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Hexbound: A Novel of the Dark Elite (The Dark Elite #2)

by Chloe Neill (Goodreads Author)

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 3,305 ratings · 281 reviews

Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia's School for Girls, but she's already learned that magic can be your best friend-or your worst enemy. That's why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities while fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago's nastiest nightlife-including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.....more

ebook, 256 pages

Published January 4th 2011 by Signet Book

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Jan 19, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, the-great-shelf-of-meh, too-painful-to-finish

Chloe Neill, popular Paranormal Romance author of Chicagoland Vampires takes a stab at the Urban Fantasy YA genre in her new book, Hexbound.

Neill demonstrates that stabbing isn't nearly as fun as it looks.

Hexbound is the story of sixteen year old Parker, who is sent to boarding school by her elusive and myterious parents. Her new friend, Scout, is kidnapped by Reapers, magic stealers, to have her soul sucked out until she dies. The Enclave, group of good magic users, refuses to rescue her so Par...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Book Chick City rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal-ya

Reviewed by Jo for Book Chick City.

The second part of Chloe Neill's 'Dark Elite' series continue with this instalment. We are back following Lily's adventures at St. Sophia's School for Girls where there is magic couple with teen angst and drama.

The storyline for me was ok. Lily is trying to harness her newfound power, 'Firespell', and also trying to avoid the group of magic drainers known as 'Reapers'.

I said in my review of the previous book in this series, 'Firespell' that I thought it was hit...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Lady Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, chloe-neill

Officially up on Chloe Neill's blog:

CHAPTER ONE

[Note - This is pre-edited copy, and may contain grammatical and typographical errors; no worries--they've been fixed.]

I stayed absolutely still, my eyes closed, the sun warm on my face. As long as I didn’t fidget too much, the noon sun was just strong enough to cancel out the chilly October breeze that blew through our part of downtown Chicago.

I guess there was a reason they called it the Windy City.

It was a Sunday afternoon at St. Sophia’s School...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The second in Chloe Neill’s Dark Elite series, Hexbound follows the continued adventures of Lily and her friend Scout at St. Sophia’s School for Girls, as they face both teen drama and evil magicians.

I’ve had a bit of trouble getting into this series from the beginning, but couldn’t initially put my finger on why. I got a little over halfway through Hexbound and encountered a scene that made the issue clear to me — and sapped my interest in the book. Neill tells us that the conflict between the...more The second in Chloe Neill’s Dark Elite series, Hexbound follows the continued adventures of Lily and her friend Scout at St. Sophia’s School for Girls, as they face both teen drama and evil magicians.

I’ve had a bit of trouble getting into this series from the beginning, but couldn’t initially put my finger on why. I got a little over halfway through Hexbound and encountered a scene that made the issue clear to me — and sapped my interest in the book. Neill tells us that the conflict between the Adepts and the Reapers is a matter of life and death, but the way these scenes are written, they don’t feel any more tense than the scenes of ordinary teenage conflict between cliques or romantic rivals. There’s not a sense of high stakes. This scene is a good example of the problem. A ward has been tripped, alerting Scout and Lily to a pair of Reapers breaking into St. Sophia’s via the underground tunnel system. The two good girls have just dragged the two bad girls back over the threshold and off St. Sophia’s property, and they’re all arguing.

Scout rolled her eyes. I raised a hand. “While we’re here, I have a question.”

”Go for it, Lils. All right, cheer-reaper and gatekeeper—“

”I’m in the band.”

”Sorry?”

”You call her cheer-reaper, I figure you should call me by my title, too. I’m in the band. I play the French horn.”

After some more bickering, Lily and Scout leave the bad girls outside the door with a flashlight to help them get out of the tunnels safely. The bad guys get indignant about the French horn; the good guys don’t even try to detain these people who mean them harm; and I’m left with the sense that neither side is taking this conflict seriously. It feels like they’re playing magical Capture the Flag, rather than fighting a secret, deadly war. At that point, I lost interest.

