Review - Awakened (House of Night #8) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Title: Awakened

Author: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Series: 8 (House of Night series)

Pages: 290

Published: January 4, 2011 by St. Martins

ISBN: 9780312650247

Source: Library

 

Description: Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey.  Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z.  But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there.  Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it?  Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim?  The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship?  Does he betray his father or his heart? In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

I Give This ...

 

I feel like I've been played.  I keep saying one more book and if I don't like it then I'm giving up.  But, at 8 books in, I'm still reading this blasted series.  It's like a gigantic circle of events.  In this book, I seriously feel like we're back at square one.

After all that she's done, how the hell is Neferet still in anybody's good graces?  She's got some gift of persuasion to be able to convince everybody to forgive and forget.  She really drives me crazy.  But, maybe I can see what seems to be so painfully obvious because I've been privy to the information from the very beginning.  Everybody else just seems incredible naive to me.  I really wish she would just come out into the open so this series can be done with.

And once again, I kind of wanted to smack some since into Zoey.   Let's just stay in this alternate reality and not deal with the pain and suffering of the real world.  It would be so much easier.  Sad that the death of a friend is what finally brings her out of hiding.  The only good thing from her character is she finally seems to be standing up for what she believes in which in turn I hope means she will finally start acting like a high priestess.  I don't care if she's still a teenager.  

Things I did enjoy...the twins seem to be largely absent from this book.  Which means no annoying banter and side conversations.  I also really do like Stevie and Rephaim's relationship.  It's so out of the ordinary.   I think the only reasons I might read the next one is that relationship, and the fact that the library has them.  I stopped buying these a long time ago!

Burned (House of Night, #7) by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Title: Burned

Series: House of Night #7

Author(s): P.C. & Kristin Cast

Published: April 2010 by St. Martins

Pages: 323

ISBN: 9780312606169

Source: Library

Description: Y’all need to get yourselves together. Here’s a newsflash from the only High Priestess you have left at this dang school: Zoey isn’t dead. And believe me, I know dead. I’ve been there, done that and got the fricken tee-shirt. Zoey Redbird is the youngest High Priestess in House of Night history and is the only person – vamp or fledgling – that can stop the evil Neferet from raising all kinds of immortal trouble. And she might just have a chance if she wasn’t so busy being dead.
Well, dead is too strong a word. Stevie Rae knows she can bring her BFF back from her unscheduled va-cay in the Otherworld. But it’s going to take a lot more than hoping to bring Zoey back. Stevie Rae will have to give up a few secrets of her own . . .  

I Give This ...

I keep reading this series because every few books the author's surprise me and come up with something I enjoy.  I shouldn't have been surprised after enjoying Tempted so much, that Burned would fail to impress me.  I've really like were Aphrodite as a character has been headed the past couple books, but she took a turn for the worst in this one.  I think she lost some of her attitude when she got around more powerful vampyres than herself.  She's reverted to really horrible trash talk (I really disliked her calling everyone retard and various other forms of the word).  And that's not the only really horrible dialogue in this book.  And that was were most of my problem lies.  There's way to much talk and not enough action (at the risk of sounding cliche).  I did enjoy the entire time Stark, Zoey, Darius, and Aphrodite were on the Isle of Women.  It gave a whole other dimension to the storyline.  I also think that they got the most respect there.  They weren't treated like children.  I also really liked Stark's role in this book.  He had to really prove himself beyond what I thought imaginable.  Stevie Rae continues to confuse me.  I'm not sure were she's headed in terms of character development.  I worry that there is still some ingrained evil in her no matter how much she tries to deny it.  I liked her relationship with the Raven Mocker.  It showed a different side of her.  

I will continue the series, but I'm starting to get a little tired of it.  7 books with more to come seems to like to much.   I want to see some sort of wrap up soon.  I would recommend this one to anyone who has been reading The House of Night series thus far!

Tempted (House of Night, #6) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Title: Tempted
Author: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Published: October 2009
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780312567484
Source: Library

Description:  So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break.  Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang.  Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions.  Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings.  Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal.  Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her.  Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? 

I Give This Book 4 Stars!

I think I have a new favorite in this series.  I had no idea this book was going to go this direction.  The authors dropped some of the horrible "teen talk" that has dominated this series.  Plus, the boy issues took a back burner in this book.  Zoey grew up in this book and it was such a breath of fresh from the drama that has encased the series so far.  I like how Kalona has many faces.  I'm not entirely sure which one is the real one.  The ending of this book was so dramatic.  I did not expect it and I actually had to re-read it to make sure I understood what had just happened!

Hunted (House of Night, #5) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Title: Hunted
Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Published: March 2009
Pages: 323
ISBN: 9780312379827
Souce: personal copy

Description: The good news: Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer.  The bad news: Ancient evil with the face of an angel has been let loose – that and various other nasties (whose faces aren’t so angelic).  Grandma Redbird is in trouble.  Heath is in trouble.  The House of Night is in trouble.  Okay, let’s face it – Zoey’s whole world is in trouble!  But when the trouble comes from a being who appears to be beauty personified, will the world believe it? Especially when only a teenager and a group of misfits are the only ones who really understand the danger he brings.  Will Zoey have the strength and wisdom to reveal the truth?  Especially when, in the House of Night, the truth is often hard to come by…

I Give This Book 3.5 Stars!

I was hoping this book would be good because the last one in the series was my favorite so far.  But, this one was slightly boring.  It seemed like most of it was spent setting up for things to come.  And I'm getting a little tired of the boy drama.  A lot of the time it just makes me roll my eyes.  I think it would work better if she had a connection with one vampire and maybe Heath as well.  I also have to say that some of the language used is just plain awful.  I'm not talking about foul language, but words used in dialogue.  Maybe I've been out of my teen years to long, but it just doesn't seem natural.  I still really like Aphrodite especially now that she's human.  The ending was interesting, but I will there was more of it.  It seems like a dramatic ending for a story that had no build up.

Untamed by P.C. Cast

I give this book 4 out of 5 Stars!

Descriptions: Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird; she's become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened.

This was my favorite book of the series so far.   But, there is one thing that greatly annoys me.  Why does Zoey have to have an instant and powerful connection with every freaking guy she meets?  I mean really.   Anyway, I was glad to see her friends come around and realize why she did what she did.  I was a little pissed at Erik at first, but he was acting like what I remember of typical teenage guys (although technically he's an adult vamp now).  I love Aphrodite.   Who knew she would grow to become one of my favorite characters.  I'm still a little leery of Stevie Rae though.  Something seems not quite right there.   Now just comes the decision if I want to wait for Hunted to come out in paperback or just go ahead and buy the hardback edition!

Chosen (House of Night #3) by P.C. Cast

 

I give this Book 3 out of 5 stars

Description: Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little blood lust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…
 

While not the best vampire series, I've enjoyed it so far.   But the 3rd in the series has definitely not been my favorite.   I can't exactly pinpoint what it is that made this book less than than the first two.   Maybe it's the "teen" talk that seems to be way over the top.  Or maybe its the strange relationship between teacher and student that doesn't seem quite plausible.  I also didn't quite like how fast Zoey's friends seemed to drop her after the discovered she had been lying.   Seems second chances aren't given in the House of Night.   I did enjoy the development of Aphrodite's character and what might actually be a friendship between Zoey and her.  I also liked the strength Zoey is showing.   Her powers would be a lot for any teenager to handle and think so far she's doing a understandable job taking it all in stride.