Audio ARC Review: The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

 

St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.

When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.

As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive—and as deadly—as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…

Title: The Storm

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: St. Martin's Press/Macmillan Audio

Expected Publication Date: January 6, 2026

Review:

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Net Galley for providing me with an eARC and audio version of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I really enjoy Hawkins's mysteries. They are always a good mix of fast paced plot with some great twists and turns. I was really looking forward to this story.

While I enjoyed the audio, I will say it was a little hard to follow with all the narrators when I first started listening. I do love having a bunch of dfferent points of view and Patti Murin is one of my favorites so I was mostly excited to hear her. All the other narrators were new to me and I did enjoy their voices. Overall, I really enjoyed the different points of view. It was easier to understand once I followed along a bit with the print version of the book. Once I got into the grove, I was totally invested in the story and the narrators and didn't want to stop listening!

The narrative structure was interesting. There were flashbacks, plus news articles and journal entries. Not to mention the points of view telling the story from the present. I thought it would be a lot going on and, while it was, it made the story so much more interesting and fun to follow.

I will say I did figure out a few things early on in the story. But that didn't make it any less enjoyable for me. Hawkins truly known how to write a story that pulls you in and keeps you interested from start to finish. And the idea of the back setting being a storm! So much can happen during a storm. So many unplanned things. And Hawkins used that to her advantage to keep the reader engaged.

The past truly collides with the present in this story. So much of the back story leads to who the current characters are and how they were involved.

While there are some romantic elements involved with the story, that certainly is not the center of the story. It's really about who committed the murderous act and how it played out to shape the future.

I loved the setting of this story. I don't know much about Alabama, but I've researched the Alabama/Florida border a bit as a place to potentially move and I could really picture the area in my mind.

It's so hard to review a mystery because I don't want to spoil anything for those who want to read this in the future. Sufice it to say, this mystery will keep you guessing and surprise you at ever turn.

Author:

Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, and The Heiress, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated into over two dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.

Fat Stack Friday August 15, 2025

 

Check out my haul this week!

In the mail:

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Sent to me by the publisher. I have no idea what it is even about but the cover is awesome!

Heart For Christmas by Sophie Jomain

How cool is this? It's an advent story. 1 chapter a day. I cannot wait to start it but I will say I'm sad to have to rip the chapter pages open to reveal the story!

Kindle:

The Re-Write by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

This was on NetGalley but I just didn't have room in my review rotation to do it. So now it's on my Kindle!

A Killer Getaway by Sienna Sharpe

Another book I wanted to get from NetGalley but I'm just inundated with titles right now. It looks so cute!

Heart Strings (Love in Galway #2) by Ivy Fairbanks

I trie the first book in this series on audio and just could not do it. I want to try it out on Kindle. Thought I'd pick up the second one in the hopes I enjoy the first in print.

Love & Other Killers by Brynne Weaver

I really enjoyed the Ruinous Love Trilogy so there was not way I wasn't getting the novella. Going to work this in as a break up from my review reads.

Net Galley/Edelweiss:

Caller Unknown By Gillian McAllister

I have not read anything by this author but she seems to be pretty popular and I hear her stories are good. I hope I like this one.

The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson

The follow up to The Mating Game. I literally did a fist pump when I got approved for this one. I cannot wait to read it!

The Odds Of You by Kate Dramis

This one was a read now that had been on my potential request list. I don't know this author so I hope I enjoy it!

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

I have been a Hawkins fan from the beginning when she was writing YA paranormal. This one is one of my most anticipated for this year and I can't wait to dive in and see where she takes this story!

Libby/Hoopla:

Accomplice to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #3) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

I wanted to read this one early but my approval never came through. I have it on Kindle but needed an audio for work so I grabbed it since it was available. So far I'm loving it as much as the first two!