Neill’s portrayal of Chicago remains one of her strengths, however, and I think I’ll give her adult Chicagoland Vampires series a shot. I have a hunch it may feature more danger and less drama.(less)

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Dec 28, 2010 The BookWhisperer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, series

Any doubts left after completing Firespell were immediately dissapated from the start of Hexbound. This novel was action packed from page one. Lily is not only a newby to the Adept Society, but she is a newby to magic in general. After suffering from an direct hit by a Firespell user she has miraculously appeared to have Firespell magic of her own. With help from her new Adept friends, and others maybe not easily considered friends, she has found herself growing in her abilites. Lily is a very t...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Marlie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Annoyingly simplistic and straightforward. I was hoping that the series would develop depth as we moved forward, but it seems like instead what we got in the first book is all we're going to get on backstory for rules of the universe and understanding the rules of their magic.

In summary, we're in Chicago. Chicago is indistinguishable from any other major metropolitan area. The villans are magic users who use their powers to suck the vitality out of people to maintain their power. They've existe...more Annoyingly simplistic and straightforward. I was hoping that the series would develop depth as we moved forward, but it seems like instead what we got in the first book is all we're going to get on backstory for rules of the universe and understanding the rules of their magic.

In summary, we're in Chicago. Chicago is indistinguishable from any other major metropolitan area. The villans are magic users who use their powers to suck the vitality out of people to maintain their power. They've existed for eons. Its a genetic mutation that's just developed! Except when there are grimoires and spells and prophecies....yeah you can already tell how unique and coherent this story is.

Meanwhile the difference between an adult and a teenager is how much time they spend coming up with cute one-liners. Not Buffy-style one liners were the main character is obviously playing it up an being purposefully ridiculous one liners, but one liners that are omnipresent AND dated (like give me skin...). Most of the story is teen angst except for the sections that are score keeping between the two rival factions. Think Codename Kids Next Door except even less explicable and badly written.

The entire book is a pile of mostly inexplicable snark and motivations. The characters spend a lot of time wandering around in sewers and no time planning anything - except for when they look in the magical grimoire with all of the answers. I can't help but think that the people who write high school dramas this way don't actually remember high school, or think that writing YA is an excuse to be lazy. Hint, if I spend the majority of scenes wondering why the author is talking about something, and the answer is no reason...then the writing needs serious tightening up. Consider that these aren't even very long.

We're supposed to believe that a tiny percentage of the worlds population develops magical power, but a significant amount of them congregate in Chicago and decide that they're going to become magical vampires? The heros are in splinter cells because the vast majority of people with magic suddenly turn evil at 16? Oh and this organization is conveniently organized by grade level. The heavy handed hints that "it's more complicated than it seems" don't help anything, because no ones actually bothering to do anything that makes it more complicated than its seems. Show, not tell. Don't even get me started on the popular clique,(less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Becky {Somewhere Between The Pages} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 5-stars, review, fantasy-or-urban-fantasy, purchased

Isn't the cover pretty? I love it. But green's one of my favourite colours, so perhaps I'm a little biased. Anywho, I'll admit that I was a little sceptical about reading this book for the sheer fact that a lot of people said it wasn't even half as good as the first... dudes need to lay off the mind-altering substances. Admittedly, the first book - Firespell - was a teensy bit better, but Hexbound, too, was ah-may-zing!

I'm still lovin' Lily and Scout, and Jason really captured my heart in this b...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Lily now has to figure out who to use and control the powers that have been awakened inside of her. Of course, this has to happen between classes, spending time with Jason, and fighting the Reapers. No sweat, right? Not so much when there are strange creatures that are suddenly appearing in the tunnels beneath Chicago. Oh, and Sebastian - one of the Dark Reapers - is always finding Lily, trying to tell her something important. Could what he needs to tell her save her life?

