Review: Awakened by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Series: House of Night 8
Format: Hardcover
Excerpt
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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?

So AWAKENED, where do I begin? I'll just stick to my highlights.

Yes. It's an all time low for me. And to assuage you're curiosity, I keep on reading because (1) I've already invested too much time on this to quit now and (2) I'm still hoping that the story will turn around.

The references to  True Blood, Glee and other current stuff was cute. It attempted to make the HON world current or parallel with ours. It made these Vamps real to an extent, following the current trend in pop culture. 

SPOILER ALERT!

However, I feel like this is the most unentertaining installment for me. The way Jack died, in the middle of singing Gravity (Wicked) was tragically poetic. TRAGIC! It was just overkill for Jack to have died that way although his character found it fitting. Still it could have been a little different instead of being archetypal.

Although I loved that Laura Heffer, Zoey's mother, got a wake up call before her demise but I hoped that at least she and Zoey had one final conversation before her body became the vessel for Neferet and Nyx's struggle for power. 

Finally, Nyx and Heath in the Otherworld. I found this very manipulative for the Goddess. Giving Heath  "options" but ultimately she managed to steer Heath to be her warrior for her fight with Nyx, knowing that it might destroy him in the end. I hope I'm wrong but Heath isn't a Greek hero type of guy like Odysseus or Achilles. He's more like a Patroclus or Paris if you ask me so I don't know if Heath has the  right blend of characteristics to pull this off. 

At least Zoey is sticking to just one guy on this one and I really like Stark. He is a perfect match for Zoey plus he stands up to her.