Silver Elite (Silver Elite #1) by Dani Francis

Yes, I have it on Kindle. No, I have not gotten to read it yet. Yes it became available on audio and I'm going to most likely finish my current audio book today. I hope I like it. Popular social media books make me nervous.

What did you get?

ARC Review: The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

 

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

Title: The Heiress

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Expected Publication Date: January 9, 2024

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

What if the most important person in your life is not who they say they are? What if your sole existence is to ensure others don't get what they deserve? What if your wife is not who you think she is? Cam McTavish, the adopted son of the infamous Ruby McTavish has all these questions, and more, as he makes his way back to a his childhood home, the place he never wanted to return to. His family is toxic and he's never felt as though he truly belonged. But when his wife, Jules, convinces him to finally go home, secrets about his adoptive mother and his entire life come to a head.

I have really enjoyed reading Hawkins adults novels. I love a good mystery, one that I can't necessarily figure out, even if I have ideas in the back of my mind of how it will all turn out in the end.

Cam and Jules have been married 10 years. Cam is closed off about his family. He moved from North Carolina to California to escape them. But as the sole heir of his family's fortune, Jules cannot understand why he would not want to claim what is rightfully his. I really liked the characters development in this book. We not only get Cam and Jules' points of view, but we also get Ruby's point of view through letters she wrote prior to her death which describe her life. It was interesting to watch calm Cam develop and show his true self, standing up to his toxic family. And I love how Jules speaks directly to the reader, almost as if she's writing her autobiography and hoping to get the reader to truly understand where she was coming from when she did the things she did.

It's hard to write a review of a mystery without creating spoilers. I will say the background of the story, a young girl is kidnapped and returned to her family after 8 months, is interesting. The author gives background into the Appalachians and how people go missing all the time, never to be found again, or never to even be known they were gone in the first place. It's the perfect background for the mystery that is Ruby McTavish and her life. We not only get the story that revolves around her kidnapping and who she is (or could be) but we also get the story of her life, which is filled with death that follows her.

Hawkins' writing is easy to read and fast in pace. Her story is brilliantly addictive to the point I could not put it down. I enjoyed the plot twists she threw in, though I did figure out a few of them prior to their reveal. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as I wanted to keep reading to see if I was right! I loved how the author continually pulled away the layers of this estranged family to show who they truly are. The greed, they dysfunctional relationships, and the secrets all lend to a tense plot.

I will say this is my most favorite of all the mysteries Hawkins' has written thus far. The way she forms the plot is unique and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know exactly how things would turn out in the end. And, despite the secrets, and murder, and lies, I was still rooting for them to win! And she seemlessly integrates the past and the present without making it confusing.

If you enjoyed Megan Mirand's The Last to Vanish and Taylor Jenkin Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, you will enjoy this twisting and turning mystery that incorporates elements of both!

Author:

Rachel Hawkins was born in Virginia and raised in Alabama. This means she uses words like "y'all" and "fixin'" a lot, and considers anything under 60 degrees to be borderline Arctic. Before deciding to write books about kissing and fire (and sometimes kissing while on fire), Rachel taught high school English for 3 years, and is still capable of teaching you The Canterbury Tales if you're into that kind of thing.

She is married to a geologist, which means that they have incredibly strange dinner conversations ("So today at work, I wrote a chapter where killer fog, like, ATE PEOPLE." "Huh. Well, I was chased by an angry reindeer while trying to map parts of Norway." "Um...okay.")

Rachel also has a little boy whose main hobbies are playing video games, running around in circles, and plotting his Future Intergalactic Take-Over.

When not writing books, Rachel enjoys reading, travelling, and knitting (very terribly.)

Here are her books. She would really appreciate it if you read them. :)

ARC Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

 

From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives. So when Chess suggests a girls trip to Italy, Emily jumps at the chance to reconnect with her best friend.

