Demonglass Review

Title: Demonglass
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Published Date: March 2011
Synopsis:

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?

Review:

Have you ever had that experience when you’re starving and you land your eyes on a piece of chocolate? You tell yourself, I’m going to savor it and take a slow time eating because I’m going to regret it. But when you take that first bite…you can’t resist and devour it, leaving you happy for a second until you realize that you’re still hungry.

Well instead of chocolate, imagine secrets at every taste, romance and hot kisses at every bite, humor and sarcasm at every savor, and hot boys, loyal friend, a blossoming (and humorous) father-daughter relationship. Yep, it just got 100 times more intense.

Sophie Mercer travels to London with her best friend, Jenna, and Cal to visit her father to not only learn how to control her power and demon nature, but also to learn of the burgeoning and grave problems facing the Council. As Sophie learns about the formidable and foreboding power of The Eye, the rising demons, her family history, she can’t face her heartache for Archer.

I thought I had loved Hex Hall and its humor, but Sophie’s humorous and sarcastic comments literally made me laugh out loud (in the library, where a few people looked at me strangely). Her relationship with her father, as she starts to build an emotional connection and learns to accept him was beautifully delivered, without any awkwardness or melodramatic tears. Their relationship was always lively and you could see it grow (even with a hint at another romance with Sophie’s parents) without feeling corny.

He snorted. “She once put me out by the side of the road in Scotland because I made a completely harmless joke about her map-reading skills.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. Had to walk nearly five bloody kilometers before she stopped to let me back in.”
“Dude. Mom is hard-core.”

The secrets from every chapter, every page puts you into the action so much and didn’t make you bored at any moment. And the cliffhanger at the end, of course they had to do it, but bloody hell! How I am going to wait another year for the third installment!

And of course, Archer. Archer, Archer, Archer. Could someone please just transport me to a Hogwarts like place, somewhere preferably with a guy like Archer? No, no, no…a guy EXACTLY like Archer? Archer does come into the second half of the novel, but not before Hawkins introduces another rival and (in my opinion, another cute couple, Daisy and Nick). And the romance, kisses just made me beg for more (of their cute relationship and hilarious banter).

“She was my assignment”
“From the Eye?”
“No, from the Boy Scouts. That Witch Dating badge just kept eluding me.”

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5 (Loved the new characters, Nick and Daisy. I really hope we see them again in the next book. Jenna was absolutely brilliant with her depth and complications.)
Cover: 4.5/5

The cover is similar in design with Hex Hall, but the contrast is absolutely stunning. The chaos, with the fire and the two different personalities was portrayed so well, in addition to the beautiful model that really looks like Sophie in my mind.

Overall: 5/5

I've seen some reviews that criticized Demonglass for being too cliche or following other novels, but even though there are similarities to other novels, Hawkin's delivery of it with her characters, which were developed thoroughly, humor, romance, and the mystery element spun Demonglass to a beautiful and hilarious novel, remind me yet again, how much more exciting life would be in going to a Hogwarts-like school.