Tag: P.C. Cast

Untamed

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Untamed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 4
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-37983-4
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

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, of the two Zoey has left, one is undead and one is 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 in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s spellbinding fourth House of Night Novel.

Personal & Info

This series is definitely a result of the times. P.C. Cast consulted her daughter to help her write the speech to make it more like how teens at the time actually spoke. The series started releasing in 2007. Speech was cringe and insensitive, and political correctness was not as prevalent. If you look at the series with a modern eye, it’s easy to find it offensive. Keep in mind exactly what it is that you are reading. Some things don’t age well.

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive language

-Sexual themes

-Bullying

Characters

Zoey is the main character. Her Cherokee heritage through her grandmother is integral to her powers and identity. At this point in the story, she is leader of the Dark Daughters, and a High Priestess in training. Zoey has a special relationship with the goddess Nyx to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night.

Stevie Rae is Zoey’s best friend from Henrietta, Oklahoma. She’s a true country girl with a love of country music, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Zoey considers her a “true Okie” because she speaks with a southern “twang.” Stevie Rae has an affinity for the element Earth.

Erin is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are so similar in personality that they call each other twin. Erin has an affinity for the element water.

Shaunee is Erin’s roommate and best friend from Connecticut. She considers herself Erin’s spiritual twin. Shaunee has an affinity for the element fire.

Damien is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and is out as gay. Damien has an affinity for the element wind.

Jack is Damien’s boyfriend. He transfers into the school in Betrayed and takes up the job of DJ for the Dark Daughters rituals.

Stark is a new transfer from the Chicago House of Night. He has a special gift involving his archery skill. Instead of a cat, he has a dog by the name of Duchess, or Duch, for short.

Faculty

Shekinah is the High priestess of all vampyres. She lives in Venice and her markings are the same as the emblem the school faculty wear.

Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night. She has beautiful red hair and green eyes, an affinity for cats, and a gift for healing. Neferet is also Zoey’s mentor, and she teaches Vampyre sociology class.

Erik is Zoey’s now changed ex-boyfriend. He’s about six feet tall and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminiscent of Superman with the hair curl.

Lenobia is the equestrian instructor.

Dragon is the fencing instructor.

Sons of Erebus

Ate is the leader of the Sons of Erebus present on the House of Night campus.

Darius is one of the Sons of Erebus who guards the girls’ dorm. He also accompanies Aphrodite and Zoey whenever they leave campus.

Humans

Aphrodite is pretty, blonde, and gifted with disastrous visions of the future. She is the villain in Marked, but plays a much less evil part now as she is seeking redemption from Nyx.

Sylvia Redbird is Zoey’s grandmother. She is the one person in the whole world whom Zoey loves more than anything. They don’t see each other often, but whenever they talk, it’s usually immense emotional support for Zoey.

Heath is Zoey’s ex-almost boyfriend from her life before the Change. He’s the star quarterback of the football team.

Sister Mary Angela is the prioress of a Benedictine abbey and the manager of the Street Cats charity.

Story & Thoughts

This might be the best volume out of the first four. It has a lot going for it, but there are enough negatives involved that I don’t want to give it a five. I’ll go over the negative things first.

There seems to be a wider variety of instances using insensitive language. Normally I only see a few things per volume, but this one has several scattered all over. The usage in this one definitely seems more blatant than the others. I remember hearing speech and jokes like that around the time this book was published, but it definitely does not sound good in a modern lens. It was jarring how much of it I noticed specifically in this volume, like it’s worse in this one than the previous three.

Neferet is disappointing. It’s like she’s lost her capacity to be clever. I suppose she’s probably just so close to her plan coming together that she’s just kind of lost her marbles. Her accusations to try getting Zoey into trouble make no sense and there is no way anyone could possibly believe them. They are just way too far-fetched. Those are my main complaints.

However, the story itself is really good. I was so mad at Chosen for how quickly Zoey’s friends turned on her, because everything could have been resolved if they had just let her explain. They finally have that conversation in this book, and it’s such a relief.

Aphrodite continues to impress me. She’s experiencing constant character growth. Despite the events in Marked, she is capable of taking charge in a chaotic situation. It’s nice to see her good qualities.

Everything comes together. The constant mention of how recently the Tulsa House of Night was built and that it used to be a monastery all make sense. The series was dropping bread crumbs leading up to the events of this volume.

This is the first book in the series where things do not get a resolution by the end. Instead, it sets up a much bigger problem. I wanted to read the next one right away, but I don’t have it, yet, so it’ll have to wait.

