Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Release Date: 1st March, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion Books

Pages: 359pgs

The Story

Sophie Mercer though 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 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?

The Review

For starters, let me say that Rachel Hawkins has the gifted - almost sinister - ability to make me giggle like a little five-year-old girl! No kidding! I thoroughly enjoyed Hawkins's debut novel, Hex Hall, and I think she pretty muched nailed its sequel DEMONGLASS in all sorts of ways! We have a bit of snark, a bit of danger, a bit of magic, a bit of betrayal, a bit of romance . . . and a bit of awesome Sophie/Cal/Archer scenes that fangals will LOVE!

I think what I loved most about DEMONGLASS was meeting new characters, seeing a rather darker side to the mystical Hex Hall world and having a nice change of setting away from the whole academy thing! And of course, we get to travel to London! Last time we saw Sophie, she wanted to have The Removal - to rid her demonic-like powers and be non-magical to protect herself as well as her loved ones as her family have quite a dark past - and she needed her father to help her do that. So, in this installment her father finally comes into the scene and takes her off to London, to sort of persuade her NOT to remove her powers and focus on trying to control them, while meeting other demons like her. The thing I liked about the father and daughter relationship is that both Sophie and her father share the same sarcasm, it made me laugh a few times, unexpectedly too! I thought to myself, "Why would this serious Head of Council man be so funny?" It seems impossible right? He's supposed to be this powerful guy and we get a hilarious man whose personality definitely clashes with Sophie's . . . they're so the same in many respects.

Moving on, for those fangals wanting to know what's happening in the romance department, I can definitely say the romantic chemistry in DEMONGLASS is still consistent and written brilliantly. I can't help but mentioned that I was a HARDCORE fan of Archer and I didn't care who he worked for . . . I just wanted him and Sophie to pash! But while we didn't see much of Cal's character in the first book, we do however see a lot more of him in DEMONGLASS and have some history behind him rather than knowing him as "healer-boy". And like so many girls who switch boy teams, my feelings towards Archer have leaned on Cal a hell of a lot more! I know! I know! Kill me now! Don't get me wrong here, because I still love the dangerous Archer, but Cal is such a sweet thing and I honestly think he's a better choice for Sophie! But bad boys always hit my weak spot! It's in a girls nature to love and hate them! Still . . . can I be half-team Archer and half-team Cal?

Overall, DEMONGLASS is just as good as the previous novel Hex Hall! While the ending disappointed me (it's such a bummer when it's a little bit rushed and then it ends on a cliffhanger . . . GOSH don't get me started on cliffhangers!!!) there's still plenty of cool twists and turns, with some great action scenes popping up now and then. I think what I love about Hawkins's writing is how easy it's to read, since it's so fluent in a teenagers mind and you can definitely expect to laugh out loud whilst reading the dialogue! But don't worry, your family and friends will never understand when you're laughing to yourself in your quiet reading space! Just tell them, "Book. Don't worry! I'm fine, really!"

The Rating

4 /5 stars