love interest with a boy from a boy's school and he seemed sweet. I do like some romance with my action. Scout was one cool kid, and the mean girls, well they were mean. But then this was a private school and what would that be without the brat pack.
The world was interesting, people have magic and they either go bad, or they hunt the baddies. They are supposed to be some vamps and demons too, guessing from the blurb, but did not get to meet those yet.
Final thoughts and recommendation.
It seems UF YA fits me better than PNR YA, and I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read, an interesting world, budding romance, and some action. I would give it a 3,5 cos it is a YA I would recommend to adults and teens. It also has promise to get even better when the real fighting starts.
Reason for reading:
Curious about Chloe Neill
Cover:
ok
Lily's parents are going to Germany and decides to leave her behind in a fancy private school. She misses her home and her friends, but one good thing is the girl she shares the 4 bedroom room with. But then Scout is pretty weird and sneaks off in the middle of the night. Something strange is going on, and on top of it all she has a run in with the mean girl squad.
My thoughts:
I did enjoy Chloe Neill's voice, and reading this one made me want to check out that adult series of hers too.
Sure not that much happened at first, but I liked that. the book was building up to something. We got to see the school, see her make a friend, meet the Mean girls (oh why are there always mean girls, they are so bitchy and think they are all that.) And then she started having doubts about why her parents had gone away, why she was there, and what the heck Scout was up too. When she finally did learn the truth things picked up, and there was some action at the end. It also promised for one exciting book 2.
I liked Lily even if she was a bit too curious for her own good at one point. She was also very human in her fears later, and she showed great courage. There was also this love interest with a boy from a boy's school and he seemed sweet. I do like some romance with my action. Scout was one cool kid, and the mean girls, well they were mean. But then this was a private school and what would that be without the brat pack.
The world was interesting, people have magic and they either go bad, or they hunt the baddies. They are supposed to be some vamps and demons too, guessing from the blurb, but did not get to meet those yet.
Final thoughts and recommendation.
It seems UF YA fits me better than PNR YA, and I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read, an interesting world, budding romance, and some action. I would give it a 3,5 cos it is a YA I would recommend to adults and teens. It also has promise to get even better when the real fighting starts.
Reason for reading:
Curious about Chloe Neill
Cover:
ok
_camk_'s review against another edition
1.0
I think I am one of few who thought this book was quite terrible.
The plot of this book was painfully predictable. Along with the painfully predictable and dull characters, it did not break the stereotype of this sort of book, it only strengthened it.
The plot of this book was painfully predictable. Along with the painfully predictable and dull characters, it did not break the stereotype of this sort of book, it only strengthened it.
papalbina's review against another edition
2.0
There are parts in this book that are ok, the main character and her friend are a bit interesting and some mysteries kept me reading, but mostly this book is ridiculous.
The main character arrives at this boarding school in Chicago while her parents take a 2-year trip to Germany to do research. She's mopping around about her bad luck for two seconds until she mets her new BFF, a girl who appears to have secrets. Well, the relationship between these two is nice and funny, but a bit far-fetched. Why?, you'll ask. They become BFFs almost instantly. For the plot, that is important but, come on! But not only that friendship feels rushed... Everything in this plot is rushed. I understand that the book is very short and there's no way to develop the subplots or the characters in a better way, but you can introduce them a little bit better, and not as if a chunk of an unidentified substance, supposedly eatable, has just landed on your plate (do u get the image? I didn't have much sleep this night to be writing in English at 8 am xD).
Anyway, in the end the plot and the mystery and who the bad guys are were a bit too much of the eyes-rolling type (especially because the explanations were mostly WTF), but I might read the second book only to know what the mystery surrounding the MC's parents is xD Let see (said the blind man)! :)
The main character arrives at this boarding school in Chicago while her parents take a 2-year trip to Germany to do research. She's mopping around about her bad luck for two seconds until she mets her new BFF, a girl who appears to have secrets. Well, the relationship between these two is nice and funny, but a bit far-fetched. Why?, you'll ask. They become BFFs almost instantly. For the plot, that is important but, come on! But not only that friendship feels rushed... Everything in this plot is rushed. I understand that the book is very short and there's no way to develop the subplots or the characters in a better way, but you can introduce them a little bit better, and not as if a chunk of an unidentified substance, supposedly eatable, has just landed on your plate (do u get the image? I didn't have much sleep this night to be writing in English at 8 am xD).
Anyway, in the end the plot and the mystery and who the bad guys are were a bit too much of the eyes-rolling type (especially because the explanations were mostly WTF), but I might read the second book only to know what the mystery surrounding the MC's parents is xD Let see (said the blind man)! :)