I read this book in an hour and a half, it’s such an easy read and gives a shocking background to one of my favourite characters. This Novella links Destined to Hunted (book 10 which has still to be released) and examines Lenobia’s shocking past. She is the bastard child of a rich Baron back in France in 1788. After the death of the Baron’s daughter, Lenobia takes her place in a voyage to America where she is to be married. During the journey, Lenobia discovers her love of horses, and for the stable boy, while trying to avoid the Priest who has his own plans for her future husband.

Natasha’s Rating:  1/2

We are introduced to a few new characters in Destined. Firstly there’s Shaylin, the first marked red fledgling. She has a very interesting affinity – she has true site, she can see and understand the aura of people and vampyres, meaning she instantly becomes aware of the evilness surrounding Neferet. Shaylin is another character is Thanatos, who is one of the members of the vampyre high council. She is another strong female character, very level headed and likable. Thanatos has been sent to assess the situation at the House of Night surrounding Neferet’s recent behaviour and the creation of the second House of Night. She reveals to Zoey that she has an affinity for death, and she can see the Darkness surrounding Neferet. This means that, for once, Zoey has a vampyre on her side! Thanatos helps Zoey discover the truth behind what happened to her mum, resulting in a nice little twist at the end, with a little help from Nyx of course!

Natasha’s Rating:  1/2

Dragon’s Oath links Awakened and Destined, giving us the background story to Dragon and his relationship with Anastasia. It’s great to have a bit of background on some of the side characters. The story follow’s Dragon as he is marked and goes through his time at the House of Night, following his relationship with young professor, Anastasia. Throughout the story, we get to see Dragon grow from a spoilt, self-centred teen to the strong vampyre he is in the Tulsa House of Night. This growth stems from his relationship with Anastasia and an encounter with Darkness, which turns out not to be his last.

Natasha’s Rating:  1/2

A pre-warning for everyone, if you’re following the series and love it like I do, this book has a lot of very sad elements. I must admit, I had tears while reading some parts, there are some very sad sections that are expertly written.

There are a lot of twists and turns in Awakened, things that I definitely never seen coming. We begin to see cracks in the relationship between Neferet and Kalona as Neferet binds herself to the White Bull and becomes more and more power hungry. Although Kalona starts to see this other side to her, she still holds a lot of power over him. I started to feel quite sorry for Kalona as he gets tormented by Neferet, I’m holding up hope that he turns on her but for now, he’s securely under her power.

Following the revelation of Rephalium and the appearance of Nyx, Zoey and her friends are forced to leave the House of Night and start their own – a very challenging prospect. Eric also makes a reappearance and it looks as though he’s finally forgave Zoey for her past mistakes.

Natasha’s Rating:  1/2

Merry meet, fledgling. Welcome to a new life, a new world, and a new you. Welcome to the House of Night!
This might seem like a scary time, Fledgling, but never fear! As you start your journey through the ancient halls of the House of Night, this indispensable handbook will aid you in your transition from human to fledgling.

Within these pages you will find invaluable information about the history of vampyres.  You will also come to a better understanding of your body’s transformation, as well as read words of hope from great vampyres of the past and learn essential foundations of rituals and lore.

Now, Fledgling, read on.  A new life awaits you; your path to that magickal future begins here!

The Fledgling Handbook provides you with all you need to know about the House of Night and becoming a vampyre – from performing rituals to vampyre history, the handbook has it all. It’s very easy to read, like the novels themselves, and is very nicely illustrated. It doesn’t fill any blanks in for the storyline itself but provides a great bit of background knowledge for those who want to know a bit more about becoming a vampyre!

Natasha’s Rating: 

Like Tempted, Burned allows us to explore the story examining some of the main characters, meaning we are allowed to experience situations first hand, rather than learning of them through character narrative.

In the Otherworld, Zoey and Heath are on the run from the Darkness as Zoey decides between staying with Health or returning to her body to deal with the mess she has left behind. I really felt for Zoey as she struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened she’s just a teenager after all and I couldn’t blame her for wanting to stay where she was an hide from all her problems.