Chosen

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Chosen by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 3
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36030-6
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Bloodlust and Dark forces are at work at the House of Night, and fledging 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 BOOKreviews), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undeda 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 a the very rare position of having three boyfriends, a situation with potential to spell social disaster. Then vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. But as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem….

Personal & Info

This series is definitely a result of the times. P.C. Cast consulted her daughter to help her write the speech to make it more like how teens at the time actually spoke. The series started releasing in 2007. Speech was cringe and insensitive, and political correctness was not as prevalent. If you look at the series with a modern eye, it’s easy to find it offensive. Keep in mind exactly what it is that you are reading. Some things don’t age well. I don’t deny the series has a lot of problems.

Content Warnings

-Death

-Insensitive Language

-Sexual Themes

-Inappropriate Conduct for a Teacher

-Bullying

Characters

Zoey is the main character. She’s sixteen, and her Cherokee heritage through her grandmother is integral to her powers and identity. At this point in the story, she is leader of the Dark Daughters, and a High Priestess in training. Zoey has a special relationship with the goddess Nyx to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night.

Stevie Rae is Zoey’s (dead) best friend from Henrietta, Oklahoma. She’s a true country girl with a love of country music, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Zoey considers her a “true Okie” because she speaks with a southern “twang.” Stevie Rae has an affinity for the element Earth.

Erin is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are so similar in personality that they call each other twin. Erin has an affinity for the element water.

Shaunee is Erin’s roommate and best friend from Connecticut. She considers herself Erin’s spiritual twin. Shaunee has an affinity for the element fire.

Damien is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and is out as gay. Damien has an affinity for the element wind.

Jack is Damien’s boyfriend and Erik’s roommate. He transfers into the school in Betrayed and takes up the job of DJ for the Dark Daughters rituals.

Aphrodite is pretty, blonde, and gifted with disastrous visions of the future. She is the villain in Marked, but plays a much less evil part now as she is seeking redemption from Nyx.

Erik is Zoey’s new boyfriend. He’s about six feet tall and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminiscent of Superman with the hair curl. He’s also apparently the hottest guy at school. Absolutely everyone fawns over him.

Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night. She has beautiful red hair and green eyes, an affinity for cats, and a gift for healing. Neferet is also Zoey’s mentor, and she teaches Vampyre sociology class.

Loren Blake is a vampyre Poet Laureate. He’s in his early twenties, and he teaches the school poetry class.

Heath is Zoey’s ex-almost boyfriend from her life before the Change. He’s the star quarterback of the football team, and Zoey is having a hard time cutting him out of her life.

Sylvia Redbird is Zoey’s grandmother. She is the one person in the whole world whom Zoey loves more than anything. They don’t see each other often, but whenever they talk, it’s usually immense emotional support for Zoey.

Other people and cats appear in the story, but the people here are the most important.

Story & Thoughts

There is so much drama in this volume. Zoey has made good choices for the majority of the first two volumes, except for decisions that relate to her love life. Due to her bad judgement and inability to cut ties, she has three boyfriends, and two of them are not even supposed to be options for her. Dating seems to be her weakest area. She knows what she should and should not do, but whenever she tries to do the right thing, she lets the guys pull her around.

Regardless of who she does or does not choose, because I won’t say, I really think she should be with Erik. He is good for her, and what she feels for the other two is clearly various forms of lust. The whole time, I get the impression that he is who she truly wants.

Zoey makes some huge mistakes and her friends turn on her bafflingly easy. It’s incredibly frustrating to read their quarrels when Zoey doesn’t even get a chance to explain anything coherently. Her side of things matters. They don’t even give her the benefit of the doubt that she might have had good reason to keep some big information to herself.

It’s hard to feel like she can even trust the twins when they can be bribed spill her secrets. Granted, Zoey should have told them as much as she could as things were happening, while keeping the important bits secret. She’s proven she can do that, but chose to say nothing instead of at least something. The whole thing is a huge mess.

The way things play out, I suspect everything is a set up so Neferet will have excuses to do what she wants. The People of Faith are suspect, but the details don’t add up. If I’m right, I can’t expect Zoey to piece it together in her distraught state of mind.

I’m definitely hooked on this series. Things are a hot mess right now, but I can’t wait to see what happens next. Aphrodite is becoming one of my favorite characters and I don’t know why. She’s been hugely growing on me since volume two. I really hope the events of this book are not the end for her. That would be really sad. She has a lot of potential as a character and it feels like the story has barely scratched the surface of that.

Betrayed

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Betrayed by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 2
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36028-3
Rating: 4.5/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night finishing school. She finally feels like she belongs, even gets chosen as the Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, she actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

Personal & Info

I reread Marked before starting this one since it’s been almost a year since I read it.

