Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale Review

Monday, February 21, 2011

Title: Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale
Author: Ramona Wray
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: February 1, 2011
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Pages: 254
Source: Author

Like most girls at Rosemound High School, seventeen-year-old Lily Crane is acutely aware of Ryder Kingscott. Hands down the cutest guy in school, Ryder is cool, mysterious, and utterly untouchable…especially for Lily. 

For when she touches someone, Lily instantly learns all about their lives. And while such a skill might seem nifty, in truth it is wrecking Lily’s life. So she is shocked when Ryder asks her out — and even more shocked to discover he has a rival. 

Lucian Bell is the gorgeous new kid who can’t take his eyes off of Lily. Being pursued by two hotties should make a girl happy, but Lily is skeptical. The boys act as if they’ve met before, hating each other with a passion that could only be rooted in a dark, dangerous past. A past full of terrible secrets. The kind of secrets that could get a girl killed.
Lily is pretty much your everyday teenage girl, unless you take into account her incredible psychic abilities. With a single touch, Lily can learn everything about a person, including their entire past and present. This, unfortunately, leaves Lily crippled in the realm of a social life, so she pines over the handsome Ryder from a distance. When he asks her out one day though, Lily is floored, and even more so when she’s asked out by a second, equally good-looking guy, Lucian. But when Lily discovers the truth about her own past, she’s forced to confront the truth about these two cute boys, a dangerous hex, and a past life that continues to haunt her to this day.

I was expecting Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale to be cutesy, if I’m being honest. I think I was expecting fluff and fun, based purely on the cover (I’m not really a cartoon cover person), but I was certainly not expecting the depth of the story to be so rich. Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale is the third English book by author, Ramona Wray, a Romanian-born writer now living in Plymouth. Blending the fantastic stories from her youth with a fresh take on fantasy and paranormal in the YA genre, Ramona has created an adventure-filled whirlwind sure to keep you riveted to the very end.

While I’m not into the whole love-triangle shebang, Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale truly is a refreshing take on the age-old premise. Lily is an empowering protagonist despite her crippling gift, and both Lucian and Ryder had strong motives and great character-building. I loved how Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale carefully wove the past and present into an intricately woven web that was designed to determine all three characters’ futures. And yet, in the midst of a story of destiny, fate and curses, Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale shows Lily, Ryder and Lucian making choices to determine their own fate. Furthermore, the self-discovery within the story, was rich and powerful, fueling the strong premise.

Overall, I was really, really surprised by just how good and interesting Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale was. I definitely had a few questions lingering after it was done, but when done right, that leaves me with a lasting impression of a book. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I’d recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy fantasy and paranormal stories, as well as a bit of romance.

I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

31 comments:

  1. Great review! I just heard of this book and I'm very interesting in reading it. I also entered your giveaway!!

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  2. Oooh! I thought this would be waaay too fluffy for me. O.O But reading your review its just the cover. :D haha. Great review Melissa! I will be adding this to my TBR pile.

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  3. This sounds like a me kind of book. I love empowering protagonist! Another great review and another book to add to my never ending wishlist :)

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  4. Very cool review! I was curious about this book when I saw it on your currently reading shelf. I thought maybe it would be cutesy too!

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  5. I totally would have expected this book to be cutesy too just based off the cover. I'm glad it's not though and will definitely be adding it to my wishlist.

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  6. I also would have thought it to be cutesy or even a middle grade book just from the cover. It is a bit misleading. This is the first review I've seen for this book and after reading it, I'm happy I added to my TBR.

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  7. I thought this would be a fluffy, cute story too. Great to hear that it got some depth! Great review.

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  8. Your review pretty much sums up how I feel about it. I think the best part was the take on the love triangle and how Lily wasn't one of those wishy-washy girls that led both of the guys on. I loved her even more for that.

    Great review, Melissa. As always! :)

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  9. Ooh, now I'm really curious about this book! I'm glad the love-triangle isn't exhausting. Great review!

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  10. Great review and I am so glad you enjoyed this. I have this waiting on my must read now pile and will be getting to it this week. Now I really cannot wait.

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  11. Hex, A Witch and Angel Tale sounds really cute and fun! It's not like what I usually read but I would like to try it.

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  12. Oooh...this sounds very good. Definitely would not have expected a rich book with that cover. Do you think the cover helps or hurts the book? It's a cute cover, but it seems deceptive to potential readers. People will be turned off by a serious book when they expected a cute one, and those who prefer a more serious book won't even pick it up.

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  13. Oh this one sounds fabulous! I would have definitely thought it would be more cutesy based on that cover, but glad it's way more complex than it looks from the outside. And I don't mind the love triangles when they're well done, so I will be looking forward to reading about Lucian and Ryder! Fantastic review Melissa, I was curious about this one when I saw it under "currently reading":)

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  14. Love the cover! It's so pretty!
    Thanks for the review, Melissa! I normally would have overlooked Hex for the reasons you mentioned (looks like fluff), but now I might give it a go!

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  15. I think the cover is adorable and thought the same thing...it must be a cutsy book....Im not sure if Ill read this one but I loved your review...:)

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  16. Wow! I'm with you not expecting depth based on the cutesy cover. Glad to be surprised. Looking forward to giving this one a go.

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  17. I definitely would've judged this book by the cover, but it sounds like a book I'd like! It's always nice to read about a strong female lead. Great review!

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  18. Awesome review Melissa! I like the sound of it and such a cute cover :) Looking at it anybody would think fluff and cute . Glad to know that the book was good !

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  19. Oh! It sounds lovely!! I need to check it out now!! :D Thanks for the review! I hadn't heard about this book before but it sounds just like my kind of thing!

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  20. Being pleasantly surprised by a book is such a treat!

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  21. This book sounds really good! The summary really got me interested in reading this one, and your review convinced me to put it on my wishlist! :)

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  22. That cover is just too adorable :D Would read the book cos of that ;) and your great review

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  23. I love when a story surpasses it's cover. Great review.

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  24. This book sounds super cute, thanks for the great review Melissa!

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  25. Nice! Sounds like something I want to read. I too, was thinking cutesy because of the cover. Great review!

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  26. I'm not really one for cartoon covers either, so I would have expected this to be a cutesy story as well. I'm happy to see that it is so much more than that. Love triangles are so common in YA now that I think it's so easy for them to become tedious, but it's good to see you were still able to enjoy this one.

    Great review, Melissa.

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  27. I love it when books pleasantly surprise you! I would have totally thought it would be a cutsy book too based on the cover, but I'm glad it was much more than that for you!

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  28. The cover is so gosh darn cute! And the story? Well it sounds pretty gosh darn great too! Thanks for the great review Melissa- I am most likely going to steal this book and throw in on my wishlist one of these upcoming weeks... ;)

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  29. Interesting. I would've thought the same thing as you based on the cover: that this read would be fluff. Nice to know that it has depth beyond the cover!

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  30. I had also pegged this book as a fluffy read. I like fluffy reads, so I was still planning on reading it, but I'm glad you set the record straight. I don't like going into books with the wrong impression. Thank you!

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