The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres have always existed.

In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire — that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.

She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But 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 club, 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.

Characters: The story follows Zoey Redbird, she’s just a typical teenager with average day-to-day problems – even after she is marked as a vampyre. Stevie-Rae is Zoey’s new vampyre BFF, she’s such a loveable character, young naïve and a little home-sick.  Our other three main vamps are Shaunee and Erin, the ‘twins’ who provide a hilarious double-act, and Damien – one of my favourite characters.

Writing: I love P.C. Cast as a writer – her books are just so easy to get lost in, I can read them for hours! She has a way of really making you connect to the characters. P.C. and Kristin Cast created a world that I became fascinated by, making me want to learn more about their world one that I wanted to explore further.I have to admit that this books is really YA, definitely aimed at teens, for me this made it one of those easy reads that you curl up with after a long day, I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about it though, people who didn’t like it because the writing was quite young – so just a warning up front if that’s not your kind of book.

Plot: After Zoey is marked as a fledgling vampyre she is deserted by her friends and her family – who are part of an anti-vampyre religious group. Scared and alone, Zoey flees to her grandmother’s house, where she is visited by Nyx, the Goddess of Night, who chooses her as one of her fledgling representatives. Along with her new found vampyre friends, Zoey has to face the challenges of becoming a vampyre, as well as typical teenage life, including dealing with Aphrodite – the bitchy leader of the Dark Daughters who’s abusing her Goddess-given gifts.

Originality: There are a lot of vampire books around just now but the House of Night series has definitely put its own spin on this genre. Rather than the typical story line, in Tulsa, the existence of vampyres is widely known. They also reinvented the idea of new vampyres – rather than vampyres being all ancient beings, with new vampyres being a rare occurrence, they are marked by a tracker and sent to the House of Night – a school for fledgling vampires – where they learn all the skills and knowledge needed to become a vampyre and wait it out to see if they survive the change.

Natasha’s Rating: I loved the Marked, it got me totally hooked on the series and I read them one after the other as I needed to know what happened, I’m waiting patiently for the rest of them (kind of…). There have been mixed reviews about this series but I loved it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who’s looking for an enjoyable, easy read.