In an attempt to save her, Stark, Aphrodite and Darius , travel to the Isle of Skye (Scotland) to visit Sgiach, a vampyre who has separated herself from society and never leaves her Island. I loved the Scottish characters; Sgiach is such a wise and strong character, as is her guardian. Also, the idea of a remote island completely separate from all of society, except your chosen few of course, really appealed to me, and it seemed like such an amazing place. Stark uses his time on Skye learning to become a warrior and he undergoes a very dangerous quest to travel to the Otherworld and bring Zoey back – something that is very much unheard of!

Meanwhile, while trying to help Stark save Zoey, Stevie-Rae gets on the wrong side of the white bull, who is the personification of Darkness…

Natasha’s Rating:  

In Tempted, P.C. and Kirstin Cast change the narration and we’re guided through the events from the viewpoint of six characters – Zoey, Stevie-Rae, Aphrodite, Heath, Start and Rephaliam, which is a great change as we are given a lot more information for various aspects of the story, and it allowed me to appreciate some of the other characters more as you see things through their eyes.

Zoey comes face-to-face with her past life, revealing the truth behind her attraction to Kalona. This information, along with a not-so-productive visit to Venice, add to Zoey’s stress. With Aphrodite’s vision and Kramisha’s affinity, the group are shown several possible outcomes stemming from how Zoey deals with Kalona. We also get to see a very different side to Aprodite as her relationship with Darius blooms.

A key character to look out for is Rephalium, who is Kalona’s most favoured son. He is the most human out of all the Raven-Mockers, which explains why he is Kalona’s favourite. After events that make him hated by all the vampyres at the Tulsa House of Night, we see a very different side to him, with the help of Stevie-Rae…

Natasha’s Rating:   1/2

Hey it’s Natasha here with our next Top Ten List =D

There are SO many characters in the House of Night series. Here’s a list of my top ten favourite characters – which was very hard to do!

If you’ve read the series, who are your favourite characters? Why?

Who do you not like?

Who would you like to see more of?

And, most importantly – how hot is Kalona?! (see left =P)

1 – Jack

He’s just so loveable and innocent.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Hunted, we are introduced to the Red Fledglings, who have remained quite a mystery so far in the series. They are a mixture of good and bad fledglings, which creates a bit of a problem for Zoey as they are being forced to live with them while Neferet and Kalona have taken over the House of Night. One of the red fledglings to keep an eye on is Kramisha, a very out spoken and opinionated character who’s even a match for bitchy Aphrodite – she is quite a key character and reveals an affinity which proves to be very helpful for Zoey and her friends as they come face-to-face with Kalona, who seeks Zoey in an area that she thought was safe.

I thought by this point in the series that the plot lines would begin to be too drawn out and that I would start to get bored with it, but that definitely wasn’t the case. P.C. and Kristen Cast have a way of keeping you hooked, making sure that there was always something going on but not dragging it out like some series tend to do. They keep the characters interesting, introducing new characters throughout but not so much that you are confused as to who’s who – they take their time with the characters as well, allowing you to be able to make a judgment on the character for yourself through their actions.

Natasha’s Rating: 

The extent to Zoey and her friend’s problems begin to become clearer throughout Untamed and they forgive Zoey for her past actions as they come together to face Neferet.

After a few books where she only makes a slight appearance, Stevie Rae becomes more of a central character again, although Aphrodite still plays a central role. We also gain another central character, Jack. He is by far my favourite character, he’s loveable, innocent, cute – and Damien’s boyfriend.

We’re introduced to some more new characters throughout this book – the first of which is Stark (He ranks highly in my list of favourites!). He’s a world famous archer who takes a liking to Zoey, further confusing her love life. There’s also the unexpected Sister Mary Angela – well I never expected a nun in a vampyre book! She’s surprisingly accepting of vampyres and proves a very useful friend for Zoey throughout the series. Also, there’s Kalona and his Raven Mockers – who have been trapped underground for centuries but are freed as part of Neferet’s crazy scheme to gain power.

In Untamed, Tulsa’s House of Night is visited by the vampyre Priestess, in light of the murders and Neferet’s plan for revenge. She opposes Neferet’s plans, much to Neferet’s displeasure. This, however, doesn’t deter Neferet who hatches a plan to gain power and secure a very powerful ally.

Again, Untamed leaves us with a bit of a cliff hanger as Zoey and her group are forced to flee the school and seek refuge underground.

Natasha’s Rating: