***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

Oh Miss Mayhem. How I loved you. You are a cruel book that deserves some reprimanding for how you decided to break my heart with that ending.

It's funny though because that ending, as cruel as it is, actually sealed my love for the book. It’s surprising, and those of you who have read the book might look at me thinking if I have lost my marbles, but I love the ending. And maybe I have (lost my marbles), but I think the ending shows such a HUGE change in Harper as a character and at that moment, I learned to love her like I had never before in this series. I learned to truly appreciate everything she has been through and I finally understood all the things she has really been giving up.

Harper is a great character. She may be snarky like Sophie from the Hex Hall series but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Harper is a confident female lead. She is self-assured her biggest character flaw is that she tries too hard to be perfect. She has got TOOO many things on her plate yet she somehow manages to balance them and still retain her sanity.

She is well dressed, super smart and involved in a lot of things but still manages to have a social life. She is surprisingly popular and not one of those stereotypical ‘I am super awkward’ female leads (although there is NOTHING wrong with that, so long as it’s done fantabulously). I know when I first started the series, I had a hard time relating to Harper. She is a character so different from who I am and sometimes I just had a hard time getting into her head but in this book, she truly shines.

Harper undergoes so much development. She is still the same awesome her but she is starting to realize she cannot control everything and everyone. And she starts to respect other people’s decisions. This is so beautifully highlighted by the ending of the book, which tore me, but also gave me a new found respect for Harper. For her to accept that she cannot keep everyone safe, and that she is not responsible for everything, really marked a turning point for her as a character and I cannot wait to see how awesome she will be in book 3.

I have spend that much time talking about Harper without even mentioning David. Ahhh David. You beautiful creature you. How I love you so. How I wish I could hunt you down and confront you about the stuff you pulled at the end of the book. David is just such a lovely love interest. He is the complete opposite of Harper in some ways, yet the perfect match for her in others because while he may not be popular, he may be a little nerdy, and he may have no fashion sense, he is also super smart and just as confident.

Harper and David work fabulously as a couple and while their relationship is sorely tested in the novel for obvious reasons (the whole oracle thing can be a real bummer sometimes), I really cannot wait to see where things will go with the two in Book 3.

We even get to see Ryan in a whole new light in this book. I've always been a little weird about Ryan, given his and Harper's past, but Hawkins just manages to make me like him. Over the course of the book, I found myself forgiving him and appreciating him more than I had previously.

I’d say stuff about the plot but I honestly don’t know what to say.It’s fast paced, stuff happens, it’s super fun to read, but at the same time, this book is more about the characters than it is about the plot and while that might not work in some cases, it works perfectly fine in this one.

We see great friendships in this book (and I mean great, Harper never undervalues her friends and that is amazing), great relationships with family members (can I get three cheers for Aunt Jewel), and great romance (although there were things that happened that made me really sad).

This is such a fun book to read and has surprisingly deep moments. It’s great brain candy and I’d recommend this series (since this is book 2) to fans of the Hex Hall series and anyone looking for a great and enjoyable book to read.