P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast have done it again, and Tempted is even better than than Hunted, the last House of Night novel. In Tempted, Zoey Redbird must become the decision-making High Priestess she is destined to become. However, with too many boys bickering for her attention, a manipulative Kalona haunting her dreams, and a secretive Stevie-Ray keeping important information from her, Zoey’s mission to defeat Neferet and Kalona becomes inceasingly difficult.

So…what makes this House of Night novel better than the rest? Zoey’s character. In Tempted, Zoey seems “all grown-up.” After defeating raven-mockers and driving away Kalona and Neferet in Hunted, the days of fighting against Aphrodite in Marked are long gone. Now, Zoey is almost fully marked by Nyx, and all of her friends and followers accept her as the goddess’ chosen High Priestess. With that position comes a lot of stress and a lot of responsibility. Zoey has grown from a boy-crazy teen to a mature young woman weighted with a destiny she never dreamed for herself. …» more

After purchasing Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast yesterday at around 4 p.m., I am already finished and left to wonder what will become of Zoey Redbird, her friends, and her trail of admirers. While I am left in suspense until the next novel in the series, I have mixed feelings on this most recent installment in A House of Night.  It may not make much sense, but I love Zoey’s character, defined as much by her indecisiveness and poor choices as by her innate goodness and obvious favor from her goddess. However, those poor choices and her blatant inability to decide what she wants is what left me halfway wishing a raven mocker would take her out once and for all toward the beginning of the novel.  I love the action in this novel, and I think the villains …» more

The fourth book in P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast’s House of Night series, Untamed, was definitely my favorite, by far. Zoey has sworn off boys (as she should have after her confusing boy blunder during Chosen) and is focusing on revealing the truth about Neferet and stopping the evil that she has summoned to take over. With the help of former hateful hag, Aphrodite, Zoey’s friends (AKA the nerd herd) are supporting her and trusting her again, which is what she will need to reveal the truth in the end. The next book in the series is set to debut in March.

Chosen, the third installment in the House of Night Series, really shocked me. At first, though the plot was certainly entertaining, I didn’t care a whole lot for the series. However, they have certainly grown on me. Yes, there are still things (mostly the incessant cursing) about the book I would love to change, but this novel, more than the other two, dealt with real teen issues that arise from vulnerability and naivety. In Chosen, evil hag Neferet begins to unfold her dark plot, Zoey is confused and juggling three guys without a clue who to pick, she strangely becomes friends with an enemy and an enemy with a friend, and her closest friends abandon her in a time of desperate need. This book (which I once again pathetically read in one sitting) left me hanging at the end with the promise of more sinister plots.

The second book in P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast’s House of Night series, Betrayed, didn’t disappoint. I was a bit grossed out by the whole imprinting with the almost ex-boyfriend thing, but other than that, it was a fun, quick read. As with Marked, I read Betrayed in a single sitting (I really need to get a life), and I am glad to know that with all the stress in my life, I am still observant enough to pick up on foreshadowing because my assumptions turned out to be right. This book–if you have ever been around high school students (five days a week)–will certainly make you laugh with its clever dialogue and humorous teen dilemmas; but it also has the power to nearly reduce you to tears when Zoey Redbird deals with substantial tragedy. This series is not my absolute favorite but is still a good read. As my students know, I am not a huge fan of the f bomb, so its overuse and some other derrogatory terms are included in the dialouge that I could live without, but it is a novel about teenagers–and teenagers are notorious for such outbursts. Despite my complaints, the authors have achieved their goal: to keep me turning the pages.  And I will. I just bought Chosen and Untamed, so their reviews will be next.