I am truly enjoying thi...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Lynda Tatad rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the 2nd book in Chloe Neill's YA Dark Elite series, and continues Lily Parker's adventures at St. Sophia's school for girls, and her alternate education as a member of the magic user Adepts of which her friend Scout is also a member. They seek out Reepers (evil magic users who drain others of their life force or magic to prolong their own lives and magic), and protect people from them. Lily has only discovered that she has the Firespell ability just a couple weeks earlier, and it was the...more This is the 2nd book in Chloe Neill's YA Dark Elite series, and continues Lily Parker's adventures at St. Sophia's school for girls, and her alternate education as a member of the magic user Adepts of which her friend Scout is also a member. They seek out Reepers (evil magic users who drain others of their life force or magic to prolong their own lives and magic), and protect people from them. Lily has only discovered that she has the Firespell ability just a couple weeks earlier, and it was the Reaper Sebastion who triggered it in her. He ended up saving her life (after nearly killing her) in the previous story (Firespell).

warning: **********spoilers**********************************

While on patrol Lily and Scout discover a mysterious slime trail, and a new type of creature that they've never encountered before. Lily is also trying to look into her parents mysterious connection with a research group, who's building is near the school she is now attending in Chicago. She's also dealing with her crush (and it's mutual) with a certain boy who's got a big werewolf secret he's dealing with. The Reaper Sebastion seems to be stalking her, and he's got an agenda of his own involving Lily...
Plus, while dealing with these new creatures, Lily and company also end up being involved in a turf war between another supernatural group.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Loved all the different storylines and how she tied them together. Interesting mystery involving Sebastian and how he wants to help Lily with her powers, and to prove to her that not everything is all that she thinks they are between the Reapers and Adepts. Looking forwrd to seeing hat develops in the future books. (less)

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Dec 17, 2011 Kt from A Book Obsession.. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hardcopy

Lily had thought her life couldn't have gotten more turned upside down than it did when her parents sent her to St. Sophia's. She was wrong. Now she has to deal with powers that she doesn't know how to control, and fighting against the Dark Elite or Reapers, all the while trying to keep up with the school's rigorous curriculum. Of course there is a bright side to all this as she met a cute boy for her affections, but of course he has his own secrets as well. Meanwhile, a member of the opposite t...more Lily had thought her life couldn't have gotten more turned upside down than it did when her parents sent her to St. Sophia's. She was wrong. Now she has to deal with powers that she doesn't know how to control, and fighting against the Dark Elite or Reapers, all the while trying to keep up with the school's rigorous curriculum. Of course there is a bright side to all this as she met a cute boy for her affections, but of course he has his own secrets as well. Meanwhile, a member of the opposite team corners her, leaving her with more questions than she can handle as the lines between good and evil get blurry.

I'm having a hard time deciding how I feel about Hexbound, and this series in general. In the first book, Firespell, I had an extreme case of plot deja vu. It just felt like the same story I had heard countless times before. However, about halfway through things started to pick up and spark my interest a whole lot more. So, when starting Hexbound I was disappointed to see that yet again, the beginning was very slow. To make matters worse, not a whole lot of time has been covered, making the series have a lack of momentum, or at least it really feels that way to me. Unfortunately, when things finally started to pick up, I realized that although there was more action, there wasn't really a substantial plot. In fact it felt more like a set up for the future, adding to my lack of momentum feeling.

That all being said, I do very much enjoy the characters in these books. I love seeing things through Lily's eyes as she is going through the growing pains of her new powers as well as all the secrets surrounding her parents. (On a side note, that was another disappointment for me, as nothing was really revealed there.) Scout adds just the right amount of wit and sarcasm to lighten up things just the right amount. Although, she herself is dealing with some things on her own, making me thoroughly impressed at how she was able to keep herself almost as cheery and spunky as always. As far as the love interest, Jason, I was glad to see more of the interaction between him and Lily, making the romance a little more established rather than the forced feeling from before. However, some reveals were made that may just threaten things, and when you combine that with the hints of a possible love triangle, this series is threatening to turn me into a cranky blogger.