The shop links go to copies of the singular volume, but there are also box sets for the series. So, if you prefer to purchase your books in sets, you can easily find those on the same sites.

This series is definitely a result of the times. P.C. Cast consulted her daughter to help her write the speech to make it more like how teens at the time actually spoke. The series started releasing in 2007. Speech was cringe and insensitive, and political correctness was not as prevalent. If you look at the series with a modern eye, it’s easy to find it offensive. Keep in mind exactly what it is that you are reading. Some things don’t age well. I don’t deny the series has a lot of problems.

Content Warnings

-Teen deaths

-Insensitive language

-Sexual Themes

-Bullying

Characters

Zoey is the main character. She’s sixteen, and her Cherokee heritage through her grandmother is integral to her powers and identity. At this point in the story, she is leader of the Dark Daughters, and a High Priestess in training. Zoey has a special relationship with the goddess Nyx to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night.

Stevie Rae is Zoey’s roommate and best friend from Henrietta, Oklahoma. She’s a true country girl with a love of country music, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Zoey considers her a “true Okie” because she speaks with a southern “twang.”

Erin is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are so similar in personality that they call each other twin.

Shaunee is Erin’s roommate and best friend from Connecticut. She considers herself Erin’s non-biological twin.

Damien is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and is out as gay.

Aphrodite is pretty, blonde, and gifted with disastrous visions of the future. She was the villain in the first book, but plays a much smaller, less evil, part in this one.

Erik is Zoey’s new unofficial boyfriend. He’s about six feet tall and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminding her of Superman with the hair curl. He’s also apparently the hottest guy at school. Absolutely everyone fawns over him.

Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night. She has beautiful red hair and green eyes, an affinity for cats, and a gift for healing. Neferet is also Zoey’s mentor, and she teaches Vampyre sociology class.

Loren Blake is a vampyre Poet Laureate. He’s in his early twenties, and he teaches the school poetry class.

Heath is Zoey’s ex-almost boyfriend from her life before the Change. He’s the star quarterback of the football team, and Zoey is having a hard time cutting him out of her life.

Detective Marx is a police detective investigating the disappearances of teenagers. I have a feeling he’ll be popping up again later in other volumes.

Sylvia Redbird is Zoey’s grandmother. She is the one person in the whole world whom Zoey loves more than anything. They don’t see each other often, but whenever they talk, it’s usually immense emotional support for Zoey.

Other people and cats appear in the story, but the people here are the most important.

Story & Thoughts

Betrayed has a lot of recap. I reread the first book, but it might not have even been necessary. All important or relevant events from the first volume get rehashed to remind the reader what happened. The reminders are all over the story, so for people reading the books consecutively, it’s probably annoying. For people who have a long gap between books, it’s probably helpful.

I already had some inklings about where the story was going to go, so a lot of things didn’t really surprise me. However, I still enjoyed the journey. The storytelling for this series is wonderful, and the characters are easy to relate and get attached to.

My biggest take away from this book is it made me cry. Something tragic happens. I saw it coming a mile away, but that didn’t make it any less sad.

The romance is getting really tangled. There are three love interests and it’s only the second volume. Zoey is breaking a ton of rules, whether accidental or on purpose. I have high hopes for a redemption arc for Aphrodite. In the mean time, based on how it ended, things are going to be very interesting.

Marked

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Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Series Name: House of Night
Volume Number: 1
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Urban, Vampires
Intended Age Group: YA
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-312-36026-9
Rating: 4/5
Amazon Barnes&Noble ThriftBooks

Description from the Book

ENTER THE DARK, MAGICAL WORLD OF THE HOUSE OF NIGHT, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change – and not all those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny – with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

Personal & Info

I’m going into this without reading any descriptions. I’ve heard so many people praise the series. When I found a few volumes cheaply at my local store, I made sure to grab them. All I know going into it is that it has something to do with vampires.

The shop links go to copies of the singular volume, but there are also box sets for the series. So, if you prefer to purchase your books in sets, you can easily find those on the same sites.

Content Warnings

-Teen deaths

-Insensitive language (This book is from 2007 so characters throw around words like “retarded” due to that being the type of language used at the time the book was written.)

-Sexual themes (The story mentions things like blowjobs and erotic dancing.)

-Bullying (The gay character experiences bullying, and the mean girl character bullies everybody.)

Characters

Zoey Redbird, original last name Montgomery, is the sixteen year old main character. Her heritage is Cherokee on her mother’s side through her grandmother, Sylvia Redbird. She has an older sister and a younger brother, and she doesn’t like either of them.

