Hexed by Michelle Krys Review

Title: Hexed
Author: Michelle Krys (Twitter)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: June 10, 2014
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher

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.

Witch stories are pretty much one of my absolute favourite guilty pleasures; always have been and probably always will be. As many bloggers can attest, however, the volume of good witch stories that actually remain chock-full of magic, spells and drama are, for the most part, lacking within the young adult genre. There are certainly outliers that stand apart from the crowd, but they're too often few and far between. Michelle Krys, however, has crafted a story with Hexed that blew me away with its ingenuity, fantastic characters and plot that kept me reeling for days. 

Hexed took a very interesting approach to its characters from the start, which definitely intrigued me, as it's not the path most authors would choose to take. Our heroine, Indie, was the popular girl. She had the high school world at her feet, and she was definitely more of an enviable character than a relatable one. Indie felt shallow and conceited, more often than not, which is not the most appealing character trait. While she could have easily been a fluffier character with whom we could relate, Ms. Krys instead made her trickier, simply because we couldn't see any sort of depth within her persona. Slowly but surely, however, we watch has she undergoes a gradual transformation that makes Indie a sympathetic character with whom we can relate. I'll admit that I thought she was the wrong choice for the heroine at first, but I can appreciate the risk taken making her our focus, and I certainly appreciate the character development throughout.

Part of what made Hexed such a treat to read was the voice which Ms. Krys used throughout the novel. Rather than err on the side of flowery prose that might have left a disconnect between the plot and the prose, she used a witty, sarcastic, biting teenage voice that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so very tangible and real that the story and the journey of our characters became that much more of a visceral journey for me. Even better though - it never felt cloying, which is often the fate of such prose. Rather, it felt real and I loved the snark and humour sprinkled throughout a pretty dramatic tale.

I'm also more than thrilled to say that Hexed lives up to its name and gives readers a full-throttle paranormal tale that's rife with drama, spells, curses, witches, flying and more. The entire story just breathes an exciting witchy vibe that weaves beautifully throughout the plot. By introducing Bishop, we get a touch of romance in the story, but I'm thrilled to say that there is no insta-love in this story. Indigo is undergoing a transformation, and it takes her a good amount of time to see just how amazing we all already know Bishop is - and for the record, he's awesome, and you must meet him. 

Though Hexed offers readers the dreaded cliffhanger, I must say that it's done at a pivotal and powerful point, so I understand why it was there. I also loved that Ms. Krys tied up most of the loose ends, as well, if only to keep us entirely invested with the happenings of the novel so that we can jump right into the next one. I'm thrilled to say that I loved this book, and I think it's the perfect witchy tale for readers like me. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy paranormal and witch stories.

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