Tempted the best HON to date

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.

In addition, the two Casts are finally beginning to write away Zoey’s love problems.  In fact, by the end of Tempted, Zoey will move from three boyfriends to just one. Well, two, if you count the creepy, sleazy Kalona trying to seduce her in her dreams.  I think I speak for many fans of HON when I say that the love triangle in Hunted was getting extremely old and irritating.

Now, combine Zoey’s maturity with narrowing down her matches and non-stop action, and the result is a novel you won’t be able to put down.  I ready Tempted from cover to cover in about four hours and enjoyed every second. I would love to know the Casts’ secret to writing such flavorful characters, witty dialogue, and action-paced scenes that leave readers anxiously anticipating more adventures from Zoey and her gang.