REVIEW: Awakened by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Awakened

(House of Night #8)

4 HEARTS

From Goodreads

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.

“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.

“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.

“She does.”

“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.

“Where are you going? What will happen next?”

“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

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?

*This review is written with the assumption that you read the previous books in the series.

Awakened is the 8th book in P.C & Kristin Cast's House of Night series. This young adult, paranormal series follows Zoe Redbird and her group of friends as they make their way through their vampire high school. In the world that the Cast duo have created vampires are known and recognized by the rest of the world. They have their own goddess, Nix, that they worship and some have special powers.

I've read this series since the beginning and I must say that this is one of the best installments yet. In Tempted, Zoe's life and soul were shattered by the death of her human consort, Heath. In Burned, her warrior Stark brought her to the Isle of Skye to the ancient vampire queen Sgiach to try to heal her. This is where Awakened starts. Zoe is back to herself and Stark is on the mend from the wounds that he received from his fight for Zoe's life. They are still on Skye and Zoe is reluctant to leave. She knows that if she does her peace will vanish and she will once again be thrust into the fight that her once cherished mentor, Neferet, has started.

OK, so now that I've given you the low down I can finally say that I LOVED THIS BOOK! Like I said earlier, it's one of the best, if not the best of the series so far. While I was reading it my "hell, yeah's" and "you go girl's" could be heard throughout my house.

First off, can I just say how evil and dark Neferet is? Neferet is a prime example of the perfect villain. Even compared to adult standards she is one powerful bad guy. She's sneaky and deceptive and I love how Zoe fights her every step of the way.

The different characters in this series are well developed and written wonderfully. Each one has their own distinct voice that separates them from the others. For instance, Erik is a complete asshat most of the time an I want to punch him LOL! Aphrodite is miss queen bitch but she's always there for her friends. And Stark? I was so proud of him in this book. He's totally gotten a handle on his jealousy. I was also really proud of Stevie Rae. I can't say why because of spoilers but she stood up for herself and her desires.

Another thing that I really liked about this was the way that the Cast duo dealt with the sex. I'm sorta old fashioned and believe that teens should strive to have sex because of love and not just physical desire. You know, before they become jaded adult LOL. In a previous book when Zoe had sex it was a complete mess. This time, though there wasn't much detail (it is YA after all), it was so much better. She and Stark have a true bond. It was cool that Zoe recognized that with Stark it's right and that her previous encounter wasn't for the right reasons.

Awakened let's you feel what true love, friendship and devotion are supposed to feel like and I can't wait to read more of this series.

A favorite Stevie Rae part

"I used to think you were the coolest guy I'd ever met," she said sadly.

Erik's blue eyes glinted with humor and he beamed his one-hundred-watt smile at her. "And now you know I am?"

"Nope. Now I know you're a week, selfish boy who's gotten almost everything he ever wanted just 'cause of his looks. And that's not cool at all."

Hotness Rating

2 out of 5