Its funny how as I'm writing my review, more and more things are popping out to me as issues I had with Hexbound. However, as I was reading it, those things didn't seem so terribly bad, so I was able to enjoy it while reading it. So, while those issues are there, they aren't so horribly "glaring" to ruin the book, but that could easily change in the future. I'm really hoping for some concrete action as well as some definite forward momentum in the next book, otherwise I can see myself easily losing interest in this series. That would be a shame, because of the great characters, and the potential behind it all. In the end I can honestly say I enjoyed Hexbound, and sometimes that is really all that matters in the end.(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Description:

Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia’s School for Girls, but she’s already learned that magic can be your best friend…or your worst enemy.

They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with...more Description:

Lily Parker is new to St. Sophia’s School for Girls, but she’s already learned that magic can be your best friend…or your worst enemy.

They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turns out, even a little magic can turn you to the dark side. That’s why Lily has to learn how to control her newly discovered paranormal abilities, on top of avoiding the snobs who think they run her school, nursing a crush on a cute sophomore with a big, werewolf-y secret, and fighting the good fight with her best friend Scout as they take on Chicago’s nastiest nightlife—including the tainted magic users known as Reapers.

Then Lily’s invited to a private meeting with Sebastian. He’s hot, powerful, and offering to help her harness the magic flowing in her veins in a way no one else can. He’s also a Reaper. Lily can’t hide her suspicions. But she’ll soon find out that the line between good and evil isn’t always clear… http://chloeneill.com/hexbound.htm

My Take

If you’re one of the people who think YA books aren’t gooey and slimy enough you are in for a treat with Chloe Neill’s new entry in the Dark Elite series, Hexbound. In this book, which picks up where Firespell left off Neill further develops the teen characters, including the new girl at school Lily, her fast friend, Scout, Jason, a werewolf who is in deep like with Lily and Michael, who is crushing on Scout pretty hard. She also gives a little treatment of one of the “anti-heroes,” Sebastian whose earlier attack on Lily brings about her latent powers.

Things are blacker and greyer in this book. The Reapers are exposed for being more depraved than Chloe revealed, but Sebastian is moving towards the grey. I don’t know why, but he is helping develop Lily’s new abilities, but he doesn’t leave the Reapers. I think he may have recruiting Lily in mind for the future. Or, ala True Blood perhaps he feels responsible as her “maker.” Speaking of True Blood, guess which new species of supes show up in this book?

Scout and Lily have a friendship becoming stronger all the time. I love the easy dialogue between them and also with the other kids. It’s as if Neill is channeling two teen best friends. The dialogue is altogether really well written, even between the young men and the young women. Love it.

I noticed that there is not as much involvement of adults in this book, like the headmaster. But, Lily does expand on her parents’ involvement with the Sterling Research Foundation. Not is a way that answers her questions more like answering one thing and bringing ten more questions up. But, even though it is only October I felt Lily was distancing herself from her parents. Why did they send her to St. Sophia? For her safety? Think again, Mom and Dad, ithink she would have been safer going to Germany with you.

I am worried about her parents, I keep thinking about what they are doing; are they working for the Reapers? Will Lily have to go against them?

