Review: Awakened

Awakened (House of Night, #8) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 
Format: Ebook
Pages: 290
Source: Purchased
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★★

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?

Awakened is, by far, the most emotionally charged book in the House of Night series. I found myself tearing up during numerous parts, both happy and sad. Until this book, I never realized just how much of a hold the characters have on me.

Like the other books, the story is read from the different point of views of select characters. The Casts do a great job with this! I never found myself getting bored of reading the different point of views. I especially enjoyed getting in Rephaim's head. So much inner turmoil! He has an entire battle of light vs dark raging inside his head. He's one of the most interesting and original characters in the series and my personal favorite. The turn in the relationship between Stevie Rae and Rephaim was the highlight of this book for me. I cannot express how happy I was with the outcome of this relationship in Awakened. The Casts did a wonderful job working the plot to make that outcome possible. I really love Rephaim... I'm just a sucker for bad guys gone good! I  hope to see more of him in the next book.

Though there was plenty of drama in this book, it was not the stupid teen drama from the previous books. It's good to see the kids have finally grown up a bit! While there were not too many advances in the plot of the series, I still found the story to be engaging and interesting. Awakened paves the way for some true action in the next book, Destined.

Awakened has rekindled my love for the House of Night series. I think it is safe to say it is my favorite of the series so far! For those wondering if this series is worth pursuing, it is! There were rough patches in the beginning, but I think those have finally been smoothed over.

Review: Burned

Burned (House of Night, #7) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Ebook
Pages: 336
Source: Purchased
Amazon | Audible | Goodreads
★★★★★

When friends stop trusting each other, Darkness is there to fan the flames….

Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampire High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned.

As with all House of Night books, I was nervous starting this one. Surprisingly, there is little I can complain about… I think I might even say that Burned is the best of the series! While the female characters still speak like valley girls,  this book features little guy related drama (my biggest pet peeve with the other books). Zoey isn’t going back and forth from guy to guy through the whole book! She actually sticks with one! Thank god.

Burned offers a great opportunity for character growth and exploration; namely Stark, Zoey, Stevie-Rae, and Rephaim. The best part about this series is that we get to read from all the main character’s point-of-views! The alternate POVs add an entirely new dimension to the story. I really enjoyed watching Rephaim and Stevie-Rae explore their imprint through their POVs.I’m developing quite the soft spot for the evil birdman <3! He is very intriguing and a more complex character than I originally thought. Each character’s perspective was interesting enough that I wasn’t skimming through one to find out what happens to the other. I think that shows some skill on the authors’ parts.

There is something that keeps me coming back to this series every time! Burned was worth suffering through the previous books! I’m hoping that Awakened continues this move in the right direction.

Review: Tempted

Title: Tempted (House of Night, #6)
Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Source: Audiobook (Purchased)
★★★★☆

Zoey needs a break after some serious excitement. Sadly, the House of Night school for vampyres doesn't feature breaks on its curriculum - even for a High Priestess in training and her gang. Plus juggling three guys is no stress reliever, especially when one is a sexy Warrior so into protecting Zoey that he's sensing her emotions. Wider stresses lurk too, and the dark force in Tulsa's tunnels is spreading. Could Stevie Rae be responsible for more than a group of misfit fledglings? And Aphrodite's visions warn Zoey to stay away from the immortal Kalona and his dark allure - but they also show that only Zoey can stop him. She's not exactly keen to meet up, but if Zoey doesn't go to Kalona he'll exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. She just has to find the courage to do what's necessary, or everything that's important to her will be destroyed.

A little background: This series and I have had quite a few issues. I started out loving it and then somewhere around the 4th book I was so tired of all the damn drama! Basically at any one point in time Zoey has at least 2 or 3 boys after her. It drives me up a wall!! So much good plot was wasted with her indecision between them all. Zoey couldn’t just make a choice, but instead pulled them all along with her. She was strong in so many ways, but definitely very weak when it came to guys. I decided to give the series one more shot via audiobook, and I am happy that I did (Even if the girl narrating sounded like a valley girl).

I must say that this book has changed the way I look at the series. Sure, there is still drama, but the story is turning quite heavy and mature now. Be prepared for people close to Zoey die in this…  I quite enjoyed how the Casts split the chapters up by characters. I felt that it added much needed depth and understanding. It’s always nice reading from another point of view. Oh, and watch out for the ending… It was shocked me pretty bad.

Unfortunately, I cannot expose more of the story without giving away HUGE spoilers. I think I will continue pursuing this series now that it seems to have gotten through it’s tough spots. Try this series out. If you push through the rough patches around the 4th and 5th book you will be rewarded by the continuation of a good, solid, and original story in the 6th book in the House of Night series, Tempted.