Villa Aestas in Orvieto is a high-end holiday home now, but in 1974, it was known as Villa Rosato, and rented for the summer by a notorious rock star, Noel Gordon. In an attempt to reignite his creative spark, Noel invites up-and-coming musician, Pierce Sheldon to join him, as well as Pierce’s girlfriend, Mari, and her stepsister, Lara. But he also sets in motion a chain of events that leads to Mari writing one of the greatest horror novels of all time, Lara composing a platinum album––and ends in Pierce’s brutal murder.

As Emily digs into the villa’s complicated history, she begins to think there might be more to the story of that fateful summer in 1974. That perhaps Pierce’s murder wasn’t just a tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll gone wrong, but that something more sinister might have occurred––and that there might be clues hidden in the now-iconic works that Mari and Lara left behind.

Yet the closer that Emily gets to the truth, the more tension she feels developing between her and Chess. As secrets from the past come to light, equally dangerous betrayals from the present also emerge––and it begins to look like the villa will claim another victim before the summer ends.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, the Manson murders, and the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at a Lake Geneva castle––the birthplace of Frankenstein––The Villa welcomes you into its deadly legacy.

Title: The Villa

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Expected Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Review:

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley of this book to read and give my honest review.

I'm so excited that I was approved and got to read this book. Why, you ask? Because I love Rachel Hawkins and her writing and her stories. They are fun, inventive, and always have great turns in them. I will say I didn't know she was more than a young adult writer until recently when I was handed one of her adult books to read by a friend who is an avid reader. And, I must say, I'm happy I've learned of this side of Ms. Hawkins.

What drew me to the book: Villa, Italy, mystery, and suspense. 

What kept me reading: all of the above!

The fun part: the main character is a writer. Because of course she is!

Emily, newly separated and getting divorced from her husband of 7 years, torn apart so much so that she cannot bring herself to write. That is until her bestie, Chess, invites her to spend the summer at a villa in Italy. And not just any villa, but one with a rich history (and mystery) of murder!

I honestly went into this thinking it would be much more bloody, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was filled with a rich back story. Two, actually. So you're getting not just one story with this book, but three! And they are woven together fairly seamlessly to help you see the true background behind all that happens. I do believe it could have used a bit more of a sinister or even spiritual twist to it, but overall it didn't really need it because it is not meant to be a paranormal book.

I will say I had things figured out somewhat, or so I thought until the author threw in a twist at about 80% in! Then the author surprised me again at the very end. It was fun watching it all unfold, and being proven wrong (even though I so wanted to be right with my theories!). 

Overall, I enjoyed this book tremendously and it has solidified for me that I would love to read anything Hawkins writes in the future.

Author:

Rachel Hawkins was born in Virginia and raised in Alabama. This means she uses words like "y'all" and "fixin'" a lot, and considers anything under 60 degrees to be borderline Arctic. Before deciding to write books about kissing and fire (and sometimes kissing while on fire), Rachel taught high school English for 3 years, and is still capable of teaching you The Canterbury Tales if you're into that kind of thing.

She is married to a geologist, which means that they have incredibly strange dinner conversations ("So today at work, I wrote a chapter where killer fog, like, ATE PEOPLE." "Huh. Well, I was chased by an angry reindeer while trying to map parts of Norway." "Um...okay.")

Rachel also has a little boy whose main hobbies are playing video games, running around in circles, and plotting his Future Intergalactic Take-Over.

When not writing books, Rachel enjoys reading, travelling, and knitting (very terribly.)

Here are her books. She would really appreciate it if you read them. :)

ARC Review and Giveaway: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

I was very excited to receive a copy of this book for sure, as I loved the Hex Hall series so much. But to receive two copies, well, that made my day because for sure I could do a giveaway!

Title: School Spirits (School Spirits #1)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: May 14, 2013

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

  The Cover Contessa's Review:

I want to thank Disney Hyperion for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I was very excited to receive it as I really loved the Hex Hall series and wanted to see where Hawkins would take this. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.

So, first thing I have to say is how much I love this cover. Like the Hex hall series, I love how you see two sides of the main character; a reflection of how the character is torn between her life!  And the colors are so pretty. I actually prefer this cover to any of the others so far from Hawkins. It's really quite beautiful.

If you enjoyed Hawkin's Hex Hall series, then you will definitely love this book. It's a totally different story, but  if you know the other story you can see the connections. But you by no means have to read that series to be able to read this one. There's enough of a difference for it to e a totally different and engaging story.

Isolde, well, if you read the Hex hall series, you remember her a bit from the final book. She is Sophie's cousin, and she is a Brannick. I love Izzy's character. She is smart and witty. She keeps herself closed off to the world in order to preserve herself and her family. I love that she's so unique. She's not a paranormal being, but she does fight them! She's also different than any other teen: she's never been to a school, she doesn't own electronics such as a TV or cell phone, and she doesn't have any friends. So, when she's thrown into situations where all these things are now thrust at her, you can imagine she has a bit of a hard time adjusting. But she does a good job of it. She maintains her secret life while trying to blend in. But it's hard and she's is challenged by it daily.

The supporting characters are really great. There's Dex, kind of a geeky good looking nerd who quickly becomes a love interest for Izzy. And Romy, Izzy's new truly colorful best friend. Then there's Anderson, who is kind of a funny geek guy. They all adopt Izzy almost immediately when she enters Mary Evans High, and quickly become her clique. Finally, we are reintroduced to Torin, a character we met from in the Hex hall series. He's a warlock who lives in a mirror in Izzy's house. He kind of strikes me as the third leg of what could be a love triangle between her and Dex and him, but I'm not sure it's going in that direction. We shall see.

Hawkins does not go deep into this book. It's an easy read that doesn't require much thinking, which I really liked since I needed something light to read for review! She has an easy way with words and they flow evenly off the page. You see the witty dialogue you may have grown to love in Hex Hall, although I don't think these characters use it as well. The snark was just lacking. And, of course, there is a paranormal element that keeps you intrigued and wondering where the story will lead. And Hawkins throws in a slight twist at the end that involves Dex, which I have to say I saw coming but wasn't sure how she would present it.

All in all I enjoyed this book a great deal. It wasn't fantastic but it wasn't boring at all. There is a bit of a hurry at the end to wrap things up but still leave you with the chance that a second book is in the works. It's not a cliff hanger, but you are wondering why things happened and where it will go. I will definitely be moving on to read the next book in this series to see where it leads.

3/5 stars.

So, since I received two ARCs of this book, I thought I would do a little giveaway. It's international, YUP YUP! You read that right. I rarely do International out of my own pocket, but I really wanted to let someone else read this story. So go on, enter, you know you want to!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Spell Bound (Hex Hall, #3) by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date:

Format: Hard Cover

Pages: 327

Blurb from Goodreads:

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

The Cover Contessa's Review:

So of course I had to read this book, having read the other two. I had to see how it ended. I loved the characters and their growth in the first two books and wasn't sure where Hawkins could take it to make it better, but she was able to do it.

As with the other two books, I really love this cover. There is just something about the two girls reflecting each other that makes me want to jump into the book. And it was easy to understand the meaning behind the reflection of the girl dressed in the school uniform once I saw where the kids ended up.

As with the other two books, Sophie was great. I have to say that I still had this annoyance with her regarding Cal and Asher. I felt like she had some need to love Cal, but you know she really wants to be with Asher. She tried her hardest not to lead Cal on, but it didn't always work. Other than that, you really watched Sophie's character take shape to become a great heroine, one who is selfless and understands that sacrifice is essential in order to "save the world." Sophie continued to be easy to relate to in this book. I love that she still has that teen angst, but it is not what rules her in the book. And of course Sophie is still as witty as ever. 

Asher of course is an integral part of this book. He and Sophie are finally a "couple", whether or not others seem to like it. And they certainly show each other that they care for each other and want to be with one another. And the banter that existed between them before continues in this book. I like how it often lightens the mood when they are surrounded with something more serious.