The plot might not be as cohesive as Firespell, as if maybe Neill really didn’t want the characters to have to go where the plot was leading. What happens is uncomfortable, and a bit shocking. But when you mess with evil you are going to end up in uncomfortable situations. (less)

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Sep 23, 2011 Kalynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book picks off soon after the events of Firespell. Lilly and Scout are back fighting for the Enclave, dodging the popular girls and worrying about fall formal. They do have a few problems, however. The Reapers are still after Scout, a certain Reaper is mysteriously interested in Lilly, there is mysterious slime in the sewers (no I didn't make that up), and there is some sort of vampire turf war. Also, Lilly's would be boyfriend seems to be hiding something, and there is more to her parents'...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Kale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Strange things are happening in the city under the city of Chicago. Chloe Neill returns with Hexbound her follow up to last years Firespell. Lily Parker is back to trolling the underground of Chi Town with her magical neighborhood watch crew. One night they stumble upon some strange vampire like creatures and their slimy trail. After the near death experience, Lily and her friends get their Nancy Drew on to discover what the reapers are up to, and why they are creating hybrids. Meanwhile Scout's...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Kathy Davie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, urban

Second in The Dark Elite urban-fantasy young adult series set in a contemporary Chicago and based in a girls' boarding school.

The Story
Lily is settling in to school and her new Adept status pretty well, heading out with Scout most nights to fight the Reapers. Although, that one Reaper boy, Sebastian Born, he's an odd one. Helping her out like that. Wanting to teach her. Giving her hints. What's up with that?

In the meantime, Lily is wading through vampires at night, stealing minutes to be with Ja...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Book Binge Blog rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, for-review, signet, young-adult

Let me just start off saying that HEXBOUND is a young adult paranormal and contains nothing steamier than teenaged lust (which can be pretty steamy at times but not in this story). But it does contain mystery, use of a wide array of powers, and some bad baddies.

Lily and her BFF (best friend forever), Scout, are part of the Dark Elite, kids who fight the evil crawling around Chicagoland. During the day, they're your typical boarding school teens, lusting after cute boys, snarking about the local...more Let me just start off saying that HEXBOUND is a young adult paranormal and contains nothing steamier than teenaged lust (which can be pretty steamy at times but not in this story). But it does contain mystery, use of a wide array of powers, and some bad baddies.

Lily and her BFF (best friend forever), Scout, are part of the Dark Elite, kids who fight the evil crawling around Chicagoland. During the day, they're your typical boarding school teens, lusting after cute boys, snarking about the local queen bee/mean girls, and going to classes. I really like these two characters. They have their own quirks and flaws but are still trying to do the right thing, despite the fact that, if they don't give up their powers when they get older, they'll turn evil and become Reapers, ex-Elite who suck the magic out of (and ultimately kill) other Dark Elites. Yes, it's a tangled web. One that gets even more tangled when you factor in Sebastian.

Sebastian is a Reaper but it seems like he's trying to help out Lily. In the first book, he did help her learn a bit about her powers and, in this story, he's always skulking around, appearing to feed Lily little tidbits of information. Some of this information is useful and some is just confusing. Plus, Lily's got feelings for Sebastian and she's not sure what to do about it. He's bad, right? That's what I want to know. It's like Neill is teasing me with the lack of information about Sebastian, enjoying my frustration. He's an intriguing character and, like Lily, I want to know what his deal is.

I like how Neill introduces aspects from her adult vampire novels (Chicagoland Vampires—and awesome series if you haven't read it!). There are some new baddies in town, slimy, vamp-like, slug creatures (yes, they're as pretty as they sound) and the kids have to enlist the help of another group of Dark Elite as well as get some info from the vamps. The answer to the mystery is rather obvious, with the clues dropping like breadcrumbs in front of the kids.

There's great potential in this series, potential that I don't think it's quite reached yet. Because this series is done episode-style, much like Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampire series, there's a major mystery surrounding Lily's parents, the company they work for, and Lily's boarding school itself, including the headmistress. So, the set-up is there but it's a bit too unclear at the moment. However, I have the feeling, as we progress, the pieces will start to fall into place.

All in all, a fun, fast read with great characters and a mysteriously dark city for them to play, love and fight in.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

This review was originally posted on Book Binge by Mary.(less)

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Jun 25, 2011 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Have I already said that I absolutely love this series. The Dark Elite has everything I enjoy reading in a book, boarding school, new girl in town (Even though sometimes it’s get old) and just wicked powers. And it’s very rare that the sequel is better than the first book, but Hexbound is way better.

