Hexed (The Witch Hunter, #1) by Michelle Krys

Description from Goodreads:

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

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I recently read Half Bad by Sally Green and I was pleasantly surprised that for the first time in a really long time, I actually enjoyed a book about witches. Harry Potter series definitely has set an eternal sky-high bar for anything witch related. So, as I had just read a good witch book, I decided that maybe I should try another one - just to test the ice. I came across with Hexed and it had gotten plenty of good reviews and had a rating of 4.02 on Goodreads at that time, so I decided to give it a try. It ended up being what I had expected it to be - a relatively light read with teenager drama and  good looking guys.

There is this one thing that I can't tolerate: high school drama. And we got plenty of it in Hexed. I could immediately sense this mean-girl setting, which definitely made me less excited for the book. Indigo and her best friend Bianca have gotten into a cold war as Indigo has managed to catch herself the captain of the football team. Bianca of course can't stand this fact, and despite being Indigo's oldest friend, she tries to make her life miserable. I think I could have endured this without any struggle if it wasn't for the fact that Indigo herself wasn't the kindest person around. She pushed around and used her nerdy neighbour Paige who does everything Indigo says in the hopes of being her friend. NOO. I didn't like this at all. I just wanted to punch some sense into Indigo as all she could think about if her denim miniskirt looked good with her suede boots. Luckily though, she does experience some character development and I didn't hate her as much in the end as I did for the first 50%. 

To be honest, I'm in a hate-love relationship with majority of the characters who are in this book. The mysterious Bishop who comes around to ease as well as complicate Indigo's life was almost as infuriating as she was. He kept making these sexist remarks and suggestions which made (and luckily Indigo too) furious. However, the readers eventually learn something about Bishop which made at least me like him better. In the end, I actually found myself smiling to his remarks, and I think he was pretty good for Indigo, unlike Devon - Indigo's football captain boyfriend (yuck). I'm definitely rooting for Bishop and Indigo now, but I still can't completely forget his aggravating behaviour. However, now that I know that there is a reason behind it, I feel like it makes it a little bit less worse. And I suppose Bishop was kind of cute and sweet as well, even though the bad boy with tattoos and longish hair type isn't exactly my first choice. 

Most likely, the reason for the fact that I didn't really get into the story before I had already  read 50% was because of the reasons above. There was just too much high school drama and too little magic stuff. The action and interesting revelations however in the half way were able to save the story from utter disaster to which it was first headed. I wish the story was more concentrated on the new knowledge of magic and practising it, rather than Bianca-Indigo, one-oh-one, drama. Thanks to this, the story felt a little superficial and the time devoted to the drama could have been used more wisely - maybe on the establishment of Indigo's relationships and her feelings about the witchery. Nevertheless, even though the story in general didn't really bring anything original to YA genre, I found myself entertained by the story. It definitely had its funny and deep moments too, and I can see why some many had enjoyed reading the book. I just might be a bit too old for this type of books - not for YA genre but the unnecessary teenager drama. 

☆☆☆

Half Bad (Half Life Trilogy, #1) by Sally Green

Description from Goodreads:

Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

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I was really excited when I started reading Half Bad, mainly because I had heard so many good things about it, but also because some people just hadn't got it at all. Books that receive mixed reviews often make me really cautious about picking up such a book, but there was just something about the cover and the description that just forced me to read it. And I'm so glad that I did. Half Bad isn't a perfect book but it definitely keeps you interested the whole time and gives rather new perspective to the whole witch theme.

I really loved witches when I was a teenager (thanks to Harry Potter, obviously), but since then I haven't read a single book about witches that has made me crave for more. Half Bad managed to do this! In the world of the book, all witches obtain their own unique Gift when they turn 17 in their receiving ceremony (they receive three gifts and blood from their ancestor in this Giving). The witch's ability reflects his/her personality - if you are a compulsive liar, you may get the gift of disguising yourself. However, even though all this was really interesting, I liked the fact that witchery wasn't in your face all the time. It was a very subtle element throughout the whole book, so those who are expecting a lot of hocus pocus have to disappoint. I really liked that the book focused more on Nathan and his story, and how he ended up in the position where he is now.

Half Bad isn't a happy book. It can be rather brutal from time to time, and the readers get a part of Nathan's angst for sure. He can be very brooding and glum, but I don't think the readers can expect anything else when taking into consideration what his origins are and what he has gone through during his short life. That's why the constant, almost depressing mood, might not be for everyone but I think that the pressing atmosphere well illustrated the despair and anxiety Nathan felt, even though he didn't always express it with his words or gestures. 

The best parts of the book were definitely the beginning and the end. The middle part was really interesting as well and I was never bored while reading, but there was just something so ghastly in the beginning and the very ending on the other was so magical, almost eerie. The middle part of the story was gripping and there was so much to learn about Nathan's life, his problems, and where he was headed, but I'm just still mesmerised by the ending. It was just a really perfect ending for the first book (I think I need to reread the ending again after I've finished writing this review). I hope I haven't build up too high expectations for the ending, but I just can't emphasise that it was so well planned and executed.

I don't read that many novels that have a teenager boy as the protagonist, so I was a bit worried how well I could relate to him and share his experiences emotionally. Well, I can't say that there's anything common between me and Nathan, but I did like him very much. The outside world see him either as dangerous or as very stupid, but he is so much more than that, and he really well endures all the sadness and obstacles that he needs to overcome. He is both good and evil, and not the readers or himself are sure even in the end of the book that to which team he belongs to. But then again, nothing in Half Bad is purely black or white which creates some really intriguing situations in the book, especially when it comes to the Council of White Witches which is first portrayed as the ultimate good.

The only negative thing that comes to my mind is that there were some similarities between Half Bad and the Harry Potter series. First of all, I've already mentioned the Council of White Witches, which is a very easily comparable to the Ministry of Magic. Secondly, the witches are divided into "good" and "bad" ones, and some of the good White Witches are trained to be Hunters that catch the bad Black Witches. Almost like Aurors and Death Eaters, maybe? The witch community also is integrated into the fain population (muggles) and try to live their lives quietly and as peacefully as possible. Hmm. Not sure what to think about this, but I do know that somethings are bound to overlap, especially if the story is  about witchery and good vs. evil. 

I did enjoy Half Bad a lot more than I expected and I was entertained throughout the whole book. The mood was very dark and even gloomy most of the time, but I didn't mind it all, it suited well the whole concept. If you're interested in reading the book even the slightest, I really recommend the book. Even though there were some similarities to this very well known book series, there are also original ideas which eventually makes Half Bad very different. 

☆☆☆☆