Hawkins introduced a few new characters in this book: The Brannicks. And you shockingly find out what their connection is to Sophie and her family. I enjoyed learning the story of the Brannicks

The best part of this book was that Hawkins was not afraid to do what she needed to do with her characters: kill them off, change them, etc. I don't think she could have had a good ending without doing some of those things. I always commend authors who really take that step, even if they know that some people might not like the outcome. The ending made me sad and happy all at the same time. I also did not see many of the twists coming. As with the ending of Hex Hall when Asher suddenly "turns bad", we find out information about these characters' pasts that we really would have never seen coming.

And Hawkins kept true to her plot and her world building. There wasn't anything too new introduced that would make you feel it was out of place. And her writing flows so well, it's hard to put her books down. I found myself wanting to get to the end. I needed to see where it ended up, how Sophie would save everyone, and who would end up lost in the end. I am sad to have to let these characters go as I have grown rather attached to them.

I hope some of the unanswered questions are answered in the spin off series School Spirits, which I intend to pick up very soon as I have an ARC!

4/5 stars from me.

Rachel Hawkins (www.rachel-hawkins.com) is the New York Times best-selling author of Hex Hall and Spell Bound. She was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree....

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Review: Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. 
That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.
Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.
But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

Title: Demonglass (Hex Hall #2)

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

The Cover Contessa's Review:

Well, what a cliffhanger, right? I am not usually a fan of cliffhangers, but I so enjoyed this story that it really didn't matter. And since the next book was already out when I read this one, it didn't make much of a difference since I could move right on to the final installment.

I have to say that I just love the covers of these books. Something about the reflection of the girl on the front just draws me right in. It certainly made me want to read it for sure.

Sophie is such a great character. She has that typical teen angst thing going on, but it's not annoying. She's spunky and fun. She has those doubts that teenagers will have, which is nice as she really seems her age. And she once again shows great growth in this book. Best of all, she's got such great wit infused with sarcasm. It's right up my alley, so I could totally relate to her. She is presented in a real way, which is also nice considering she has paranormal aspects to her. It was nice to watch her form a relationship with the father she never knew. And she's not angry at him, but more curious if anything.
Cal, well, he certainly shows his colors in this book. You can see he is definitely interested in Sophie and once she learns they are betrothed, that is certainly heightened on both their parts. He plays a nice part to the love triangle, although you can certainly see that Sophie loves him but doesn't seem to be in love with him. He's still a bit mysterious, and I didn't totally trust him. I almost felt like he had an ulterior motive which was not ever revealed. There's just something off about his character.
And I'm so glad that we got to see Archer once again. I was worried he would perhaps be missing a bit in this book, after his huge exit in the last book. But he did show up and he did show Sophie that he truly cares. I love their banter, it really makes their relationship. And the way they call each other by their last names really makes me giggle every time I see it.
We meet some new characters in this book and they make for a good addition. They really helped to move the story along and keep up the intrigue that surrounds Sophie.

The plot is well thought out and easy to follow. It certainly had many twists and turns I was not expecting which kept me totally and completely interested. Hawkins has great ease with her charcater development and their relationships to each other. There are no characters introduced that aren't somehow integral to the plot. And of course the fact that we are presented with some more of Sophie's history as accounted by her father is a great addition to the story line.

The one thing that I felt could have used more development was the relationship between Sophie and Cal. After they find out they are betrothed, I feel very little changes. IF they are supposed to be in a love triangle, I wasn't feeling it all that much. If a love triangle is to be introduced I need to feel it's believable and to me this one is just not. Sophie is too focused on Archer to worry that Cal is even in the picture.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading the next one and finding out the ending to the story!

4/5 stars.

Rachel Hawkins (www.rachel-hawkins.com) is the New York Times best-selling author of Hex Hall and Spell Bound. She was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree....

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