Stevie Rae Johnson is Zoey’s roommate from Henrietta, Oklahoma. She’s a true country girl with a love of country music, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Zoey considers her a “true Okie” because she speaks with a southern “twang.”

Erin Bates is a pretty blonde girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her best friend is her roommate Shaunee, because they are extremely similar in personality and share a shoe size.

Shaunee Cole is Erin’s roommate from Connecticut. They are so similar in personality and interests that they call each other “Twin.”

Damien Maslin is the guy friend in the group. He’s from Dallas, Texas, has a sophisticated vocabulary, and faces bullying due to being gay.

Aphrodite is the mean girl of the story. She’s the “it girl.” She’s blonde, pretty, gifted, and prone to inappropriate behavior. Her three friend followers are Pemphredo, Enyo, and Deino. The main friend group refers to these four people as the “hags from hell.”

Erik Night is Zoey’s new crush. He’s about six feet tall, and good at acting. Zoey describes his appearance as reminding her of Superman with the hair curl. He’s also apparently the hottest guy at school. Absolutely everyone fawns over him.

Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night. She has beautiful red hair and green eyes, an affinity for cats, and a gift for healing. Neferet is also Zoey’s mentor, and she teaches Vampyre sociology class.

There are many more characters with names: Zoey’s friends and family from before, various teachers and other students, cats, etc.

Story & Thoughts

The story takes place in Oklahoma. Zoey attends school at Broken Arrow South Intermediate High School, but quickly ends up having to transfer to the House of Night finishing school in Tulsa. The book starts off with her getting marked as a fledgling vampyre, and vampyre fledglings can’t survive on their own.

Based on what I gather from her friends and family in the beginning, becoming a fledgling is the best thing that could have possibly happened to Zoey. Her family no longer feels like a family, so she’s unhappy at home, and her friends don’t seem like they are actually friends. Her best friend Kayla isn’t a very good friend, because she keeps important secrets from her. I’m not sure how much Zoey really likes her either, considering she calls Kayla’s speech “K-babble.” On top of that, Zoey’s almost boyfriend is the star athlete of the school, but he’s taken up drinking alcohol as if it were also a sport.

The friends Zoey makes at the House of Night seem way better than the people she previously surrounded herself with. Erin, Damien, Shaunee, and Stevie Rae already have a wonderful friendship. When Zoey gets to her new school and meets her roommate’s friend group, she experiences a warm welcome, and finds great friends in them. There’s a level of trust she has with this group that there’s no possible way she could have had with her previous friends.

I like this book. It’s really easy to get into and hooked me in the first few pages. The characters are well done. The way they speak and act feels more solidly real than a lot of other books. I was similar in age to the characters around the time this book was published, and I can tell effort was made to make it seem authentic. Granted, I did not speak the same way these teens do, but I am well aware that the “cool kids” did indeed speak in a similar manner to what is portrayed in this book. It’s a little annoying at first, because it means not everything is as grammatically correct as most books. But, once it gets going it feels natural.

Vampyre lore in this particular world is a little different than the usual. First and most obvious, their faces are marked with a crescent moon. Most adults have elaborate forehead decorations adorning the crescent. It’s easy to identify a vampyre on sight.

They don’t burn up in the sun. Sunlight is unpleasant to them, but it doesn’t kill them. They don’t have fangs. The change from human to vampyre is triggered by a special combination of genetics and hormones. And, the weirdest to me, they’re allied with cats. Most lore usually says cats hate the undead, but I guess these vampyres are not really undead, or at least it doesn’t seem like they are.

I also find it interesting most of the names and culture for vampyres involves Greek mythology. Many kids choose to have Greek names. Their Goddess is Nyx, and their sociology class talks about many of the roles vampyres play throughout history. The one that jumps at me the most is that the Amazons were all apparently vampyres. That one bothers me, because it mentions the disproven fact about them removing a breast.

This is a series I definitely intend to read more of. There are plenty of plot hooks to keep the draw. Something mysterious is going on at the school. Zoey’s uniqueness as a Cherokee fledgling is ongoing, and the book ends with a drop of more intrigue.

My only real problem with the story is so minor, it doesn’t even matter. I don’t keep up with celebrities, so I pretty much have no idea who any of the famous people are that the characters mention. A celebrity comparison is used to describe how Aphrodite looks, and I had to look up a picture to see who they were talking about. Aside from that, my only gripe is that the book wastes paper by always making chapters start on the right page. If a chapter ends on the right page, the back side of the paper is blank to make sure the chapter starts on the side they want.