Why? Well, there’s more Jason. And he’s so damn cute and sweet. The dialogue between him and Lily is just hilarious and so cute. Just thinking about him puts a smile on my face. I also love that we...more

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May 31, 2011 Imo :D (Omnom Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, ya, ya-paranormal, ya-romance

To be honest, the main problem with this book is a lack of, just, anything. With more work and motivation she really could have made it an exciting read, but it just fell a bit short.

I think the author was using this book as a set up for the rest, but really, at least try to make it interesting, come on.
So basically Hexbound starts off about a week after Firespell, Lily is a member of the Adepts and everything is peachy. But then one night they go into the tunnels and find, to their horror, sma...more To be honest, the main problem with this book is a lack of, just, anything. With more work and motivation she really could have made it an exciting read, but it just fell a bit short.

I think the author was using this book as a set up for the rest, but really, at least try to make it interesting, come on.
So basically Hexbound starts off about a week after Firespell, Lily is a member of the Adepts and everything is peachy. But then one night they go into the tunnels and find, to their horror, small creatures moving at, and this is the scary part about a metre an hour!, shocking, i know.
Now, of course, Lily and her friends are petrified as they should be, but then they remember they have, oh yeah, MAGIC.
So they deal with the creature thingies, and then find that the vamps are having a massive turf war and that some of them are going missing. Add that to finding a secret 'clinic' and the head reaper flirting with the heroine and you have yourself a Hexbound.

I will say, i liked the relationship between Scout and Lily, they have the easy going sarcasm and conversations that i share with my lucky friends. It's surprisingly real, and gives the story a lighter feel in some moments, which make it feel less hopeless.
On the subject of relationships though, Jason and Lily's was just...empty. There was no real development, not even a cliched 'oh, it's the first time i've seen you but now we're madly in love!' theme.
And then of course he had to go on at the end and say that, which made him a bit of a douchebag in my mind. Michael and Scout's was also sadly lacking some enthusiasm, leaving me with hope that Ms. Neill with at least have a go at giving it some depth.

Right...time to drag up the positives...well, it is obvious that the author knows and loves Chicago intimately, and her settings are as vivadly real in my mind as any other book's. She manages to capture the mood nicely in her descriptions, allowing the right emotions to be instigated in each chapter. Lily herself is not the worst heroine whose mind i have delved into, she's sensible, and has a youthful voice that some writers have trouble capturing. I likes how Ms. Neill kept her morales on the right path, not allowing her to be swayed by Sebastian to 'the dark side' as some other books do and keep her on the straight and narrow.

Overall, this was a quick read that will not be put on my re-read shelf. If you like fantasy books with a bit of action, mystery, romance, and stereotypical 'populars', then this is the book for you. However, don't beat yourself up trying to buy a copy, if there's one at your local library though, i'd give it go.
(less)

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Apr 17, 2011 MaryBookSwarm rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-binge

Let me just start off saying that HEXBOUND is a young adult paranormal and contains nothing steamier than teenaged lust (which can be pretty steamy at times but not in this story). But it does contain mystery, use of a wide array of powers, and some bad baddies.

Lily and her BFF (best friend forever), Scout, are part of the Dark Elite, kids who fight the evil crawling around Chicagoland. During the day, they’re your typical boarding school teens, lusting after cute boys, snarking about the local...more Let me just start off saying that HEXBOUND is a young adult paranormal and contains nothing steamier than teenaged lust (which can be pretty steamy at times but not in this story). But it does contain mystery, use of a wide array of powers, and some bad baddies.

