Book Review: Becoming a Legend

I loved the first book, The Legend of the Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael, so much that the author graciously supplied me with a copy of the second book in the series. This in no way effects my final review of this book.

Title: Becoming Legend

Author: B. Kristin McMichael

Series: The Blue Eyes #2

Publisher: Lexia Press

Original Publication Date: June 6, 2013

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon

Find on Goodreads

Description from Goodreads:
Arianna Grace is about to turn seventeen and her life has been very complicated lately. She is the leader of four clans of night humans: dearg-dul, baku, tengu, and lycan. While the four clans seem to get along better with each other, there is internal conflict on both sides of her family, not to mention the three boys vying for her attention.

Edward Lucan is making a chase for the power to lead the baku clans and is playing his cards by using his nephew Andrew to lure Arianna into a trap. Unfortunately for Lucan, Andrew has his own plans. He has spent the last year waiting for Arianna to see him as more than a friend, and he now finds it necessary to make a move for her affection, despite his uncle.

In the dearg-dul estate, Arianna discovers that the ambitious Lord Seeger has been laying his own strategies for power and is slowly poisoning her. After getting away with her grandfather's murder, he is setting his sights on her. Luckily for Arianna, her team is on to all of the plans and is making some plans of their own. Will it be enough to keep Arianna safe? Several people close to Arianna have been keeping secrets. If Arianna is to take power and control of the night, she will need to know the truth. Will someone finally tell her what it truly means to become the legend everyone is waiting for, before it is too late to turn back?

This book picks up about a year later from the first book. For most of the book Arianna remains just as ignorant about the world of night humans as she did in the first book, except it's a year later. I felt like she should have known a little more at the beginning of this book. I felt like she should have been training both physically and mentally during that year to truly be the leader of the four clans. But clearly she hasn't.

While I liked it, I did not like it as much as the first book. For me, it felt like it suffered a little bit from The Middle Book Syndrome. The entire time I was reading it, I felt like it was just setting me up for the final book in the series. Which I do have to say based on where book two ends, sounds like it will be an awesome end to the series. Plot-wise though, I didn't really feel like this book had it's own individual story arc in the series. Maybe I missed it? That's not to say that you don't continue to learn new things about the world McMichael created, you do. It's a whole lot bigger than we are lead to believe in the first book. You also learn a little bit more about the legend and there is some plotting from various bad guys on how they can either kill Arianna or use her to get the power they crave. 

With all of that being said, I'm still looking forward to the third book, Winning a Legend. 

My Rating:

Book Review: Hex Hall

Good evening everyone! Today I'll happily be reviewing Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. It is the first book in the Hex Hall series.  

Title: Hex Hall

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall #1

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Original Publication Date: March 2nd 2010

Format Read: kindle

Genre: YA Paranormal

Purchase: Amazon

Find on Goodreads

Description from Goodreads:

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while now as it kept popping up everywhere with a few places even suggesting it might be the book for me, based on other books I've read. Boy were they right! I really liked this book, it might even be love. I'm sure part of it is because Rachel Hawkins clearly grew up around the same time I did and shares the same wonderful sense of humor I do.  

Like the description states, you follow Sophie, who does quite have a handle on her magic. She discovered she was a witch at the age of 13. She's gotten into trouble a few times, but so far her absent father has been able to get her out of it. But, on prom night when Sophie tries to help out a girl by pulling off a little spell, it goes off a little TOO well. The fall out is that her father can no longer protect her and she is sent off to live at Hex Hall until she is 18. 

However, once Sophie arrives she quickly realizes exactly how woefully unprepared she is to live at such a place and just how ignorant she is about her powers and the world of witches, warlocks, faeries, and shapeshifters. She quickly ends up being the target of mean girls and bumbles her way into trouble. Thankfully, she has one refuge, her room and her roommate, Jenna. Jenna herself is an outcast, the only vampire student at the school. 

This isn't just your regular school book though, there is more to the story. There is a mystery as a few of the students have ended up dead, appearing to have been drained of their blood. Who is there number one suspect? Why Jenna, of course. Sophie just knows that Jenna wouldn't do such a thing, so she works to try to figure out who really did it. 

There is also some budding romance, a ghost, some awesome pop culture references, as well as some surprising twists and turns to the story. It is a pretty fast read, although that could have been because I was so into the story, that I just kept reading, and reading, and reading...

I highly recommend checking out this book and I think Rachel Hawkins has just added herself onto my list of go-to authors. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

My Rating: