Redeemed (House of Night #12) by PC & Kristin Cast-a review

Redeemed (House of Night #12) by PC & Kristin Cast-a review

Redeemed Oct 14

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About the book: Release Date October 14, 2014

In the final electrifying novel in the HoN series, Neferet has finally made herself known to mortals. A Dark Goddess is loose on Tulsa and the world. No single vampyre is strong enough to vanquish her – unless that creature has the power to summon the elements as well as the ability to wield Old Magick. Only Zoey Redbird is heir to such power…but because of the consequences of using Old Magick, she is unable to help. Find out who will win and who will lose in this epic battle of Light versus Darkness.

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REVIEW: REDEEMED is the final instalment in PC & Kristin Cast’s HOUSE OF NIGHT young adult, paranormal series focusing on sixteen year old fledgling vampyre/high priestess Zoey Redbird and her House of Night gang of misfit vampyres with affinities to the elements.

The final instalment focuses on the take down of the House of Night’s self-proclaimed goddess Neferet and the absolution of the Dark Winged Warrior Kalona. As Neferet terrorizes and destroys much of the city of Tulsa, Zoey and her fellow fledgling vampyres must devise a plan to stop Neferet’s reign of terror-once and for all.

As in the previous instalments, the language and text of the storyline is adolescent in nature but the series is directed at middle grade and young adult readers so perhaps it is to be expected but I felt is was a little condescending. My biggest disappointment was with Neferet’s speech, language and actions. The immature nature of the character did not equate with the age and power of the supernatural being. She reminded me of ‘the mean girl’ when she didn’t get her way would have a temper tantrum of epic proportion.

The level of violence has escalated in REDEEMED such that the graphic nature of the violence and the numerous killings was disconcerting; as the numbers climbed so did my disappointment with the story. I found the numerous violent incidents over the top and redundant, and not necessary to storyline.

I will add that the House of Night series had much potential in the early books but somewhere along the way, the authors may have erred in their storyline content and characterizations such that many readers lost interest and no longer cared. Perhaps it was the introduction of too many characters; too many villains; too many deaths; too many dead characters brought back to life; or the immature nature of the characters. Or perhaps it was the very slow build up of the series such that twelve books (and four prequel novellas) spanned less than a year in the series timeline but seven years to write and publish. Seven years is a long time and many readers-especially young adults and tweens- will walk away from a series where very little happens between storylines. Teens become adults and will eventually gravitate to more mature storylines and adult books. Or perhaps, YA novels are just that-young adult storylines and the more mature reader may have difficulty with some of the storyline content.

The final battle will see justice served but it will also see the loss of friends but a loss that is comforted by a happily ever after-for now -because although Neferet will get what she deserves, she is immortal and obviously very hard to kill. Is any character truly dead in a paranormal series?

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

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HIDDEN (House of Night #10) by PC and Kristin Cast-a review

HIDDEN (House of Night #10) by PC and Kristin Cast-a review

HIDDEN (House of Night #10) by PC and Kristin Cast

HIDDEN is the tenth full-length novel (October 16, 2012 release) in PC and Kristin Cast’s young adult HOUSE OF NIGHT series focusing on 16 year old Vampyre Zoey Redbird and her gang of misfit vampyres with affinities to the elements. When last we saw Zoey and her friends, Zoey’s mother had been killed by the High Priestess Neferet, Aurox had just killed Weapons Master Dragon Lankford during the reveal ceremony and Kalona swooped in to save his ½ raven ½ human son Raphaim. Oh, and everyone on the High Council now knows that Neferet has aligned herself with everything evil. It took ten books for the Council to pull their heads out of the sand, but finally Neferet’s true nature has been revealed.

The Goddess Thanatos (Death) is now in charge of the Tulsa House of Night where Zoey and the vampyres are schooled. With Thanatos in charge, she makes it her responsibility to ensure that the young vampyres follow the path of good, but when Neferet defected to the ‘dark side’ she left a path of destruction and betrayal. Blood sacrifices called forth the beast known as Aurox and while we all know his true identity, the vampyres at the House of Night only know that he was created from Darkness to destroy Zoey and her friends.

To be honest, the storyline does not progress much further than the previous book and only about 2-3 days in total. Neferet continues to feed the ‘dark tendrils’ using her blood and the blood of immortals, but it is her power and control over Aurox that will waiver when his humanity begins to usurp the beast buried beneath the human façade. And it will be the power of the elements that will help Aurox control the beast and with Zoey’s magical seer pendant, Aurox’s true identity will be revealed to everyone at the House of Night but not before Neferet devises one final plan to bring Zoey down.

Within this particular storyline Kalona and Aurox, once puppets ruled by Neferet, will see the error of their ways and the Goddess Nyx will begin to show some compassion for two of her lost children. A newly marked red vampire will be gifted with ‘the sight’ and with the ability to read colors and auras she will become a valuable member at the House of Night much to Aphrodite’s chagrin.

The usual cast of characters return with a young fledgling defecting to the ‘dark side’ but what I noticed is that some of the Cast’s writing has changed and matured (not all) which was a pleasant and welcome surprise. In the past, the negative, immature and derogatory name calling and comments from many of the characters was becoming unbearable and pushed this particular series into the –”not sure if I want to continue pile”! There is still quite a compilation of immature theatrics from a couple of characters including the high and mighty Aphrodite, who can’t seem to stop the swearing and rude behavior. How many times can one character use the term f***tard in one chapter?  But overall, many of the characters appear to have stepped up to the plate (so to speak).

The writing style continues to be stilted. The storyline will flow along and then all of a sudden falter, but we know there are two writers for this particular series. Similar to all of the other storylines, the books stumble whenever the characters enter into what seems to be a forced conversation with one another. Sometimes it is like reading two different books.  And there is plenty of repetition as it pertains to Zoey’s thoughts and comments. IBS anyone?  

I would like to add that if anyone has not read the HON novella Lenobia’s Vow, I would suggest that you check it out. Lenobia’s Vow is a short story revealing the past life and love of the horse mistress Lenobia Whitehall and the story will come full circle within the pages of HIDDEN. If you are a fan of the House of Night series, the novellas are of a much better quality of writing and speak with more maturity and grace.

Overall, I enjoyed HIDDEN much more than many of the previous storylines. Perhaps it is the change in the maturity level of the writing or the fact that many of the characters are no longer struggling with their own identities and have stopped ‘pushing’ themselves into the storyline at every opportunity.

Reviewed by Sandy

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COVER REVEALS

Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead/HIdden by PC & Kristin Cast/Echo by Alyson Noel

 

 

TITLE: Indigo Spell

SERIES: Bloodlines

AUTHOR: Richelle Mead

RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2013

 

 

TITLE: Hidden

SERIES: House of Night

AUTHOR: PC & Kristin Cast

RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2012

 

 

 

 

TITLE: Echo

SERIES: Soulseekers

AUTHOR: Alyson Noel

RELEASE DATE: November 2012

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House of Night Film Rights

HOUSE OF NIGHT Film Rights

HOUSE OF NIGHT  Young Adult-Vampire series by PC & Kristin Cast:

SAMUEL HADIDA’S DAVIS FILMS ACQUIRES FEATURE FILM RIGHTS TO HOUSE OF NIGHT VAMPIRE-BASED BOOK SERIES

November 2, 2011

Los Angeles – November 2, 2011: Samuel Hadida announced today that his company, Davis Films, has acquired film rights from authors P.C. and Kristin Cast to their phenomenally successful House of Night young adult fiction book series.

“We are thrilled to bring P.C.’s and Kristin’s stunning series of books to worldwide film audiences,” stated Samuel Hadida. “They have created a world of adolescent growth against a backdrop of supernatural suspense that resonates around the world with young readers immersed in Twilight and Harry Potter. House of Night connects on a profound level — what growing up means today.”

Davis Films is known for its successful film series, including Silent Hill and most notably the Resident Evil films. “We see with House of Night the same franchise potential,” Hadida added.

http://pccast.net/latestnews.html

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