Lily and her BFF (best friend forever), Scout, are part of the Dark Elite, kids who fight the evil crawling around Chicagoland. During the day, they’re your typical boarding school teens, lusting after cute boys, snarking about the local queen bee/mean girls, and going to classes. I really like these two characters. They have their own quirks and flaws but are still trying to do the right thing, despite the fact that, if they don’t give up their powers when they get older, they’ll turn evil and become Reapers, ex-Elite who suck the magic out of (and ultimately kill) other Dark Elites. Yes, it’s a tangled web. One that gets even more tangled when you factor in Sebastian.

Sebastian is a Reaper but it seems like he’s trying to help out Lily. In the first book, he did help her learn a bit about her powers and, in this story, he’s always skulking around, appearing to feed Lily little tidbits of information. Some of this information is useful and some is just confusing. Plus, Lily’s got feelings for Sebastian and she’s not sure what to do about it. He’s bad, right? That’s what I want to know. It’s like Neill is teasing me with the lack of information about Sebastian, enjoying my frustration. He’s an intriguing character and, like Lily, I want to know what his deal is.

I like how Neill introduces aspects from her adult vampire novels (Chicagoland Vampires—and awesome series if you haven’t read it!). There are some new baddies in town, slimy, vamp-like, slug creatures (yes, they’re as pretty as they sound) and the kids have to enlist the help of another group of Dark Elite as well as get some info from the vamps. The answer to the mystery is rather obvious, with the clues dropping like breadcrumbs in front of the kids.

There’s great potential in this series, potential that I don’t think it’s quite reached yet. Because this series is done episode-style, much like Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series, there’s a major mystery surrounding Lily’s parents, the company they work for, and Lily’s boarding school itself, including the headmistress. So, the set-up is there but it’s a bit too unclear at the moment. However, I have the feeling, as we progress, the pieces will start to fall into place.

All in all, a fun, fast read with great characters and a mysteriously dark city for them to play, love and fight in.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
(less)

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Feb 12, 2011 Paradoxical rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reading-list, books-otherwise

Ah, I figured out what was bugging me about these books. They just sound so juvenile that I wrinkle my nose and roll my eyes and feel like I have to slog through them. I am well aware that they are YA books, but YA books don't have to sound so... argh. It seemed like the dialogue was forced at times--like the author had to make the characters sound modern and try to sound cool.

I don't care if you're trying to write teenagers. I don't mind it once in a while, but it's all the time and they never...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Marsha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Young Adults and adults

Hexbound, Dark Elite 2 returns us to the world of St. Sophia's Girl's School. Lily and her fellow Adepts face new threats when they stumble upon some slime in the basement. Upon further inspection, they run right into the den of a group of naked rat like creatures who have decided they look rather tasty. Lily uses her firespell to knock them out but they also must fight in order to get away.er, We are also introduced to section 3's new leader, Daniel. His job is to bring a certain cohesiveness t...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Ellz Readz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My thoughts...Book two in the Dark Elite series brings us back with the characters from Firespell. Lily is still working on developing her magic and a relationship with a very warm-blooded boy from a neighboring school. Readers are introduced to new characters and my favorite part, new magic. Along with new magic of course comes new enemies and new dangers. Also, Hexbound does quite a bit more world building.

Cons...While I enjoyed reading Hexbound, I had several issues with it. First was the pre...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lily her best friend Scout and the rest of the Adepts have to battle a new unknown. Not just there normal creepy crawlies or reapers but a new creation that could destroy more than they know.

The paranormal reigns in this sequel to Firespell.

Lily is learning about her new powers as she tries to navigate school, her crush on the local werewolf and avoid the Brat pack. On patrol she Scout, Jason and Michael come across creaters never seen before. As the story unfolds her parents seem to be linked...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Rachael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At St. Sophia’s School for Girls, dealing with the Brat Pack is the least of Lily Parker’s worries. And that’s actually saying something, because queen bee Veronica has practically made it her mission in life to make Lily’s life miserable. But Lily’s a little too busy fighting Reapers and figuring out how to control her firespell to be bothered by such little things. Things take a turn for the more sinister when Lily and her friends are attacked by strange creatures of the likes they’ve never se...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Lynnea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, romance, vampire, were-shifter, witch-mystic

Scout and Lily find a weird slime in a tunnel while on patrol and are sent out with Michael (Scout's crush) and Jason (Lily's crush), two boys in the same Coven as them. While trying to figure out the slime they are attacked by large naked rat/human like beings. Scout is the only one that can save them and she ends up the hero in a big way. Their coven works together with a sister coven to try and solve two mysteries now, the slime and the gross mutant creatures in the tunnels.

