"Hex Hall" by Rachel Hawkins

Despite its outward appearance, Hex Hall isn't your stereotypical paranormal romance. Rather than dark and angsty, Rachel Hawkins went for a blend of light and funny in her debut novel. Tinged with mystery and romance, Hex Hall was hard to put down.

Centered around a girl named Sophie forced to attend a reformation school for supernatural beings, Hex Hall explores the world of school-age Prodigium. Hecate Hall, or Hex Hall, as everyone calls it, is a sanctuary of sorts for students harboring more power than they know how to control. Sophie herself discovers she's classified as a Dark Witch upon her arrival. The school is full of fairies, werewolves, shapeshifters, and more. Her roommate, Jenna, is the school's lone vampire and the guy she loves to hate, Archer, is a warlock. Sophie soon learns more about her heritage and abilities as a witch, having been sheltered all her life due to her warlock father's absence.

The book really takes off when a girl is discovered in the shower, drained of blood, with two wounds in her neck and slashes across her wrists. Everyone blames the vampire, but Sophie doesn't think her roommate could have done something so hateful. Something about the situation doesn't sit right with her, and before long, our heroine finds herself up to her neck in danger.

Hex Hall incorporates a lot of twists and turns while building to its climax. There are some plot points readers will see coming a mile away, but others that won't be discovered until Hawkins chooses to reveal them. The characters were all well-developed. Sophie feels really real, as do her friends, enemies, and the unwanted attraction between her and Archer.

This was a great book to pick up for a lighter read that had me chuckling and rooting for Sophie, not to mention breathless as the plot began charging full speed ahead. I'm definitely looking forward to the release of Demonglass next month, as well as Hawkin's self-contained novel Rebel Belle later this year.