Hexbound by Chloe Neill

Synopsis:

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…

My thoughts:

There are strange things happening beneath the streets of Chicago, supernatural type things involving slimy creatures, vampires and reapers. I’m rather glad I don’t live there. This is the second book in the Dark Elite series and while this book is geared toward teenagers I couldn't help but enjoy it. My favorite part of this story (and series) is the unlikely friendship between Lily and Scout. By day, they are ordinary teens attending school at St. Sophia’s. Once night comes, they must use their special powers to help keep Chicago a safe place to live. Lily has only recently learned that she can do firespell which allows her to manipulate light and power. Scout is not just a spellcaster but also a spellbinder which is quite rare. Their magic is only a temporary gift, lasting from puberty to around the age of 25. Lily and her friends spend their nights searching through the underground tunnels for reapers, teenagers that refuse to give up their magic and feed on other’s souls to hang onto their power. There is always plenty of action going on in this story along with the mystery as to what Lily’s parents are really doing in Germany.

Then there is Sebastian, who I think is the most intriguing character in this series. He showed up briefly in Firespell and left me wanting to know more about him. He is tall, dark and handsome and happens to have the same magical powers as Lily. Unfortunately he is a reaper, one of the bad guys. Or is he? Can there be good reapers? All I know is that Sebastian could have killed Lily in Firespell but didn’t. Then he gave her some much needed information in this story. Whose side is he on? It’s a good thing that I happen to like books that leave me with questions for they tend to stick in my mind longer. There is no word yet on when the next book in this series will be released. This was a fun read.