Along the way we...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Em-em rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lily Parker continues her adventure at St. Sophia's boarding school that not only houses academically inclined students, teenage dramas, and friends but also is a home to teenagers with powers. Lily learned that she is one of these teenagers that possess magical powers. She continues to train with this new powers along with her friend Scout while at the same time battling the Reapers and unlocking the mystery behind the real work of her parents. This time around, new dangers lurk in Chicago and...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, paranormal-fantasy

This is book 2 following the YA Firespell: The Dark Elite where Lily Parker is settling in nicely if you can call it that at St Sophias School for Girls, she's recently found out that she has the power of firespell which she needs to learn to control, she's full of angst & insecurities involving her parents & after a bit of snooping comes across some info that turns her world upside down.
Her feelings for her werewolf boyfriend are growing & it seems she is being stalked by Reaper Se...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Monica&spikey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: witches

This book only gets two stars, cuz, honestly, that's all it was. Okay.
Don't get me wrong. I love me some werewolf, and there is jason.
but, I don't know, I guess I was kind of worked up for this series to be way more interesting and in-sucking than it turned out to be.
I mean, there was some mystery here. there was magic. there were werewolves. by all rights, i should've loved it.
But, I don't know, I was wasn't as enthralled with the characters as i should've been.
If, by the second book in the...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Haley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the sequel to Firespell. Lily’s still getting used to being an Adept with the power of Firespell as well as a new student at St. Sophia’s Boarding School for girls in downtown Chicago. Her roommate, Scout, is a Spellbinder, and can create spells and make them work. Lily’s boyfriend. Her life has changed so much since she moved to Chicago. So when things get weirder, and strange rat-like creatures show up and attack in the tunnel the Adept of Enclave 3 patrol as well as Reapers and Vampir...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Will rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fiction, romance, paranormal, ya

Much better than the first book. Really, the two should probably have been one book. This one fleshed out some things that seemed left out of the first book.
Still, some things really irked me. The first chunk of the book was straight up recap. It wasn't built well into the story at all. I skipped pages at a time without feeling like I missed anything at all. Recap is fine and good (and needed in a series), but I don't want to read the cliffs notes to the entire first book. Just give us some bri...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Jenna Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was a fun read. Not exactly one series that makes you an addict and a fan of it, but it's fun enough to make you want to finish it, and enjoy your reading. IN the sequel of Firespell, Lily continues her adventure as an Adept and student of St. Sophia in Chicago, with her new BFF Scout. In this book, it was just like the previous one. There's an equal amount of mystery, solving, being "detective", cool whatever gifts, gadgets and stuff, and action too. However, I think I know what made it none...more

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About Chloe Neill

Chloe Neill was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest—just close enough to Cadogan House and St. Sophia's to keep an eye on things. When not transcribing Merit’s and Lily’s adventures, she bakes, works, and scours the Internet for good recipes and great graphic design. Chloe also maintains her sanity by spending time with her boys—her husband (also her favorite landsc...more

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Books by Chloe Neill

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Quotes from Hexbound

“Do you ever wish that sometimes the world would just stop spinning for a few hours to give you a chance to catch up?” — 19 people liked it

“So that you don't forget the world isn't black or white," he said. "It's grey and someone tells you otherwise, they're lying".” — 16 people liked it

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Hexbound: A Novel of the Dark Elite (The Dark Elite #2)

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